HEADING OUT TO CALIFORNIA FOR PARTS & LABOR
THE BOGART, OR, MIKEY GOES TO SAN DIEGO
Sitting in our weekly marketing meeting back in the coldest month of December, Tyler brought up that he had to take a quick trip out to San Diego, CA to do a business to business Q&A panel at the up and coming Parts & Labor Motorcycle Expo put on by our friends at Biltwell.
All I heard was San Diego in January. "Can I tag along?" I uttered out excitedly.
The thoughts of getting out of the snowy Ohio hell for a few days was the only thing on my mind. Without hesitation, Tyler replied back "Yeah man, we can get a killer lunch somewhere and soak in some sun."
The guys getting ready for the B2B talk on the Parts and Labor Stage.
OFF TO CALIFORNIA... FIRST, FLY TO SAN DIEGO, THEN TAKE THE 5 NORTH AND GET OFF ON VIA DE LA VALLE...
As the time came to boogie to San Diego, we jumped on a plane to Denver just escaping a snowy blizzard that hit the Cleveland area pretty good. Delayed in Denver for a while we finally made it to San Diego on Friday the day before the show and the day Tyler needed to do is B2B talk.
Before we made our way to Del Mar fairgrounds where the show was being held, we had to handle the first order of business, that lunch Tyler promised. We got some bitchin Modern Mex type food right by the ocean in Del Mar and met up with our new guy Jeff who was already out there.
Portrait of Tyler on the Parts and Labor Stage.
Once we arrived to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and walked in the doors of the Parts and Labor show I felt this familiar feeling in the air. A yellow dingy fairgrounds building filled with tons of motorcycle vendors and custom killer motorcycles lined up in the center of the building.
We used to do our Lowbrow Swap & Meets at the Medina County Fairgrounds and it definitely had that vibe. We were greeted right away by Bill, McGoo, Otto and a few others from the Biltwell crew, followed immediately by some other California friends we haven't seen in a long time. It was a really great feeling to catch up.
Otto making jokes.
AN INDUSTRY TALK THE EVENING BEFORE
This year there was something new on Friday evening, toward the end of setup. It is an industry talk with panelists talking about what they are doing new in 2023, and answering questions from the audience.
The panel consisted of:
Tyler Malinky / Lowbrow Customs
Bill Bryant / Biltwell Inc
Brian Klock / Klockworks
Stephen Edgar / Speed-Kings Cycle
Matt Martelli / Mad Media, Mint 400
As the time came for the business-to-business (B2B) talk to start, the guest panel took their seats on the Parts and Labor stage and each talked about where the started and where they are today.
They then took questions from other business about how they do marketing, business, social media, and their opinions on where the custom motorcycle world is heading. A real inspirational couple hours to those in need of advice and help with their next venture.
It seemed to go over super well and you can tell people were really engaged in the conversations being had. Well everyone but Julia, Tyler's wife. She kept trying to mess him up when he was talking, making faces and different hand gestures all in the name of fun.
The show full throttle.
THE PARTS & LABOR SHOW
The next morning we jammed back to the Del Mar Fairgrounds on foot only to find a line of hundreds of show goers waiting patiently to get their first dibs on the scratch and dent sale Biltwell was about to have. Who doesn't love closeout motorcycle parts?? As 10am hit the doors opened and we watched a sea of people storm the Biltwell fenced in area.
After tons of discounted helmets, parts, and grips where scooped up and brought back to attendees cars, they made their way back inside to check out the other vendors and show bikes in the building. There were close to 60 bikes in the center of the show from all different styles, makes and models.
I want to say there was round 50 or so vendors lined up on the left and right of the bikes. You could definitely spend the entire day in there and most did because SoCal was getting a ton of rain that day.
Tyler's pick for best chopper. Built by Lorenzo Cisi
BEST CHOPPER
Tyler's other job he had for the weekend was to pick Best Chopper in the show. After looking over all of the choppers in the show, it came down to this incredible 1978 Harley-Davidson FLH Shovelhead built by Lorenzo Cisi of Italy.
He built this bike in 2020 and rode it from Rome to London, he took it to the Canary Islands and then shipped the bike here to the States. It actually arrived in the states the day before the Parts and Labor show.
Lorenzo's next planned adventure for this bike is to ride the iconic route 66 from start to finish. Just a really killer build, with a ton of miles on it, and still looks like a show bike.
Panheads, Knuckleheads, Oh my!
THE LOWDOWN & VIBE
The show went from 10am-5pm and had a pretty steady flow of foot traffic all day long. With the buckets of rain falling, the Del Mar Fairground's building made for a great escape to still get everyone's motorcycle fix in for the weekend.
It seemed like everyone had a wonderful time and the building was full of smiles. If you are looking for an escape from the cold, a discount on a helmet, some new motorcycle shirts or parts, or hell even if you are just looking for a motorcycle fun filled day in Cali.
Biltwell's Parts & Labor Expo is definitely one you should put on your list to go to. It seems to be growing fast and I am sure it will end up in bigger and bigger buildings at the fairgrounds as it goes on. I'm super grateful I got the chance to bogart Tyler's trip, get out of the cold, see some old friends, and finally attend.
Words and Photos by: Mikey Revolt
PART & LABOR PHOTO DUMP
Here's some photos from the show and what bikes and details on bikes stood out to me in the show.
This 1962 Harley-Davidson FLH Panhead Chopper was built by Tommy Gonzalez
The paint on that Friscoed P-nut, sheesh.
Oh and Kit picked up the Salt Ghost for us to show off as well. Always good to see that bike back in person. We will be bringing her back to Ohio very soon.
This Zero Frame Knuckle with our Stingray fender and Frisco Sporty tank looked killer. Build by: Matt Lyons
Lots of Kustom Tech bits on this build too.
This 1976 Ironhead was rad as hell. Build by Fury
Just a really amazing piece of machinery.
So much detail in the motor.
Check out this 2003 Sportster Chopper by Michael Uelarde.
The rear Sprotor threw me for a loop.. What a cool ass idea! This bike also rocking a Led Sled Invader 21 Wheel on the front! This is a really rad bike.
Also had a custom FNA Custom Pancake Headlight.
Steady crowd through out the day.
Vendor village had lots of diverse small businesses and some large ones.
I got to hang with my friend Rob from MotoStuka for a bit. Always good seeing him.
If you don't have a set of his gloves yet, you should probably get on that.
Here's a sick tracker with our Tsunami Fender on it.
Take us to the cone zone! John Mulldoon's 1978 FXE chopper is fire.
Forever 6 wheels.
Sean Mazza's 1967 FL is really amazing. In love with the small brake lights on the bottom of the axle plates.
Sacred Steel's crazy digger. The etch work on the motor was insane.
'69 dudes!!!
Zach Gosteli 1969 FLH chopper was one of my top favorites. Classic styling and tough as nails.
Loved the patina paint job on Tod Petty's 1950 Panhead Chop.
Even the left over gas rules.
A little Honda in your life never hurt nobody.
More of Lorenzo's sweet Shovel.
Would ya just look at it. The molding is so rad.
The devil in blue.
A real piece of rolling art.
Bionic Dogo!- Davin Wirtanen's shovelhead.
You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Yeah thats right, thats a goldwing motor in a dyna frame.
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