Worship Motoshow: ‘Amazing Bikes in a Memorable Location’
Motorcycle racer and custom bike builder, Gary Inman, is the man behind the Worship Motorshow, which promises to celebrate muscle bikes
The custom motorcycle scene in the UK is a very broad church, although, for the most part, it’s still ruled by cutesy scramblers, cafe racers and finely curled moustaches.
That’s not everyone’s cup of IPA though, and in recent years we’ve seen an increase in the number of builders looking to the late 70s, 80s and 90s as the starting point of their custom bike build.
It’s these bikes and the ‘restomod’ culture (when older bikes are cut and spliced with new mechanicals and chassis parts yet retaining the retro look) that are set to be celebrated this weekend, as the Worship Motoshow will be opening its doors for the first time.
The man behind the show is the well-known flat-track racer, Dirt Quake founder, and publisher of Sideburn magazine, Gary Inman. And no, don’t worry, despite the show's name there isn’t a religious connotation - unless that is you worship at the altar of the ‘Slabside’ GSX-R or the church of Spondon. If that is you, then you’re in the right congregation, and fittingly the venue for the show is, in fact, a Grade II-listed former church in Leeds.
Speaking about the show, Inman said:
“The idea behind the Worship Show came from a couple of different directions. First is the venue. It's a stunning former church in Leeds. Outside it's red brick, like the surrounding back-to-back houses, but inside it looks like an ancient cathedral. The bikes will look incredible in there.
“I always knew what kind of bikes I wanted to focus on: the bikes people of my age still call specials, the kind of bikes that raced at Ultimate Streetbike, and more current versions of them. The Bike Shed Show has a few every year, but ours is a full show of them.
“The line-up is 95 per cent inline four Japanese-based performance bikes, dating from the 80s (with stuff like Suzuki GSX1100ETs and XR69 race bikes) to the 2010s with Isle of Man TT-winning superbikes and modern custom superbikes, like the Haxch Slabshot. In the middle is a mixture of Harris and Spondon street bikes, a drag racer and top speed bike or two, Zephyrs, Zeds and a custom Desmosedici, if we're lucky.”
As you’d expect there will be plenty of Harris and Spondon frames present, and as an added bonus the best sideburns in the business will be in attendance, as Guy Martin will be bringing some of his own bikes to the event. He’ll be joined by Team Classic Suzuki, Sticky's Speed Shop, Haxch Moto, Racefit and Race Component Development as exhibitors, to name but a few.
Worship Motoshow is taking place Sunday, 6 October at Left Bank, Leeds, LS6 1LJ. The doors open midday, and tickets are just £10 per person in advance, £12 on the day.
For more information or to buy tickets, head to the official website.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
