- Home
- Events
- On Tour Galleries
- Motor Bike Expo 2023
Back to the roots, back to base, back in January....!
…and back to the original three-day event duration, which was especially requested back by many exhibitors tired of four “out of shop” days. So the “shrinking effect” of the two Covid events in hot Italian summertime temperatures did finally have a learning effect. Friday through Sunday, Motor Bike Expo 2023 attracted thousands of visitors to the Verona fairgrounds, now well stocked with sufficient parking space, and conveniently located between the historic center and the Autostrada.
15 years of custom madness on the Adige!
The “season opener” in the south shared the same date as “Motorradwelt Bodensee” in Germany, but this meant little overlap or worry for both organizers. Especially since Verona did come up with a really spectacular outdoor program – plus the benefit of matching sunshine above freezing point – for the 15th anniversary since the “move” from Padua…
Anyone visiting Motor Bike Expo usually knows what to expect: a little bit of “Italian lifestyle”, a hard to swallow portion of “Italian” organization and the always present “Italian time”. The meaning of the latter: The advertised event schedule is actually obsolete from the first appointment on Friday morning. I-time is (approximately…) normal time +30 min, MBE-time is again +30 min. Who knows it, adjusts to it, but – believe it or not – some events can also take place on time. Maybe.
Three halls packed with custom bikes, shows, products, artists and swap meet, another hall with the matching “cult bike” manufacturers and other custom addresses, followed by another three halls with all other brands and what you need for “riding a motorcycle” in style, including a well-stocked 2nd Hand market.
Magazine Bikeshows
The still in print two Italian custombike magazines “Bikers Life” and “Low Ride” have their own bike displays, with the huge Low Ride Bikeshow traditionally occupying Hall 1, although this year heavily filled-up with local US cars and Hot Rods. Moreno and Micke Persello of “Bikers Life”, co-founders of the then Chopper & Custom Show event in Padua and also organizers of the top Italian outdoor event “Bikerfest” in Lignano-Sabbiadoro in May, did greet MBE visitors with a Thunderbike cover on the new magazine issue.
King of Verona!
In addition, for the last 5 years there has been the “King of Verona” competition, where the 10 best bikes are selected by a jury – and then the “King” of the weekend is chosen by the very same Jury. This year the jury’s decision fell on Italian top-builders Hazard Motorcycles and a dragster custombike which actually had been “under construction” for 4 years. The role model for the “final stage” of this project was a “Riva” luxury sportboat from the renowned boat builders in Riva del Lake Garda with (original) Lamborghini engine – which explains the color scheme of the Sportster engine and the “wood paint” design of the fairing…
Thunderbike’s product range was represented by Custom Chrome Europe, who presented the “King of Verona” with a brand new Ultima “Twin Cam” engine. This will probably be found next year in a new “Hazard” project!
Impressions from the Motor Bike Expo's 15th birthday
But as they say "Un'immagine vale più di mille parole", so here - in compact form - are a few impressions from the Motor Bike Expo's 15th birthday. The party south of the Alps continues – and this is what everybody was hoping for...
Outdoor & Stunts
Verona Sunrise
Text & Photos: HRF – Horst „Motographer“ Rösler