Bikes, Babes and Airbrush — Part 1

If you like bikes, babes and airbrush, then the LA Calendar Show 2006 was the place to be. Beautifully located near the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, this year’s event was outstanding! We were there - and fear not, we took notes and pics to share with you.

I have to tell you straight out - this event had more phenomenal examples of excellent airbrush art than I’ve ever seen in any one place - ever! It was total eye-candy-galore… and more. Throw in all the outrageously cool custom bikes and a plethora of beautiful ladies and you have an all-American event that keeps you coming back for more.

Spectator attendance reaches close to 20,000 hard core motorcycle enthusiasts at the exciting 2-day weekend. Exhibitors include 170 major motorcycle and parts manufacturers, top name bike builders, along with selected product and apparel venders to keep it fun for the entire family. Spectators have a chance to meet top celebrity custom bike builders and attend free Iron & Lace Calendar Bike Builder Seminars with America’s top celebrity Iron & Lace Calendar builders including Jesse Rooke, Roland Sands, Mike Stafford of MGS Customs, Harold Pontarelli, Joe Takai of Mercury Customs and Bob Phillip of Wizzard Cycle Creations. Visitors can also enter your their bikes in the exciting Jardine World Record Horsepower Dyno Shoot Out.

So, as you can see, when it comes to these events, these guys know what it takes to put together a successful show. Hats-off to Gianatsis Design for their efforts.

FastDates.com, the show’s event headmasters are the makers of the cool calendar above; Leather and Lace; famous for showcasing ultra-cool bikes and beautiful ladies. Check it out if you’re looking for a fast date.

So, we digress (Blogs do that sometimes)… but before we get ahead of ourselves…

Day One - Friday evening; I tripped across this screamin’ sport bike right out the gates. The show wasn’t really open yet, since it’s really a weekend show. But hey, we were there, the bike was there, and the camera was loaded.

Check out the wicked details on this beast. Hot paint. Custom seat. It looks like there was quite a chrome budget with this project too. It’s a great looking bike all around.

Carlos Avelar, the bike’s painter, was there hanging with the Vance & Hines guys. I hadn’t seen Carlos since an Airbrush Action Getaway in Las Vegas a couple years ago so this was a chance to catch up with him a bit. We’ll bring you some cool shots and a little from insight from his studio later this summer. Until then, click here to check out his online gallery.

Well, that’s it for metric crotch rockets for a while - from here on it’s mostly American Iron, of which I’m a fan. Not that we discriminate regarding the brand on the tank, because we don’t really. It’s just that we’re more into the art on the tank than the plaque that the factory put there. But since we’re talking American Iron and art on the side, check this beast out.

Once a helicopter protecting America from the forces of evil, this bird is now street legal. You may have seen the Limokopter on the Discovery channel. Here’s a quick shot to hold you, but watch for our upcoming post reflecting its artistic side, along with it’s outrageous creator and builder, Big Daddy “The Kustomizer”.

Sporting beauty in the form of full-size airbrush pinup. Some traditions are worth fighting for.

An excellent example of beautifully rendered airbrush art from a slightly different perspective. These comic book style illustrations are incredibly detailed. The bike rocks too! Joe Takai from Mercury Customs has a few tricks up his sleeves when it comes to bike design. A master builder and designer, his creative fingerprints are all over these creations which favor a clean contemporary look. We’re looking forward to sharing more from the crew at Mercury Customs. In the interim, check out his site by clicking here.

Ron Simms bikes rock! They always have. His bikes are huge statements of power and style, and each comes complete with a full tank of attitude.

Simms’ painter, the world-renown Horst is a master with the airbrush, and Ron will tell you, Horst paint most all his bikes. Check out a few here…

Check out the incredible airbrush work by Horst on this Simms creation.

Same bike - different view. Great from any angle.

Ron Simms & A.D. Cook

— Hand-crafting the finest high horsepower custom motorcycles for 30 years… Visit Simms’ web site by clicking here.

— Custom Painting by Horst. Click here to visit.

Well, that’s it for this post. Check the next post (already in the works); Part 2 of the LA Calendar Show 2006, where we’ll bring you some cool stuff by Wicked Brothers, Stones Choppers, Rocky’s Pure Kustom, and a ton of great shots of a Kamikaze gone wild, and a plethora of beautiful airbrush art.

We’ll leave you with this great shot; Bourgets of SoCal was there showing off their incredible machines, and this beautiful lady, the infamous Glenn-Marie Endris, was making them shine. We couldn’t resist. Just remember to check out the airbrush work. We have plenty of ultra-cool Bourget bikes to be featured in upcoming AirbrushTour post.

Cheers until next time.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 21st, 2006 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Photos, Events, Motorcycles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.