India Bike Week 2017 Delivers a Weekend to Remember | All That Went Down...

by  Shantanu Jain Entertainment | November 28, 2017 | Feature

India Bike Week

Bikers from across the country rode into Vagator, Goa on Nov 24 and 25 as the 5th edition of the much-awaited India Bike Week kicked off to celebrate their passion for moto-culture. IBW2017 began on a high note as Martin Da Costa - Director, India Bike Week, hosted Freddie Spencer, one of the greatest and youngest world champions of the 80’s, and Leslie Porterfield, the fastest Woman on a Motorcycle – the icons of motorcycle riding in a passionate conversation. A treat for biking enthusiasts, the tete-a-tete was peppered with quirky experiences and anecdotes from their inspiring journeys.

Brand Launches

Brand launches which are always a highlight of Day 1 of the festival, this year included Triumph Motorcycles unveiling the Street Triple RS and the Speedmaster. Also, BMW Motorrad launched its latest New K 1600 B Bagger and the brand-new 2017 BMW RnineT Racer.

Furthermore, Avantura Choppers announced its launch as the first and only production Chopper motorcycle brand from India, and MaximusPro unveiled their products for the first time ever at IBW.

Indian Motorcycles had a special preview of the Indian Scout Bobber for the IBW audiences and CEAT launched a new range of tyres for 200-400cc sports bikes. A yet another first, Harley-Davidson brought in the expert flat track riders to demonstrate flat track riding skills on a purpose-built Flat Track Harley-Davidson Street 750 by Rajputana Customs.

Art & Films

This year, the IBW showcased the Moto Art Project where artworks by biker illustrators, sculptors, and painters from across the country who have brought alive the magic of the brotherhood of biking in their own language. The Project this year featured exhibitions of murals, street art, photos, upcycled moto parts by Sawant Sanskar from Bacon & Eggs, Prankur Rana, Appupen, Garage 52, Rohan Joglekar, HAMMERed, Ironic, and Maria Jurkina.

The Big Trip saw speakers including Amit Sadh, Mech Spesh, Ravi Verma, Kumar Shah, Melissa Pierson, and Dhruv Dholakia regale the audiences with the cross-continental journeys. The music line-up for the day included popular acts including Apache Indian Live and Mojojojo.

The bikers’ community also came together to applaud the filmmakers who had been able to capture the zeal that held the community together through the IBW Film Festival. The winners of the Festival Gaurav Prabhu, Rohit Upadhaya, and Venkatesh Jartarkar were awarded by noted actors Rohit Roy and Ram Kapoor.

Biking

Day 1 thundered to a start with parades by BMW Motorrad and Triumph Motorcycles. The Bike Build-Off and Mod Bike Showcase, Tiger Training Academy and Mega Moto Vlogger Meet were among a slew of other activities. Prizes like Victorinox knives, Bell Helmets, Rev’It jackets and Wrangler vouchers were awarded to winners of the Beard & Tattoo contest, Loudest Bike, Burnout Competition at the CEAT Burnout Stage and Most Stylish Biker. Adding to the glam quotient of the evening were performances by Coyote Ugly dancers and the Beach Fashionwear show.

After the perfect day 1, day 2 of India Bike Week lived up to the expectations of yet another adrenaline-pumping round of experience.

The Big Trip Stage was front-and-center on Day 2 with Freddie Spencer, Leslie Porterfield, Neel Jagtap, Trichakra Riders and Vinod Rawat chronicling their journeys. As is customary to the IBW Honour Roll, M.R. Rajkumar was recognised posthumously for his exemplary dominance of two-wheeler racing in the 1980s.

The Loudest Bike competition, Burnout competition, Strongman Games and the Biker Jam session through the day made sure that the 2nd day carried Day 1’s momentum for bikers from across the country to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Day 2 was also marked by the continuation of most of the activities such as Flat Track Racing, the Beer Games, Strongman Games amongst a host of unique activities for bikers and fans alike.

Main Stage Area

There were also big events that had the community hooked into the Main Stage Area where the ceremony was to honor a true legend of the legend of motorcycle racing – Freddie Spencer. The World’s Fastest Woman, Leslie Porterfield, presented an autographed UM Renegade bike to Dashrath Desai as part of her Win-A-Bike competition. The most awaited Biker Build-off Award was judged by Kyle Pereira (Motoring World/ Garage Build Motorcycles), Arjun Raina (Moto Exotica) and Leroy (North Goa Choppers) and awarded to 36 Moto’s Mohit Chawda.  The winner of the Mod Bike judged by Leslie Porterfield and Reza Hussain was Aditya Deshmukh from Meangreen Customs.

Legends of rock, Colt Silvers showed an eager crowd a brilliant time, while Lagori headlined the Main Stage into the end of the festival at a high. Signing off on India Bike Week 2017, Freddie Pithavala, from Mumbai based superbike club, H.O.I., remarked, “As always, we go back from IBW with sweet memories. This exclusive time spent with the community over two days allows all of us the opportunity to come together and celebrate the passion that makes this annual do a reality and a successful one at that!”