EXHIBITION REPORT
This year marked the 25th Anniversary of the Toronto International Spring Motorcycle Show at the Toronto International Centre. The SPRINGSHOW has become known as the Springtime season opener for motorcyclists in Ontario.
A special unveiling of the most ‘Far-Out’ custom Vincent motorcycle took place on opening day. The “Vincent Black Chopper” is the latest acquisition project of motorcycle builder and collector, and producer of the SUPERSHOW, Bar Hodgson. The Vincent Black Chopper was the feature bike in the prestigious ‘Century of Motorcycles’ display.
Although the design features are too numerous to mention (spec sheet available at www.supershowevents.com) worth noting is that this chopper is built in the “digger” style, the rake is 50 degrees with a tubular springer front end and 18” Weld Forge Wire wheels. The ‘Pickers’ engine is a 1948 Vincent HRD 1000cc Rapide with dual carbs and pipes. It was seen for the first time at SUPERSHOW 2015.
This year’s show featured a new Motorcycle Pickers Market area for vendors with used and hard-to-find parts for American, British, European and Japanese motorcycles, as well as used motorcycles, memorabilia and collectibles. Peter Derry, Show Manager of the SPRINGSHOW, states that, “We became aware of a sudden need for a venue for these vendors to sell their stockpiles of used parts. We know that our audience is looking for this ‘impossible to find’ stuff and have created a dedicated area where they can pick through the vast selection to their heart’s content.” Some of these vendors have been with the Show since the beginning but now, as the only indoor Show with a Pickers area, the number of vendors has quadrupled.
For anyone restoring an older motorcycle, customizing or upgrading a current cruiser, or a rider just looking to put away those rare spares ‘just in case’, the SPRINGSHOW was the go-to Show.
And with that in mind I got up and went to checkout the show and meet up with the star-draw from Sons of Anarchy’s ‘Tig’, aka internationally known actor Kim Coates, who was a Special Guest appearing both days of the Show to meet fans and sign autographs.
Kim Coates, who played ‘Tig’, the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club’s Sargent at Arms for the complete 7-season run, took a few minutes to chat with me and which made my visit to the show memorable.
Kim Coates meets biker chick Pina B.
Why would Kim Coates be hanging out a Motorcycle Show? I was informed that he is a Harley man with three bikes in his garage compared to my one 2011 Harley Heritage. He is an avid motorcycle enthusiast who owns three bikes – a 2008 and 2010 Dyna Wide Glide and 2013 Road King Classic. Super loud and big bagger is what he loves.
His next gig, now that the show has wrapped up, will be a starring role in the feature film “Officer Down”.
Starting out at The University of Saskatchewan, he performed more than 25 plays, moved on to larger theatre productions and finally ended up on Broadway. Against the wishes of his agent Kim held out for quite a while before getting into film full time. He finally had to give in when he was discovered by Warner Bros in the early 90’s. His career has been non-stop with continued success since then.
The show has wrapped up with thousands of enthusiastic visitors who headed home with feverish anticipation of the coming riding weather. Time to hit the road.
Report by Pina Baldassi
Photo by Janis Rees
