There are a ton of bike events every summer, sometimes two or three on any given weekend. A few of these events are well established, such as Daytona, Laconia, and Sturgis. Other events are new while still others have a shorter history. Born Free III is as the name implies, a few years old. Nevertheless this year was the best one-day bike event/show we have ever had the pleasure of attending. As with each of the first and second Born Free Shows, a new venue progressed from a parking lot for number one to a closed off street for number two to the huge, tree-shaded park for number three. As with any event that grows from year to year there are compromises to be dealt with. The Born Free III show handled it magnificently; the promoters worked tirelessly from the close of Born Free II to make it happen at the new site located at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine, California.
There is no way to describe the bikes that attended Born Free III. There were the stunning creations from the invited builders that lined the pathway from the “bike show” parking area to the clustered vendor area. On the far side of the vendors was the second motorcycle parking area, and with but a few exceptions, could also be mistaken for “show bike” parking. Let’s just leave it to the pictures to show what we mean.
The last point we would like to bring up was the giveaway bike, a knucklehead chopper, handbuilt by Kiyo at the Garage Company. Suffice it to say there was no part left un-touched as the bike impressed everyone who saw it. And even more impressed was the lucky winner who had bought the winning ticket on the first day of sales.
As we rode back north to the SFV we wondered how the guys would top this with Born Free IV? We’ll be there to find out firsthand. STC