Krystal wins Mod Custom
The Republic of Texas Invitational Custom Bike Show is a show within the old-school ROT Rally.
In the middle of the Austin, Texas the Thunder Dome over 30 custom bikes were on display representing 3 custom classes including FreeStyle, Custom Retro and Custom Street. Four of the bikes had won national shows so the competition was outstanding.
The Invitational Custom Bike Show is diversified. Everyone from professional builders to enthusiasts that delight in personalizing their machine provided an outstanding show for the ROT Rally enthusiasts.
The Invitational was as much of an artisan spectacle as a custom bike show. Custom bikes were centered at Thunder Dome with artisans that supplied
FreeStyle CLASS
ROT RALLY WINNER FREESTYLE CLASS
- Tim Skates wins FreeStyle with his ground up custom build. For his effort, Tim takes home the Hell Cat painted and striped Nexx lid and a check for $3,000.
- The man in black – Jon Shipley takes 2nd in FreeStyle , Best Paint award and the HotBike Editor’s Choice award.
CUSTOM RETRO
ROT RALLY WINNER RETRO CLASS
- Sofi of GT-Moto wins Custom Retro with her custom Honda. She takes home a Nexx North America lid from Schultz Designs and $1,000.
- Matt Hurtado of Working Man’s Custom takes 2nd place with Salt Racer, a custom Yamaha XS 650.
CUSTOM STREET
ROT RALLY WINNER STREET CLASS
- Krystal Hess wins Mod Custom with her custom Indian and trophy from Suspension Technologies and custom lid from Forsaken Tattoos and Piercings.
- Eric Mauer takes 2nd with his cream over orange custom softail chopper.
Winners Hess, Skates & Tsingos
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- Krystal wins Mod Custom
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- Tim wins FreeStyle
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- Sofi wins Custom Retro
Additional Awards
- Online People’s Choice – Gerald Van Miler
- People’s Choice – Gerald Van Miler
- Cycle Source Magazine Editor’s Choice – Slab Cycle
The show included a Michael Lichter museum-quality photography exhibit. Makoto Endo painted two 6×4 foot canvases of an early West Coast Chopper custom bike and Speed Metal, a custom bike from Speed Foundry with only a pair of chopsticks.
About the ROT RALLY Bike Show Classes
The Republic of Texas Invitational Custom Bike Show will features 3 classes based on different platform combinations of engine and chassis configurations. The competition is open to all brands of motorcycles making it a truly International competition.
- FREESTYLE CLASS – The principal platform, where builders will be vying for the opportunity to move on to the World Championship is Free Style, which poses absolutely no restrictions on the builder.
- CUSTOM RETRO CLASS – Restricts the builder to pre-1984 drivetrains
- CUSTOM STREET CLASS – One of the most popular platforms – limits builders to major OEM engine and chassis configurations
The winning FreeStyle winner receives $2,000 to compete in the Championship of the Americas at AIMExpo in the fall. If the bike wins there then it is shipped to Germany for the World Championship.
Attending the ROT Rally is like stories from Sturgis in the 1970’s, wide open and loaded for fun. This year, women with painted torsos and Jerry-beads seemed to be all the rage… delightful.
