Ride and Rally: Born Free 2022

The year was 2009. The motorcycle industry was centered around massive custom bike builds, crate engines, Discovery Channel, Biker Build Off’s, Jesse James, and motorcycle shows in convention centers all cashing in off the custom bike boom of the early 2000’s. Far from the heart and soul of what building bikes was for many bikers with late nights in their garage with friends and boxes of parts found at various swap meets. No glitz. No glam. All underground. All motorcycle.

Without a West Coast show that catered to grease monkeys, Mike Davis and Grant Peterson decided to start their own to celebrate custom bikes and the subculture that went with vintage builds. In that moment, Born Free was born.

The first Born Free was held in Orange, California with only thirty days of prep work and a photoshopped flier for advertisement. Grant Peterson stated in an interview that the first Born Free was a “glorified barbecue”. And it probably was, because their vision was about the bikes, not the celebrity status. Since then, it has grown to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest custom vintage motorcycle show in the nation. Some even refer to it as the Super Bowl of motorcycle shows.

Now held in Silverado Canyon on a sprawling 17 acre ranch, Born Free has grown into a two day event attracting tens of thousands of people. The show itself has a few different sections, each catering to different parts of the vintage motorcycle scene.

First, there is the invited builders area. This area is curated by the founders of the show and features some of the craziest builds you’ll find. Each of these bikes are built for this show and judged at this show by a selected panel of respected peers. This year’s highlights were a panhead chopper with a sissy bar made from welded chain links, along with a few bikes sporting custom engraving on various engine components. One of the most interesting builds was that of Max Schaaf who, through what must be wizard levels of fabrication, pieced together a ’46 knucklehead into a ’58 duo-glide frame with a ’60 XLCH swingarm rear section.

The second area is the People’s Champ. This section is a host of bikes from professional and garage builders alike that people have voted online for throughout the year to pick which ones they can see at the show. This year’s People’s Champ winner was something that I’ve never seen before. Clay Krick built a CB750 chopper that not only had one of the longest twisted springers I’ve seen, but had the handlebars go through the gas tank. Yes, through the gas tank. Rightfully so, he took home the prize and honor.

Born Free isn’t only about bikes though. It’s bike culture as well. Along with custom vintage builds also comes punk rock and skateboarding. This year, Vans sponsored a full-size half pipe with demos from skate legends Christian Hosoi and Steve Caballero. Born Free also hosted a stage with multiple bands, one being Revolution Mother which is fronted by professional skateboarder, and Black Flag front man since 2013, Mike Vallely. The rest of the 17 acres that’s not taken up by thousands of motorcycles, a stage, a ferris wheel, a wall of death, and the halfpipe are vendors. All of The Who’s Who in the motorcycle scene have booths at Born Free. S&S, Arlen Ness, Vance and Hines, all of the choptastic clothing brands as well as bike crews and artists.

While Born Free is not the only vintage custom show in the country, it is the biggest and most widely respected all while going on its second decade. There is a reason why people fly and bring builds from as far as Japan to be a part of this show as it does make careers and cement builders into motorcycle history.

There’s no other show like Born Free. There’s no other experience like Born Free. And for those reasons alone, we’ll see you all there next year at Born Free 14 to see what Mike and Grant have cooked up for 2023.