The Born-Free Motorcycle Show

In the world of vintage customs, whether it be Harley or Triumph, Indian or metric import, there’s one show that stands above all others with the most prestigious name in the scene, the Born-Free show. Now in its 14th year, Born-Free has grown into a two-day weekend celebration of all things two wheels held at the Silverado Canyon Ranch in Southern California.

This year, Born-Free was nothing less than an explosion of custom bikes in all styles, live music, vendors, and Southern California moto culture. Show features this year included the highly regarded “Invited Builders” section. Each year, Born-Free founders Mike Davis and Grant Peterson scour the planet for the best builders to enter a new build specifically to debut at Born-Free. The gravitas of the show is a game changer for builders, which means no expense is spared and the only limit is the builder’s imagination.

Second to the Invited Builders is the “People’s Choice” competition sponsored by Biltwell Inc. Builders can enter their rides to the People’s Choice contest earlier in the year, and the masses vote online as the show nears. The final group of bikes gets whittled down to less than a dozen before heading out to Cook’s Corner the night before Born-Free for the final round.

Once a People’s Choice winner has been declared, that builder gets their bike put into the Invited Builders section and earns a spot as an Invited Builder the following year. Thanks to the crew at Biltwell, this is a great way for up-and-coming builders to push their talent and gain notoriety. This year’s winner was Sean Jackson from Competition Distributing out of Springboro, PA, with his 1948 Panhead, seen below.

Sean’s Panhead is no ordinary ‘48 Panhead, and he really ran with his build. Instead of using a regular frame, two plates of metal were laser cut to form each side of the angular frame, and then bolted together with spacers to create the rigidity needed to go down the road. The motor itself sports dual carbs and is started by a crank inertia starter, making this the first inertia-fired dual-carb Panhead to be built.

Other highlights included the San Diego Customs FXR show that they host every year, the Wall of Death that is so popular the line to watch was over an hour long, the Vans halfpipe with skate and BMX demos, and the music stage which cranked out Motley Crue, Allman Brothers, and Van Halen tribute acts.

Last year, we weren’t sure how Born-Free could get any bigger. However, this year the attendance was triple that of last year, and the space could not hold any more bikes or people. The wait just to get in the front gate was over 90 minutes and once inside, lines were up to 30-45 minutes long for food and drinks. With the way the vintage custom scene keeps expanding year after year, it’ll be great to see how Mike and Grant continue to grow and add to what is already the biggest, baddest show around.