USA Trip Report (日本語版 こちらです)
>>Goshu / >>Sumiya / >>Matsuura / >>Steve
Hello. This is MOONEYES Sumiya.
Under normal conditions, I'm usually working in the office and hardly go on business trips but being that I was sent to Oak Canyon Ranch for the Born Free 4 motorcycle event, I am writing this report.
As I was getting my '47 Triumph serviced about six months ago at a M/C Shop in Chiba, the owner told me about Born Free 4 and said they are getting a group together to physically ship their bikes to California to ride to the event on June 30. They invited me to join them but after the plans fell through at the end and no one did it.
After a few months, I had forgot about Born Free and carried on working as normal, then Shige-san told me that I'm going to Born Free 4!! So naturally with pleasure, I was now going as ordered...
The last time I visited California was nine years ago! I was excited from the start, flying from Narita to LAX!
It was my first time flying on Malaysia Air. The trip would be together with MOON Garage Goshu, MOON Space Agency Steve and MOON Custom Cycle Shop Matchan. On the plane, I slept until the first meal was served...
As I was watching the monitor, the dinner menu was displayed on the screen. I selected the Chicken Curry.
I was very good. While eating, Steve whom was sitting next time to yelled out a big "OH!" and I felt something land on my left foot. We both looked over our plates to see it was the salmon salad.
The turbulence had caused the salad dish to slide off the tray... and since we were eating, we could reach down to pick it up so the salmon rested on my left foot until we were finished eating.
I shot some video along the way and made this short clip. Enjoy!
We made it to LAX without any issues, heading to the rent-a-car and got the biggest car they hard. There was four of us on this trip and we had a lot of luggage!
The Infiniti QX56 was as luxurious as any SUV comes although the interior room was not all the large...
We then drove to MOONEYES in Santa Fe Springs.
The first thing we saw was this early Shovelhead that a staff member recently purchased. It's apparently a secret but everyone knows who bought it...
When we reached MOONEYES we learned that there was a setup day for the event so we jumped in the rental and headed to the location of Born Free 4.
It took about an hour from Santa Fe Springs to get to the event area. Normally, it would be about 40 minutes but the Friday traffic caused some delay.
When we arrived, the booth was already setup. We visited the Loser Machine booth and Adrian Lopez was there and treated us to drinks and hamburgers.
At around 8PM, DicE Magazine presented a premiere showing of their new DVD, "6 OVER" on a large projector screen.
This DVD is being exclusively distributed through MOONEYES and sold throughout Japan. It's a great feature film/documentary about building/riding/building motorcycles. Be sure to get yours today!
June 30 (Sat) Born Free 4
We arrived at the event location at around 6:30AM. The MOONEYES booth was already setup so we had time to spare so we drove to Irvine Mazda and checked out the morning cruise held there. From classic cars to high-end sports cars, there was a lot to see. I think fast cars were its main focus of this morning cruise. The parking lot was full of cars that you normally don't see on the road.
We arrived at the event location at around 6:30AM. The MOONEYES booth was already setup so we had time to spare so we drove to Irvine Mazda and checked out the morning cruise held there. From classic cars to high-end sports cars, there was a lot to see. I think fast cars were its main focus of this morning cruise. The parking lot was full of cars that you normally don't see on the road.
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When we returned to the Born Free event location, motorcycles were coming in one after another. By mid-day, the show bike parking area was full. There were too many to actually count...
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Matchan came last year to Born Free 3 and said it was twice the size this year.
There were a lot of Triumph bikes, I was surprised as it was more than I had expected to see!
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Of course, most of the bikes were Harley-Davidson. More than half of the bikes were choppers in one way or another.
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Builder Invite Space
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What is Matchan doing?
At 4PM the awards ceremony was held and the stage was surrounded but hundreds of people.
This year, the Best in Show award wins a trip to the 21st Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show 2012 (HCS)!
The winner was overwhelmed and you could see how excited everyone was. You can see the winning bike at this year's YOKOHAMA HOT ROD CUSTOM SHOW! After the awards were complete, it was time for the raffle! This year they gave away not one, but two motorcycles, plus custom painted gas tanks and other prizes.
Steve and I each bought a ticket. I waited in suspense while the ticket was pulled from the huge bin.
After the raffle drawings were done, the show came to a close.
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This Triumph was my favorite out of all the bikes. (Sumiya's Pick)
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Right when we got out of the event area, the Dually that Chico was driving had some trouble so we all pulled over. It gave us a great chance to take pictures of the bikers that were all driving by.
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Shige-san had us line up for a photo-op.
After the Dually was fixed, we headed out to the Shifters So Cal 20th Anniversary party. Shifters member Mark came to HCS last year with his Purple People Eater.
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July 1 (Sun)
Early the next morning we went to the Orange County Market Place, swap meet. This swap meet is unique and the vendors have daily necessities, fresh fruits and more. There had car accessories but no auto parts. There was a used car lot though... and a model house on display!
Early the next morning we went to the Orange County Market Place, swap meet. This swap meet is unique and the vendors have daily necessities, fresh fruits and more. There had car accessories but no auto parts. There was a used car lot though... and a model house on display!
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After the swap meet we headed to the NHRA Museum in Pomona.
As you may know, there is the MOONEYES 60th Anniversary "MOON EXHIBIT" going on there right now. There are things on display here that even veteran staff have never seen before so I felt lucky and fortunate to be able to see it.
After the museum, we headed to Los Angeles to the Peterson Museum.
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Arrived at Peterson Museum.
This museum is related to the famous Hot Rod Magazine so they feature a lot of famous hot rods. Plus Hollywood is close by and they feature famous movie cars and other vehicles.
Right when you enter the main entrance, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Outlaw was parked in the gift shop. Naturally I had to buy the limited edition die-cast they sold there.
The settings and displays for the cars are incredible and really make the entire scene like the era of the car, from early 1900's through the '40s, '50s and '60s. It was great to see this place.
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July 2 (Mon) Last Day
The last day, Matchan and I got up a little early and went to the donut shop across the street from the motel. They are open by 5AM! I bought an Apple and Cinnamon donut. They gave me a free sample donut too. After we ate we headed to the MOONEYES shop. After we were finished cleaning and packing, we had a Taco Lunch with the MOONEYES Staff. I was just in Mexico for my vacation and the taste was exactly the same, so good!
The last day, Matchan and I got up a little early and went to the donut shop across the street from the motel. They are open by 5AM! I bought an Apple and Cinnamon donut. They gave me a free sample donut too. After we ate we headed to the MOONEYES shop. After we were finished cleaning and packing, we had a Taco Lunch with the MOONEYES Staff. I was just in Mexico for my vacation and the taste was exactly the same, so good!
After lunch we left MOONEYES USA and headed for LAX.
On the way, we stopped at Garage Company located close to LAX but found out that they are closed on the first Monday of every month...
As we were standing outside of their shop, one of the mechanics came outside. He was kind enough to bring us inside to show us around.
Unreal! Harleys, British bikes, Japanese bikes there was so much to see here. There were a lot of customer bikes waiting for service too. Inside the shop area are tons of parts of all kinds. We wanted more time but we had an airplane to catch so we had to leave.
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It was my first time to the Born Free event. The location was excellent and the bikes were all cool to see. If you like motorcycles, this is one event you must see! Thank you for reading my report and view my photos.
If you see me at any event, please say hello.
By the way, next week we'll be in Kobe for the New Order Chopper Show!
Thank you for reading.
Sumiya "O"
Sumiya "O"
USA Trip Report (日本語版 こちらです)
>>Goshu / >>Sumiya / >>Matsuura / >>Steve
