Back Street Heroes

Back Street Heroes is the UK’s biggest-selling and best custom bike magazine. We cover all styles of custom bikes and the custom biker lifestyle.

EDITORIAL • IT’S THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, IT MUST BE THE NEW ISSUE OF BSH!

H-D 120TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL • IF YOU’VE EVER WONDERED WHY HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S MASSIVE EUROPEAN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS ARE NEVER HELD HERE IN BLIGHTY, PERHAPS WHAT I’M ABOUT TO TELL YOU MIGHT GIVE YOU AN ANSWER.

IRON MAIDEN • RECEIVED WISDOM, I DON’T KNOW IF YOUKNOW, IS LOOSELY DEFINED AS BEING THE PERCEIVED, APPROVED PERHAPS, WAY OF DOING SOMETHING THAT’S GENERALLYACCEPTED AS BEING CORRECT.

NCC SURREY’S FREEWHEL BURNING • IN THIS THE FIFTIETH YEAR OF THE NATIONAL CHOPPER CLUB, THERE’RE BOUND TO BE SOME GOOD PARTIES AND EVENTS, AND THE SURREY GUYS STARTED OFF THE YEAR WITH A BANG WITH THE FIRST PUBLIC EVENT BY THE CLUB.

INSPIRED BY LARRY • HOW TO START THE STORY? I SUPPOSE THE SEED WAS PLANTED ABOUT TWENTY YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS TINKERING WITH STREETFIGHTERS. MY BEST MATE, ANDI, WAS TRYING TO CONVINCE ME THAT CHOPPERS WERE STILL RELEVANT, BUT MY TAKE WAS, SURE, MAYBE IN THE ‘60s. THEY JUST WEREN’T ME AND, BESIDES WHICH, I COULD NEVER’VE AFFORDED A 300-SECTION REAR TYRE.

THE GARLAND BIKE SHOW • THERE’S A QUOTE BY CHARLES DARWIN WHICH SUMS UP THE START OF THIS YEAR FOR ME: “IT IS NOT THE MOST INTELLECTUAL OF THE SPECIES THAT SURVIVES; IT IS NOT THE STRONGEST THAT SURVIVES; BUT THE SPECIES THAT SURVIVES IS THE ONE THAT IS ABLE BEST TO ADAPT AND ADJUST TO THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH IT FINDS ITSELF.”

HI-YO, SILVER! AWAY! • FULL CUSTOM TRIKES THESE DAYS ARE, SADLY, A RARE SIGHT – THERE’RE LOTS OF CONVERSIONS (BIKES TURNED INTO TRIKES BY THE ADDITION OF AN AXLE) AND FACTORY TRIKES (BOOMS, REWACOS AND THE LIKE), AND MANY COOL ONES AT THAT, BUT FULL BUILDS, FULL CUSTOM BUILDS, ARE SOMETHING WE DON’T SEE MUCH OF ANYMORE.

GREEDY PIGS’ BIKE SHOW • FOR THE 22ND TIME, THE GREEDY PIGS MCC SPENT THEIR EARLY MAY BANK HOLIDAY PUTTING ON A LITTLE GEM OF A BIKE SHOW.

BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS 2023 THE BIGGEST CUSTOM SHOW IN THE WORLD! • Five years (well, this year’s the fifth!) now we’ve been running the BSH Custom Championships, and it’s turned out to be the biggest custom show in the world, with over 4000 entrants to date!

HULL HELL ON WHEELS! • WE SHOWED YOU, A COUPLE OF ISSUES BACK, CHRIS HATTON’S ULTRA-SKINNY GREY SHOVEL; THIS TIME IT’S THE TURN OF SAMI, HIS PARTNER-IN-CRIME, AND HER OWN, VERY ‘70S, SHOVEL. TOGETHER THEY RUN PHYSICAL GRAFFITI TATTOOS IN CARDIFF, AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE PICS, SAMI’S A RENOWNED ARTIST IN HER OWN RIGHT.

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DREGON SOULFUL SPRINGERS • FOR A LONG TIME NOW, IN FACT PRETTY MUCH FROM THE DAY THE 45 WAS WHEELED, BLINKING INTO THE LIGHT, FROM CAZ’S GARAGE, I’VE THOUGHT THAT WHAT THE LIL’ (WELL, IF YOU CONSIDER A 750CC ENGINE LITTLE) HARLEY NEEDED TO FINISH IT OFF (IF THESE THINGS’RE EVER FINISHED) IS A SET OF SPRINGER FORKS.

STONHAM BARNS BIKE SHOW • WE REALLY WERE SPOILT IN 2022 WITH GLORIOUS SUN FOR WEEKS ON END, AND 2023’S LOOKING TO BE THE SAME.

BMW R nineT SCRAMBLER • OMFG, BSH IS TESTING A BIKE WITH A BROWN SEAT! THEY’VE GONE ALL HIPSTER! I KNEW IT – IT’LL ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THAT BLOODY NIK’LL BE WEARING SANDALS, EATING HUMUS, DRINKING SOYMILK LATTES, AND HAVING HIS HAIR IN A MAN-BUN…

MR BRIDGES' MOTORCYCLE DIARIES VOL. VI, PART VIII • HAVING ESTABLISHED WHAT NEEDS TO GO INTO AN ELECTRICS BOX, AND WHY IT’S NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO BE A BOX, I’VE BEEN BUSY MAKING THE BITS FOR THE NOT-A-BOX.

VULCAN BOMBER • “SORRY, I’LL BE AT THE CLAP CLINIC THEN,” SHE SAID, AND GAVE ME ONE OF THOSE WOMEN’S SMILES WHICH ISN’T REALLY A SMILE AT ALL. THEN SHE...