Motorcyclists form a broad church, made up of countless factions, subsets, and niches within niches. From road to dirt, from cruisers to abusers, via more variations than any of us has the hours to map, we’re an eclectic crew above all else. Few know more about, or have done more to celebrate, the subcultures within motorcycling than Gary Inman.
Creator of Sideburn Magazine and the wild Dirt Quake events, Gary has broadened the horizons of every motorcycling publication for which he has written (which is just about all of them). This is the man who road-tested a Benelli 1130 TNT by riding it across the Sahara Desert. So when he issues a rallying cry to a motorcycling denomination, it listens.
And so, on a Sunday at a 120-year-old disused church on the outskirts of Leeds, England, a remarkable congregation of motorcycles gathered for the inaugural Worship Moto Show. In Gary’s words; “A showcase for high-performance custom motorcycles—the kind of fire-breathing Japanese inline fours that used to be called ‘specials’.”
Built in 1907, Left Bank Church ceased functioning as a church in the mid-nineties, before its second coming as an arts and events venue. Gary had the concept of the show before he had a name for it—until he discovered this venue. With its imposing facade, thick columned nave and gothic altar, this was the perfect place to worship a different kind of deity.
Machines began to roll in over the course of an overcast morning, described by Gary as “Japanese Muscle; Super Street Specials; Slabside Survivors; Turbo Hyperbikes; Silver Dream Racers; Restomods; Harris; Spondon; GPZXR1GSXRCBRXFZ KatanaNinjaBlades.” A just as indiscriminate assembly of dedicated humans accompanied them; the hive of knowledge almost as tantalizing as the metal.
Overheard conversations revealed engineers and left-field thinkers of the highest caliber, together with moto-historians of encyclopaedic knowledge. Ever wondered how many Yoshi Busas were made? The best rake and trail for stability north of 250 mph? Or how to measure the height of centre of gravity? The walls of Left Bank know.
Grins of exhibitors and volunteers spread as dream machine after dream machine took their plinths to await the ever-growing queue. Last in before the doors opened, Guy Martin and his 300 mph-chasing beast. Anticipation and excitement bubbled as the sun finally made an appearance, and the church doors swung open to welcome those who had taken the pilgrimage.
Around 40 bikes were presented in total. In an entertaining gambit, each visitor was given a sticker and invited to fix it to the plinth of their stand-out machine, and in doing so, generating a ‘Punter’s Choice’ award. You could see the anguish of that choice on the faces of many, followed by a surge of commitment and satisfaction in finding it.
At the head of the church was ‘Scud,’ the Icon x Sticky’s Speed Shop turbo’ed Suzuki Bandit. With a billet block, a lattice swingarm from Steelheart Engineering, and graphics by Ryan Roadkill, it garnered many stickers and established a norm for monstrous performance.
Down from the towering stained glass windows, one of a trio of extraordinary Race Component Development x Racefit Kawasaki Z1s eventually earned my sticker. Then on through the choir pews, past a guard of GSes (not those GSes), a surprise Italian duo awaited in the form of Death Spray Custom’s Desmosedici and a bafflingly clever hub-center-steered Aprilia. What they lacked in geographic suitability they more than made up for in uniqueness.
In the auditorium, row upon row of Kawasakis and Suzukis made their fellow Japanese brands blush with a lack of representation. Never before have so many filler caps graced so few motorcycles. Haxch Moto’s Slabshot glistened beneath the pulpit, followed by the extended ‘Rents Go Racing’ Hayabusa, making a mockery of the plinth proportions.
Amongst Harris- and Spondon-framed specials in number to make them seem almost commonplace, finally, the beautiful Neate Racing Harris RSC1000 with a Co-Built exhaust flew the flag for Big Red. Meanwhile, deBolex’s XJR1300 preserved Yamaha’s dignity.
On a font near the front, beside Guy’s unclothed sprint bike, lurked another Italian in the form of Sticky’s Speed Shop’s ‘Arfa’ [above]—one of eight bikes in attendance from the prolific builder. Its origins may have missed the supposed brief, but its build style hit the bullseye. Specials such as these smack of excess.
Alongside bespoke engineered elements lay the most desirable race parts and brands; Nitron, Yoshimura, AP, Marzocchi, Astralite, Dymag, Stack, Scitsu, Harris, Racefit, Mikuni, Keihin, Moriwaki, Ohlins, ISR, and more. It was a genre of curation, each build an assemblage of the owner’s favored treasures, combined into a prized whole.
At the final count, the People’s Choice went to ‘Godzilla‘ [above]. Not a Spondon or a Harris as many (myself included) first thought, but an astonishing home-made, big-tube special housing a GSXR1100 Turbo. What one person can achieve in a garage or shed, will never cease to amaze me.
Hot and cold beverages flowed and the thrum of conversation echoed throughout the day, before, in five short hours, it was over. As the crowds dispersed and the bikes passed back over the threshold, the heavens gave way to signal their disappointment.
“The hope is that Worship helps light a fire under these kinds of bikes, in a way that Sideburn and Dirt Quake did with street trackers and flat tracking,” Gary concludes. “The scene is very developed in Japan, but I’m excited to see a new generation of bike builders inspired to see what they can do with affordable 80s, 90s, and 00s sportbikes. It couldn’t have worked out better, thanks to all involved.”
“Worship will definitely return to this church in 2025, and maybe some others in the future, too.” For certain, all who were there for edition one will be back for the love of Go_.
Worship Moto Show | Instagram | Images by Gareth Charlton
