Overview
If you were a cool cat in London in the 1950s — equally at home in a blues club, art gallery or high-end fashion house — chances are you were cruising around on your own modified motorcycle. Known as 'cafe racers', young people would make their own modifications to standard-issue motorbikes and tear around the city, racing each other from bohemian coffee house to bohemian coffee house with jaunty scarves whipping around their ears.
Whether you missed out on this era or you were right there in the thick of it, Throttle Roll will throw you right back in the deep end with over 12 hours of music, bikes, food and drink planned for The Projects Enmore on May 11, including musical performances from blues rockers The Snow Droppers, rockabilly legends Wes Pudsey and the Sonic Aces and gyspy swing sweethearts The Cope Street Parade.
Cafe racers retain a loyal following and bring together enthusiasts from the devout to the weekend warrior — motor mechanics, art directors, curators and musicians alike. And in a coup for motorcycle enthusiasts, Throttle Roll involves some of Australia's most respected workshops, including Desmoclinic, Deus Ex Machina, Rocker Classic Motorcycles, Drifter Bikes, Rene9ade Motorcycles, Trojan Classic Motorcycles, RB Racing Evolution Custom Industries, DNA Custom Cycles, Mean Machines, Motociclo, Gasoline Scooters and Rising Sun Workshop.
The organisers proclaim that the event will be family, pet and all-weather friendly, and unlike a typical motorcycle show, there will be no judging or awards, just fame and notoriety.
Image: Cope Street Parade.