From the mid 1960s to the early 1970s two subcultures took London by storm. These groups were the Mods and the Rockers. The mods were very fashion conscious (think David Bowie) and the Rockers focused on riding, wrenching and wreaking havoc!

Many of the biggest bike rallies such as Laconia and Sturgis are now focused on slick paint jobs, stretched front ends and freak of nature engineering marvels. Now, if you call any attendee at Laconia a Mod, you should expect a very bad end to your day. The crowd doesn’t fit the Mod style at all but some of the bikes definitely push the aesthetic envelope! We at Beantown unabashedly love those bikes and wouldn’t do anything to change it (but don’t call us Mods!).

With that said, the Rocker subculture is still alive and strong. You can find this at some smaller but increasingly popular rallies allowing enthusiasts to get back to the roots of the machines we all love.

This weekend’s Chicago Motoblot three-day rally is an old-school bike festival and party featuring great bands, custom builders who have reincarnated the grittiest bikes influenced by a bygone era. You’ll have the opportunity to see custom Triumphs, BMWs, Nortons, Moto Guzzis, Pan Heads, Original Indians and maybe even a Henderson Streamliner (not likely but one can hope).

The event is taking place at All Rise Brewing (Cobra Lounge at 235 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60607) on Friday June 24 to Sunday June 26. We will be there on Saturday around Noon to cover the event with our partner Progressive again enabling us to bring the unique event into your home!

Aside from the bikes, music, food and beverages (as if you really need more), there will be a Pinup girl contest http://motoblot.com/missmotoblot/ to crown Miss Motoblot.

The motorcycle show and contest will be noon to 5PM on Saturday and you can be sure to see us there! Maybe we’ll enter a bike in the Bike and Car show held from noon to 5PM on Saturday. (http://motoblot.com/motor-and-car-show),

Below are the categories for the show and we suspect the quality of rides will be as phenomenal this year as they were last year!

Fire up the Café Racer, Bobber or otherwise and head over!  Rock on!

Overall Facebook event page here:  https://www.facebook.com/motoblot/