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

BEST CHOPPER • KEITH NEILL’S SHOVELHEAD CHOP, THE OVERALL WINNER OF THE BEST CHOPPER CLASS OF THIS YEAR’S BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS, IS ANOTHER OF THE BIKES THAT WAS, PRETTY MUCH, UNANIMOUSLY PICKED BY THIS YEAR’S JUDGES. I SAY PRETTY MUCH ‘COS ONE O’ THEM (NO NAMES, NO PACK DRILL… WHATEVER THE HELL THAT MEANS) PICKED ANOTHER BIKE BECAUSE THIS ONE COMMITS THE HEINOUS CRIME OF HAVING NO FRONT BRAKE.

BEST ENGINEERING • THE MOMENT I SAW THE PICTURE OF HIS HOMEMADE, COAL-POWERED STEAM BIKE THAT MARK ‘SANDY’ SANDERSON POSTED ONLINE IN ROUND SIX OF THE BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS, I WAS CERTAIN, ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN, I WAS LOOKING AT THE BIKE THAT WAS, EASILY, GOING TO WIN BEST ENGINEERING OVERALL, AND I WASN’T WRONG – SIX JUDGES, OUT OF SIX, VOTED FOR IT.

BEST CUSTOM • I’VE ALWAYS BUILT BIKES JUST FOR MYSELF, AND WASN’T EVER INTERESTED IN DOING ONE FOR OTHER FOLK (BECAUSE IT’S TIME-CONSUMING, AND MOST NON-BIKE BUILDERS DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT’S INVOLVED – THEY QUESTION ALL THE COSTS, AND’RE CONSTANTLY CHANGING THEIR MIND). IT’S EASIER TO BUILD A BIKE IN YOUR OWN TIME, AND TO YOUR OWN DESIGN, THEN IF YOU DECIDE TO SELL IT, THEY’RE BUYING THE FINISHED PRODUCT WITHOUT ALL THE HASSLE.

BEST NEW SKOOL • WHEN GRAEME MERCER WANTED TO DO HIS FIRST CUSTOM BUILD FOR HIS FLEDGLING CUSTOM SHOP, ROYALS SPEED SHOP, HIS FIRST DECISIONS WERE WHICH BIKE TO USE AS A BASE, AND WHAT STYLE BIKE IT SHOULD BE?

BEST PAINT • ANOTHER YEAR OF THE BEST PAINT CATEGORY IN THE BSH CUSTOM CHAMPS, AND ONCE AGAIN IT’S BEEN A REALLY DIFFICULT ONE TO JUDGE FOR OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS… ERR, JUDGES. THE STANDARD OF WORK ON THE SIX BIKES THAT WON THE ROUNDS WAS QUITE STUNNING, AND PERSONALLY I’M REALLY GLAD IT WASN’T ME WHO HAD TO PICK AN OVERALL WINNER.

BEST BUTCHERED CLASSIC • BUTCHERED CLASSIC IS, LIKE ‘RESTOMOD’, A TERM, BROADLY SPEAKING, THAT MANY OF US’D USE TO MEAN ‘STREETFIGHTER’. THE THING IS, THE WORLD’S MOVED ON SINCE THE DEMISE OF THE LATE, LAMENTED MAGAZINE OF THE SAME NAME (WELL, OKAY, SO STRICTLY SPEAKING IT WAS ‘STREETFIGHTERS’, AS IN PLURAL – IT’D’VE BEEN A VERY THIN MAGAZINE OTHERWISE…) IN 2013.

Christmas Gift Guide

STORMIN’ THE CASTLE • WELL, HERE WE ARE/WERE AT STORMIN’ THE CASTLE NUMBER 31. IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY I FIRST MADE THE PILGRIMAGE ACROSS THE BORDER TO STORMIN’ IN 1993 – WE’VE ALL PASSED A LOT OF WATER SINCE THEN, AND MANY’VE FALLEN BY THE WAYSIDE.

Christmas Gifts that last all year! • If you’re looking for gifts for your friends or family this Christmas, look no further! A magazine is the perfect pressie for loved ones (or yourself!) … and not only that, subscribe for one year and we’ll send you this terrific T-shirt.

SPREAD

BACK ISSUES • Whether it's recent releases or vintage copies, step back in time and browse through the ages with the BACK STREET HEROES back issue collection.

Win this helmet!

THE TRIP OUT • THE MERRY TRIPSTERS CAME FROM ALL CORNERS OF THIS SCEPTRED ISLE BY MOTORCYCLE, VAN AND HOT ROD TO PARTY TOGETHER BOUND BY THEIR COMMON LOVE OF CUSTOM CULTURE.

CAFÉ FRANCAIS • THIS PROJECT WAS DELAYED BY THE ARRIVAL OF COVID-19 – IT SHOULD’VE BEEN COMPLETED AND EXHIBITED AT THE MOTOR BIKE EXPO IN VERONA IN JANUARY 2020. IT’LL HOPEFULLY BE THERE IN 2023 – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

13CO FAIR • AFTER SEEING BOSUN’S WRITE-UP OF THE FIRST 13CO FAIR IN THE MAG’ LAST YEAR, AND ALL THE OLD-SCHOOL CHOPS THERE, I WAS DETERMINED TO GET THERE FOR THE 2022 EVENT.

SUZUKI GSX-S 1000 • WE’RE NOW FOUR MONTHS INTO THE LOAN OF THE GSX-S 1000 SUZUKI, THEIR MODERN VERSION OF A BIG, NON-RACE-REP, ‘NORMAL’, BIKE – THE 2022 TAKE, IF YOU LIKE, OF THE MASSIVE-SELLING, BUT NOW DEFUNCT, BANDIT.

MR...