In its ninth year the One Moto Show (aka 1moto) offers something for everyone. The show celebrates the old, weird, rare, custom and unconventional in the motorcycle world from extreme forks, sleek drag racers, chopped scooters, and period correct restorations.

Unlike some shows, One Moto celebrates its diverse and inclusive nature where old-timers mingle with the young hipster crowd; and where multiple generations of a single family share in their combined passion.

The One Moto Show is the brainchild of the minds behind See See Motor Coffee. See See Motor combines the love of motorcycles with a coffee shop, retail space, custom motorcycle shop; and across the street, a KTM dealership. See See co-founder Thor Drake takes a curatorial eye that highlights the interesting and unique in motorcycle culture.

Well before Portlandia, there has been a running joke that everything in Portland is artisanal. Historically, Portland was somewhat culturally isolated even by Pacific Northwest standards. This helped foster a strong do it yourself, weirdo, aesthetic. The vendors at Moto One, though not all from the region, represent this culture. At One Moto you could find custom crafted seats from New Church Moto and handcrafted waxed tool rolls from the Red Clouds Collective to name just two great examples of the handcrafted nature.

The show’s many vendors catered more to the younger chopper enthusiast. However, for the most part, the vendors and entertainment never felt like there was a singular focus when it came to the motorcycles representation. The execution of the collected show pieces created a sense of wide inclusion.

Located in an over 100 year old, 60,00 square foot, former foundry in the industrial area of north Portland; over 180 of the top custom builders from North America crammed in so much to look at, that it could feel overwhelming at times.

With halls featuring chopped Harley Davidsons, Yamaha customs, off-road customs and restorations, and other curated sections of the show, One Moto manages to pull off a hybrid of the modern motorcycle show and museum level art show. This diversity, with an eye toward curation, is the power of One Moto – it is at times both inclusive, but with a refined sense of purpose.

The winter is a particularly slow time for motorcycle enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest, a time when people huddle in garages working on what they will bring out during spring. A show in February, particularly in this rain-drenched part of the country, requires a lot of cover from the potential rain. Fortunately this year, there was no rain, and there was plenty of cover from the unusually bright sun.

There is camaraderie to motorcycle enthusiasts; and though at times there is a great divide in tastes, events like One Moto tend to bring out the best examples of this. While sitting down for beer and lunch, chopper enthusiasts ate with café riders, drank with adventure bikers, and all shared in their own tall tales of triumph and tragedy. This community based approach has fostered real growth and exposure for the event over the years.

One Moto is a big show for the region, and growing, for those planning on attending in future years, I highly recommend purchasing tickets in advance to avoid very long waits in line to enter. But despite its size, it feels like a small hometown show, or perhaps several small shows occurring at one time.

One Moto has something for everyone, and despite any preconceived notions of what an event of this nature would be like in current day Portland, it succeeds through diversity and attention to detail.