A look back at Classic Bike Fest 2023

The UK's newest Classic Motorcycle Festival “Classic Bike Fest” made its debut at Lukas Distribution in Coventry back in October 2023 and, being BSA’s sole UK distributor, Lukas Distribution centered the event around this classic British brand that has been brought back to life in all its glory.

The event was perfect timing due to the Gold Star winning the 2023 MCN Retro Bike of the Year!

Classic Bike Fest had a rounded offering for any classic motorcycle enthusiast, including live music, a stunt spectacle from legendary stunt rider Lee Bowers, good food and drink, bike exhibits, a classic bike competition and demo rides. The BSA Owners Club also attended, bringing an array of classic BSA motorcycles with them.

For the competition, visitors were invited to showcase their original, modified, or restored motorcycles for a chance to win cash prizes, and racing legend (and a good friend of ours), Steve Parrish, was the special guest on hand to judge and present the prizes.

We were delighted to be asked to manage the demo rides, giving prospective customers and those who are just curious, an opportunity to ride the new BSA Gold Star.

There were 15 demo bikes available. We’d pre-planned the riding route, allowing time for a health & safety briefing, bike turnaround and refuelling, and to allow for any fine tuning of the route or timings – constant analysis of what’s working and what isn’t working, and having the ability to adjust quickly is a key factor in making these sorts of experiences run smoothly and efficiently.

Test rides took place every hour on the hour, throughout the whole day. The demo rides proved to be very popular, with many time slots fully booked. We even had some walk-ups who hadn’t pre-booked but were keen to have go and take the bike for a spin.

We provided a Welcome Host to check people in and ensure they had the correct documentation, as well as a lead and tail rider to guide and take care of the groups during their ride. Our lead and tail riders are chosen by us for their experience in motorcycle instructing, as well as having a very friendly and approachable manner, and with safety being at the forefront of everything they do.

The reaction we got from those who took part in the test rides was hugely positive. Feedback included the incredibly smooth gearbox and the retro styling staying true to the original Gold Star.

There were lots of smiling faces as they returned and lots of people were very keen to continue the conversation with our team, making the whole day fun and engaging. It’s great when likeminded people come together!

The Lukas Distribution team did a great job and delivered a fantastic event.

All photography: Samm Joey

Photo: Lee Bowers stunt ride show

Photo: Lee Bowers stunt ride show

Photo: Our lead rider taking a group out for a demo ride

Photo: Steve Parrish, host and judge for the classic bike competition

Photo: One of the competition winners with owner of Lukas Distribution, Luke Gregory, and Steve Parrish

"We hired Woodcote Events to manage 150 booked rides over the course of a 10 hour period using a brand new insurance system & very little pre-warning.

They visited prior to the event, planned the route & had everything ready for the day. Jo overcame every obstacle with our tricky booking in system & kept the riders very happy.

We'll definitely be using Woodcote Events again for any riding events we do in the future. Thanks guys!"

Josh Stephen, Senior Marketing Executive.