Welcome to Motorcycling Fun, Milwaukee-Style

If you’ve ever wondered where you’d blend right in with a face tattoo and a cane, the answer is the annual Mama Tried Motorcycle Show in Milwaukee. Every year, malcontents, misfits, and practitioners of engineering mayhem descend on Cream City to celebrate amazing builds and questionable decisions. Like any art form, building motorcycles is basically theme and variation. Some build types are timeless and bring pleasure in repetition. Others exist because someone just invented them. Each brings its own charm and wonder.

As much as it’s about hard work, ingenuity, and STEM disciplines, Mama Tried also celebrates the motorcycle community. Without people, motorcycles would just be objects. We come to look at the bikes, but also to understand what the bikes say about us. What we love, what we hate, who gets the bird, and who gets a bearhug. Even the vendors are there partly out of love. Very few people get rich from their love of motorcycles.

As usual, Flat Out Friday brought out the GOAT and goofball in equal measure. Although no prize money was at stake, competition was fierce. To the naked eye, this year’s Dr Pepper syrup-prepared track seemed stickier than usual. Lean angles seemed a few degrees lower than usual. Or maybe riders just got better. Regardless, every winner gets a real postrace interview and time on the same Jumbotron the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks use. Last year’s winner in the Boonie Main/A class explained how he got taken out of the race in the first turn by another rider with sharp elbows. “What a jerk,” I said. “Nah. Smart move,” he replied.

Traditional, minimalist choppers ruled the day at this year’s show. Sure, plenty of chrome polish and carnauba wax got used. But patina and period-correct imperfections held the day. Most notable bike entry? A 1971 Honda CL350 which spent the last 40 years submerged in Lake Michigan. Launched off a cliff in the early ‘80s by an irate owner, it was salvaged in mid-2020 and put on a pedestal as is. Lake Michigan isn’t made of saltwater but looking at the bike, you wonder. Fun fact: Plastics made in the ‘70s hold up extremely well in cold water. Anything made of metal, not so much.

Other highlights? A two-stroke liquid-cooled Yamaha Banshee motor expertly stuffed into a Suzuki GS500 frame. A Harley-Davidson Gasser with a trick combination Knucklehead/Panhead top end. And another Harley-Davidson, this one an unnamed 1946 named “Skeletor” featuring a bas-relief skull-themed tank. A 1950 Matchless G50 thumper was reborn as a chopper named “Lien Sale.” The list goes on and on.

Life among the vendors was tough but profitable. Attendance seemed up, judging by the lack of elbow room and personal space. T-shirts, “fashion” apparel, and custom parts always make up the bulk of things with (of course) Harley-Davidson’s prominent presence on the ballroom floor. But Milwaukee’s got another venerable brand that deserves mention: Royal Enfield. Anybody that makes their North American headquarters in Milwaukee deserves a cold one. RE brought a host of art and/or performance builds to its booth, including an endurance desert racer to the party.

Beer prices remained ludicrously high, while bathroom lighting was close to nonexistent. Pro tip: Bring a flashlight when nature calls. In fairness, The Rave/Eagles Club is usually home to Milwaukee Metal Fest and other rock shows, so darkness is part of the charm.

The Mama Tried Show isn’t for everyone. But you’re not everyone, right? Grab a $13 beer, strike up a convo with someone next to a bike, and try not to take anything too seriously. Check out the weekend’s fun as seen through the lens of the talented Motorcyclist contributor, Cathy Drexler.