The Multiplex Motorcycle Show - Taking Over Tokyo

The Multiplex Motorcycle Show is a large-scale event in Odaiba-adjacent to the Tokyo Harbor, which has brought even more Western culture to the country. The backdrop for the venue looks like Gotham City with architecture straight out of a comic book.

On the schedule alongside the stunt show was supermoto, minibike and drag racing, freestyle motocross demos, custom sportbike and scooter shows, concerts, vendors and loads of chaos-but all controlled and very entertaining.

The stunt and show portion of the second annual Multiplex Motorcycle Show was organized and hosted by Japan's new Performance Bike magazine (the Super Streetbike of Japan) and focuses on American-style music, custom bikes and stunt riding.

American influence could be found everywhere at the show, but particularly amusing was watching several 1964 Impala lo-los hopping on hydraulics with Japanese drivers screaming "WESSST SIIIIDE!" It definitely felt more like East Los Angeles than downtown Tokyo.

A local metal band showed up to add their take on all things Western, and most notable was the performance by a Pennywise tribute band-but with all the lyrics in Japanese. They had the go-go dancers shaking their butts as if they were in the hottest club listening to the latest hits. It was a surreal experience to be so far away and yet so close to home.

The highlight and most anticipated part of the show was certainly the stunt exhibition that included U.S. stunt riders Jason Britton, Eric Hoenshell, Nick Brocha, Kane Friesen, Ernie Vigil and tandem riders Rhome and Rhandie. The Japanese fans are some of the most enthusiastic on the planet, and their screams began at the first wheelie and didn't cease until the smoke settled from the last burnout.

The custom sportbike show was an impressive mix of all the liter bikes and 'Busas we'd expect, but there were a few surprises too. American influence is the latest craze in Japan, and their bikes all show it. One ZX-14 looked like a rolling Roaring Toyz catalog with nearly every available accessory bolted on, but even more amazing were a fully customized Buell Firebolt and a Hayabusa-with a non-jackshaft 300mm swingarm.

The Multiplex amusement wasn't limited to the bikes and people, though. New apparel company Rush Deal made its debut, but jacket model names like "money shot" that perhaps got lost in translation left us scratching our heads.

Kris "DJGQ" Cottrell was also flown in to host the Friday pre-party at a club in Tokyo. Afterward, Performance Bike's editor Bucci organized a street ride through the city that finished up at a secluded bike night where hundreds of onlookers were treated to an impromptu stunt show by Britton, Friesen and Rhome and Rhandi. Then local military riders escorted the American crew to a spot to watch some true underground Tokyo drifting.

In a country with a different language, cars, architecture and style, somehow motorcyclists seem to share a common bond that surpasses any borders. No matter what part of the world, the love of two wheels and desire to personalize our machines are the same.