Well established as the premier custom bike event in Southern California, the Los Angeles Calendar Motorcycle Show presented by Performance Machine made its seventeenth appearance this past weekend at the Queen Mary Park in the Long Beach Marina.

Showcasing some of the most trendsetting builders in the custom bike scene and doing it in a major metropolitan area like Los Angeles is a brilliant way to give the general public an inside look at the fascination that exists in the world of motorcycling today. And with aftermarket vendors exhibiting off-the-shelf customizing products that are readily available, it also drives home the message of how easy it is for anyone to put together a smart looking bike with a custom look.

One custom builder who has successfully combined the creativity of building some of the most cutting edge choppers with the business savvy of then translating those designs into products ready for sale is Performance Machine protégé, Roland Sands. Vance & Hines has partnered with Roland Sands Design to build the RSD Tracker 2-into-1 exhaust for Softails, a stylish retrospective of a high exit flat track exhaust, coated in black ceramic with perforated chrome heat shields. With the enthusiastic reception this Softail exhaust has received, there’s sure to be applications for other models in the near future.

Another perennial favorite that is the benchmark for aftermarket exhaust with show custom appeal is Vance & Hines Big Radius. Recently released for both late and earlier model Touring bikes, Big Radius also made its debut in Black for late model Dynas at the Calendar Show. With black ceramic heat shields and signature chrome end treatment, it makes for a menacing look on a denim colored Street Bob or Fat Bob.

The big one is coming. In just two weeks time, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will be kicking off all across the Black Hills of South Dakota. And this year for the first time, Vance & Hines will be exhibiting with two Show Trucks; one at Black Hills Harley-Davidson in Rapid City and another at J&P Cycles in downtown Sturgis. Purchase and installation of Vance & Hines exhaust, air intake and Fuelpak will be available both through Black Hills Harley and J&P Cycles. The rally begins on July 30 and runs through August 9.