Downtown Los Angeles’ new Bike Shed Moto Co. might just be the coolest motorcycle lifestyle space ever created…
On first approaching the new Bike Shed Moto Co. in Downtown Los Angeles USA on a crisp winter afternoon, we’re not entirely sure what to expect. Certainly not the hive of activity and commotion – the parking lot outside rumbling with twowheeled creations from standard-issue, stock Yamaha YZFs to severely moddedout BMWs and Norton Commandos. Through the front doors inside the brick-walled warehouse, there’s a 20-something hipster with a Nikon DSLR attached to his laptop attentively editing video footage in one corner.
Next to him a young woman who appears plucked straight from a MAXIM photoshoot noshes on a plate of baby back ribs plump with meat. Below on the patio by the open garage bay, a young group of about a dozen professionals enjoy a festive holiday lunch.
Inside there’s a brass-top cocktail bar lined with expensive spirits, and a barber shop buzzing just beyond with several customers getting trimmed. There’s also a tattoo shop next door.
“You don’t have to be a member or a bike rider to enjoy the Bike Shed, but we do have membership at the heart of us,” explains Vikki van Someren, cofounder along with her husband Dutch of this already illustrious club. “And it’s really the heart and soul of what we are, and why we created this space.” “The overall picture is really about having a member’s club where you don’t have to be a member, and a motorcycle destination where you don’t have to arrive on a motorcycle,” adds Dutch.
The entire Bike Shed project started in London with a 12,000-sq.-ft. railway-arch space in Shoreditch. And now they’ve opened up their second location, here in Los Angeles’ trendy Arts District, a sprawling 30,000-sq.-ft. former warehouse with an identical level style and curation.
Their shop features a plethora of stylish jackets, protective denim and riding gear from their own BSMC brand, and others. They are the official west coast dealers of Belstaff, makers of stylish waxed motorcycle jackets, and of British watchmaker Bremont. Custom Super73 e-bikes and Royal Enfields substitute for sculptures on display.
“We’re on a mission to bring new people into moto culture, make it accessible and preserve it when the world is trying to tell you, ‘You can’t do that anymore.’ But we’re, like, ‘No, we need to keep hold of this,’” shares Vikki as we walk the aisles of the beautifully-styled retail space. “It’s that feeling of feeling at home, you just don’t feel like anybody’s exploiting you. It doesn’t feel like you want to leave.”
By Nicolas Stecher
Photos Courtesy Of The Bike Shed Moto Co
