The Bike Shed MC

[A100man]

As mentioned I was passing close to The BSMC yesterday so I thought I'd put my head through the door and give the place the once over..

From a marketing perspective it's a job well done. However the moment you step through the door you get a strong impression that this principally a hipster coffee shop - albeit a bike themed one.
On a fairly miserable day about 3:30pm it was quite busy. Not bursting but much busier than some other places I'd visited earlier (yeah OK pubs).
Chi-chi couples and earnest young folk with their heads buried in their MacBooks while their skinny lattes went cold was the main demographic.
Only two 'bikers' identified by their helmets on the table (crash helmets ) could be seen but I heard a couple of bikes come in - they were loud and appeared to have brown seats..
two more came in as I hung about outside - L plated 125s

There's a couple of place to by 'gear' one is T-shirts and 'merch' the other has helmets, BSMC brand jeans (a snip at 150 quid) and some other garb including Merlin brand jackets..
IIRC a Merlin Expedition was priced at 380 quid which I think compares favourably with the Sportsbikeshop price of 264
Inexplicably there's also a barbers under the roof. presumably where you can get your top-knot arranged or beard oiled.

I think I also counted three RE- Continentals decorating the place in various degrees of 'customisation' so maybe there have sponsorship deal going on.
There was also a couple of 'retro Triumphs in one of the arches which was otherwise largely empty on my visit.

Dd I buy anything? Not a chance. However if you have a penchant for sourdough toast and feel like coughing up 12 quid for breakfast then fill your boots - although if you want a mug of tea with that (which of course you do) its an extra 2.25..

Would I go again? unlikely however if the unlikely circumstance arose where a lady of my acquaintance declared an interest and it was apparent that a visit for some sourdough toast would be the key to legover then possibly..

So in summary a faux biker club for sham bikers - professionally executed but not my cup of tea.
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[rpsmith79]

I did not realise it was an MC (thought was it simply a cafe), just had a look on their website, and they are looking to open an LA chapter, with an anual membership fee of $1500
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Current Bike: Honda CG125 ES4 // Honda CB600FS Hornet // Triumph Street Triple R

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[A100man]

[WD Forte]

BS-MC.

Says it all really
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bikers smell of wee

[Nobby the Bastard]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[Ste]

Do you have balloons?

[Nobby the Bastard]

[A100man]

[WD Forte]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[Copycat73]

[hellkat]

They're not that sort of MC, doh!

I had a proper laugh when they first showed up, imagining all those anxious little 1% radars twitching up in Hackney ... who the hell is *this* on our turf?

They were originally part-owned by the second richest guy in Scotland (actually quite a nice chap for a mega-rich bastard, LOL), although I don't know whether that's changed now.

Most of my lowlife chums locally have been there and complained bitterly about the price of a bacon sandwich and a coffee, but that just goes to show that it's more for the type who are Not Our Type, Dear.

I quite like it there. Probably exactly because of that, keeps the riffraff down to a minimum (except me, obvs, with my leaking-oil sportster ).

Yes, it does cost an arm and a leg for a burger and a coffee, but its a different clientele than, for example, the Ace Caff or any of the trad bikery type of food places. A better class of scumbag, basically.

The LA branch is not a chapter/charter/whatevs. I'm certain its simply to catch the Hollywood audience who have bikes and want to pose about. They've got a number of major cities on their Project List. I asked the boss (whose nickname is Dutch something-something) about Sydney and he reassured me that it was on their "to-do" list.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.