Every month I post links to the most recent research into motorcycle culture, subcultures, clothing and identity, along with the biggest events in the motorcycling calendar. Here’s what caught my eye this month.
A bōsōzoku exhibition in Tokyo
A museum-quality show on Japan’s bōsōzoku culture ran at Kitasenju Marui until 10 May, curated by the founder of Champ Road magazine. The interest for me is the material culture: over 300 items including modified school uniforms, the long and short churan and tanran jackets worn over bontan trousers, and embroidered tokkōfuku jackets, shown alongside a handful of the bikes themselves. It treats dress and machine as a single language of belonging rather than separate stories.
https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/dai-yankii-ten-bosozoku/
Bike Shed Moto Show 2026
The Bike Shed’s London show returned to Tobacco Dock on 22–24 May with more than 250 custom builds and three days of dry weather. Anthony “Dutch” van Someren frames the event as a way to bring the separate riding tribes into one room, and MCN’s write-up captures that mix of café racers, retro adventure bikes, choppers and street builds without sliding into a product round-up.
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2026/may/bike-shed-moto-show/
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride 2026
Now in its fifteenth year, the dapper charity ride took place on 17 May and set a record with 1,068 individual rides across 109 countries. Funds go to Movember for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health. Visordown’s recap covers the numbers and the Triumph partnership, and it’s a useful snapshot of how a dress-code ride became a global fixture.
https://www.visordown.com/news/triumph-supported-charity-ride-breaks-major-record-2026
That’s it for this month. If you’ve come across research I’ve missed, feel free to email me.