Glory Daze 2023

Pittsburgh’s vintage and custom bike show returned for another glorious round of motorcycles and a groovy good time on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Our team at Pittsburgh Moto packed the powerhouse building with the highest number of invited bikes we’ve ever had inside the invitational section of the event. There was some light rain throughout the day, but that didn’t stop the two-wheel crowd from rolling in early and filling the courtyard with interesting bikes.

For those who might be new to Glory Daze, the event has taken place at the Carrie Blast Furnaces since the first round in September 2019. The national historic landmark is famous for its pre-World War II iron-making technology, giving a gritty backdrop that represents the resilience of the city and its industrial past. The three sections of the show include the outdoor vending and swap area, the inner bike-only courtyard, and the indoor invitational, where builders from throughout North America are invited to show off their hand-built choppers, restorations, cafe racers, and more. Some of the bikes this year included the inertia starter panhead built by Sean Jackson of Competition Distributing, the retro scrambler + tracker Honda XR combo by Spencer Parr, a 1947 knucklehead survivor chopper from Bobby Good Times, a couple of historic Harley-Davidson racers from Tom Banks, a wild Yamaha RD350 built by Philadelphia’s Panzer Bros, and many more incredible bikes from builders both seasoned and new.

We were fortunate to have another round of custom-painted Trippy Ten helmets from top artists in the motorsports industry. Even better, most of this year’s T10 selected painters showed up for the event. Jessie Madera and Mike Montanez were set up inside doing live painting and pin striping, while Anthony DiLiberto had a booth right outside of the entrance doing custom painted signs. Event sponsor Bell Helmets kept things consistent by providing each painter a classic Moto-3 to get creative with. One of the lids even glowed in the dark! Make sure to check out our separate Trippy Ten feature for more on each helmet featured in the show.

This year's after party took place on Saturday night at Diamond Beach near Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood with live music from local bands Astrology Now, World 2, and Morbid Cross.

Special thanks to the attendees, our team, invited builders, presenting partner Iron City Beer, and event sponsors Bell Helmets, ServiceMaster Restore, Lowbrow Customs, American Muscle Docks & Fabrication, Lost Souls Customz, Gnarly Magazine, and ChopCult. I think it goes without saying, but the show wouldn’t be what it is without all of the support.

Planning for the 2024 Glory Daze motorcycle show is already underway, so get your bikes together and follow along on our website and social pages for an announcement soon. In the meantime, be sure to check out the new videos and builder spotlights from this year's event. We'll be sharing new content throughout the coming months. See yinz again next September!

- Kurt Diserio, event organizer