The Moto Social – A Canadian Original

In the past few years, I’ve come to know and enjoy The Moto Social. The San Francisco chapter of The Moto Social enjoys a solid following from it’s season opener in April to our season closer in October. The premise is quite simple, listed on their website:

The Moto Social is a global motorcycle initiative dedicated to building community and connecting people. We’re a team of easy-going motorcycle enthusiasts based all around the world. We host free monthly social events to connect people in our local communities. Come hang with us! Everyone’s welcome. Everyone’s invited. Bike or no bike. Good vibes only. We’re all about people. Motorcycles are just the common thread.

The Moto Social

R encouraged me to go to my first Moto Social back in 2019. What I didn’t understand at the time was how deeply rooted The Moto Social was in the Canadian motorcycle scene. Started in May 2013 in Toronto, the organizers wanted to make the community feel smaller, more connected, and create a sense of home within the city. Since then, The Moto Social has expanded across Canada, the United States, and regions throughout the world.

This May, R was able to attend The Moto Social in San Francisco. He remarked how the vibe in San Francisco felt similar to the one in Vancouver – the San Francisco organizers did a better job finding a gathering place; I’ll take the win. I, in turn, wanted to go to The Moto Social in Canada to see and experience this Canadian experience inside of Canada with my own motorcycle, which brings us to tonight. I have my bike in Vancouver, on a Thursday night, when The Moto Social is in session. So, the two of us wandered through downtown Vancouver out to RiseUp! Bakery in East Van.

I instantly felt at home. The Moto Social Vancouver felt very similar to the event I know in San Francisco. In talking with the local organizers in San Francisco and meeting the local organizers here in Vancouver, it’s very apparent the national organizers in Toronto go to great lengths to choose the right leaders in local cities to build a similar vibe across the global movement. Tonight, the organizers also got the location right. There were plenty of places to park for about 200 bikes in all directions. I hastily chose the wrong parking space off to the side, so I couldn’t necessarily flaunt my California plates in vain 😂.

I’ve really come to love going to The Moto Social in San Francisco (link: The Moto Social at 15-35mm), and since going I’ve wanted to experience this Canadian motorcycle movement in Canada. That was the real joy of tonight, seeing The Moto Social on its home turf. I’m sure one day I’ll get to Moto Social Toronto. For tonight Vancouver is pretty awesome. The organizers got the location right!

At every Moto Social, there’s always bikes that standout to me. Vancouver didn’t disappoint.

The OMG this bike is beautiful award – a fully restored to better than mint condition BMW Boxer:

The can you be in my garage next? award goes to a Honda XRL 650 – tastefully done, blending the vintage history of this bike with a supermoto flair:

The let’s be chrome award goes to the Triumph Scrambler. We’re motorcycle riders, show us some metal!

The I want to make a statement goes to the Honda CRF 250 supermoto (is there a theme here) with the make marijuana illegal again hat… so much to unpack there