Looking at production bikes, you could be forgiven for thinking there's not much real innovation going on in the motorcycle world. And when you see the bizarre and creative and wonderful things custom builders are doing ... well, you get a sense for why manufacturers tend to play it safe.

The Intermot motorcycle expo in Cologne, Germany, showcased just about every production motorcycle on the planet, and was a fascinating overview of the industry as a whole. But deep in the bowels of Hall 10, competitors were assembled for the 2018 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, sponsored by Avon tires. Judged by peer review – the competitors, as experts in custom building, judge the workmanship and creativity of each others' bikes for the final score – the AMD title is hotly contested and highly desired.

Row after row of hand-made and heavily modified bikes from all over the world (but principally Europe) sat there in dingy lighting, each telling a different twisted story to those with a keen enough eye to figure out what the builders were up to. We tried to grab shots of as many as we could, from the sublime to the ridiculous – and there were plenty of both.

Meet VisiOne, from Debenedetti & Fiordi Designers, out of Italy, who felt that the Buell XB12 wasn't weird or interesting enough on its own and struck out to create something "as futuristic as a jet." Jets have been around for quite some time, but it's hard to argue the team didn't hit its mark. Loz Blain/New Atlas

Take VisiOne above, from Italy, a Buell XB12 at heart, but surrounded by custom everything, including a flip-up panel on the tank for protection when you're riding through swarms of bees (or accessing the top end of the motor).

This diabolical contraption is the Ducati ZeroUno, from Gianni Pellegrino of Italy. Its diabolicism stems from the fact that it's all backwards; this bike is driven by the front wheel and steered by twin rear wheels via a series of linkages. Loz Blain/New Atlas

Or the profoundly scary Ducati ZeroUno, a shameless emergency room express with rigid front wheel drive and steering handled via long linkages back to a pair of rear wheels. Pure evil.

Dear lord, those proportions. That curved frame! Over the Top is an absolute beauty from Augustin Motorcycles in Germany, starting out with a Revtech modified 125 cubic inch Evo motor. Everything that looks like carbon fiber is, and everything that looks like gold is, too. The overall effect is absolutely gob-stopping. Loz Blain/New Atlas

One of the sauciest bikes on display in terms of pure looks was Over the Top, above, festooned with carbon fiber and 24-karat gold and utterly dazzling to the eye.

This bike is called KastoLom. The Russian company that built it is also called KastoLom. And while it doesn't look like much of a comfy tourer, you've got to admire the work that's gone into this thing. The motor is from a Yamaha XJR1300, the wheels are off a Harley V-Rod, and the rest is pretty much hand built. Loz Blain/New Atlas

And as a sheer visual punch in the face, it's hard to go past KastoLom, built by KastoLom out of Russia, which looks like something H.R. Giger's Alien might hoon about on if he was going through a punk phase and getting into piercings. Good grief!

Entries spanned the full spectrum of motorcycling, albeit canted toward the vintage. Do yourself a favor, jump into our AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building photo gallery and see them all!