Like I said, I’m still reeling at the unbelievable amount of hand and machine work and the outside of the box thinking and imagination that went into this absolutely incredible build. If you haven’t watched the video that goes along with this story you are really missing out on a lot of the detail work that went into this. Yeah it’s a kinda long video but it’s worth every second of taking the time to see what went on behind the scene. If you have your brain is probably as stunned as mine is. 

   As you can obviously tell, Game Over’s Stanislaw Myzkowski, the idea man behind this build, didn’t just take something like a Dyna or a Softail and do it up with some fancy-schmancy fake tattoos and call it done. Not only was his idea ten years of gestation, but the solo bike took 3000 man-hours to build. This was a proper ground up build starting with not much more than an idea and an engine and going from there. The frame built from curved and drilled I-beam and round tubing like the rib cage over the saddle tanks was intended to resemble the human anatomy if the human anatomy was powered by a centrally-located Harley- Davidson V-twin engine. All the better to make forms that imitate tatted human beings, but Game Over Cycles wanted to make a far-out-as-you-can-get custom motorcycle that still perfectly functions on the road as well as startling show goers. They succeeded. 

   The fork is its own trip and is just one of the many, many examples of reimagining and rethinking what is considered necessary on a motorcycle as we know it. The level of detail work is almost incomprehensible to me when things like the shocks for this fork were wrapped in copper wire to resemble the coils in a tattoo machine. All the geometry behind making these forks work (in the videos they do just fine) is well beyond my pay grade so all you smart guys figure it out yourselves and the rest of us will just drink in the educated zaniness going on up front. If nothing else, it looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before and that’s a plus for me. 

   There’s nothing on this bike that looks immediately familiar even if it looks familiar. This bike called The Recidivist has a criminal theme behind it that comes out not only in those tattoos as far as the eye can see, but also in the extravagant bits like the machined handcuff brake calipers up front working on the spoked wheel that could have come off a 1957 Chrysler 300C. You can just look into that wheel and brake setup until you lose yourself in detail work. And, I’m pretty damn sure those are actually car tires we’re looking at too. Out back a matching wheel keeps things in aesthetic harmonious balance. Lots and lots of extreme touches to a bike that’s already extreme unto itself just with the leather and tattooing. I like the idea that in Poland nothing is too extreme. 

   The twin saddle tanks sitting just above the engine and under the spine top tube look more organ-like to me than a sleek, stylish fuel tank and that fits the bill perfectly. One side contains all the electrics and the other fuel while crazy-ass  crowbar shifter sticks up through it. Again, I’m just so amazed at this build because wherever you look there’s something incredibly insane and über cool going on. Everywhere. 

   The taillight mount is what Game Over says is a “knuckle buster” but I think they mean good old gangster brass knuckles in America-speak. The kick starter looks to be an old time dynamite demolition box and apparently works although I wonder what the kick back is like. Possibly like the real thing. The brake and clutch levers were made to resemble the always intimidating butterfly knives which originally came from the Philippines by the way, not Chicago or New York. I hope you checked out the moving tattoo needles exhaust in the video as it is one time I can use the word unique absolutely correctly. There’s nothing like it. 

 

   I’ll be right up front and say that if this motorcycle didn’t have a lick of leather or tattoos it would still be an absolutely kick-ass custom on its own. The metal work is superb and has hints of Steam Punk to it and I love Steam Punk just for its mechanical appreciation and beauty. The faux patina work is excellent and not trying to hard. But, that’s not the ultimate case here so it’s on to the unbelievable tattooing process. After carefully covering everything possible in leather including those unbelievably rad riveted leather “whitewalls” for want of a better description, Stanislaw called in two famous Polish tattoo artists, Krzysztof Krolak and Tomasz Lech, to work their magic. 

   The process is just like human tattooing, but the thicker cow’s leather called for a whole new approach to getting it done correctly. Trail and error along with a lot of new needles allowed them to figure out how to replicate a human tattoo perfectly. Then it was game on at Game Over and they spent a good 250 man hours transforming just the solo bike never mind the sidecar with its grand acreage. 

  The effect of all their work is simply beyond words. I mean, well, try and explain this bike to a friend and see if you can make them understand the gravity of what you’ve seen. A custom motorcycle company from Poland of all chopper famous places comes up with an idea never done before (and maybe not even thought of) and produces a creation that itself is a work of motorcycle art and then proceeds to literally tattoo the whole thing like it was human. And, it looks and rides like a decent motorcycle too. 

 If I was a custom builder in America or wherever, I’d feel like I just got creatively sucker punched by a bunch of Polish guys who are sure to be a force to contend with in the future. I only have one request, though, please don’t waste your time imitating this bike. It can’t be done better. Luckily you’ll get your chance to see it in person if you’re going to Sturgis this year as Game Over Cycles is making the 5,157 mile trip to display this bike which now has grown a sidecar too. Man, that’s a lot of leather and ink. 

For more info on Game Over Cycles please visit  http://gameovercycles.pl/en//.