Yuri’s reply to what inspired him to come up with this bike called Gustav Skippone (for no apparent reason) was, frankly, hilarious to me. “The customer’s money! Well, to be serious, I do like Old School bobbers and used to build them quite often, but this project made it possible to diverge from traditions and give myself more freedom,” said Yuri. “To be frank, in the process of building the bike, the design was constantly changing and Vladimir was not always aware of the changes. Why make him worry too often? The most important thing was that he was happy after he saw the final result.” 

For Vladimir’s bike, Yuri whipped up a Softail-style frame of his own manufacture with a reasonable 28-degree rake and a vintage look the way the twin downtubes curve under the engine before heading aft while the top tube goes who knows where under the fuel tank. The twin rear shocks lay outside the frame hiding in plain sight much like what a Softail designed in the ‘30s might do. The thought of hiding things you might have to work on was an untested theory back then. Up front sits a Harley WLA-type springer that Yuri felt was “the most appropriate fork for this bike” and if that was a Jeopardy answer, you’d have to say, “What is a Harley WLA fork?” Yuri changed this around a bit and commented, “The result seems to be not bad.” Not bad at all Yuri.

In one stroke, Yuri made a huge style-point with 16” rims laced to a couple of massive drum brakes of his own manufacture. Who, other than Yuri, makes their own drum brakes? “In my opinion, they perfectly match the overall design and have that ‘mechanical beauty.’ I can’t agree with the prejudice about drum brakes being outdated and inefficient,” said Yuri. “Drums for a bike like Gustav Skippone, if they’re of high quality and they are, fit the best ― by both design and performance characteristics.” Tall Continental K112 tires with their distinctive tread polish off the period look.

A good old ‘merican 107” S&S engine and a BAKER 6-speed tranny driven by a BDL belt drive is a belting combo that makes mincemeat out of Russian Ladas and GAZs in the Moscow traffic where Vladimir tools around. Yuri’s bundle-of- snakes pipes look cool while alerting everyone in Red Square Vladimir is out and about. Oil is kept in the top tube that sits under the wacky-but-way-cool dual fuel tanks Yuri concocted with its “peculiar silhouette.”  I was kinda put off by them at first, but they grew on me quickly until I couldn’t see them any other way while details like the fuel gauge on the side are both smart and cool. Check out his sprung seat for similar delicate touches or his sweeping handlebars and headlight detailing. Making this all quietly, but strikingly stand out is Yuri’s monochrome ivory paintjob with a touch of pinstriping.

Most important to me is how does it ride? “It rides very well. Vladimir wanted a bike for everyday use, generally in Moscow, so he got the bike exactly as he wished. The bike is easy to control and quite comfortable,” said Yuri. “Creating this bike, I tried to express my vision of a city bobber with rowdy character and at the same time not so much an Old School-look. It’s clear it was built at present, not a half-century ago.”