You know what I’m talking about, Exile builds Exile bikes, Perewitz builds Perewitz bikes, Trotta builds Trotta bikes, etc. You can often tell a strong builder brand from across a street or in the fleeting image of a passing bike, but that doesn’t mean that’s the best or the most talented builder or not. That’s just the way some builders approach a pile of metal, rubber, and paint on their way to a finished product. George Stinsman, owner and head guru at Chaos Cycle in Mastic, New York, is not one of them.

 

   In case the names George Stinsman or Chaos Cycle is ringing a bell and you’re not sure why, well, we ran an article on another of Chaos bike a few days previous to this one and if you didn’t catch it, be sure to click here for the article. Go ahead, it’s worth it for the point I’m trying (badly) to make and don’t worry about me, I’ll be waiting here when you get back . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hey, you’re back, cool. Now you see what I’m talking about as this board track-inspired bike has about as much in common with that almost 12-foot-long ‘60s-style custom as I do with Donald Trump. In George’s case, that’s a good thing. In mine, well, that’s another story for another time.

 

   One thing that a casual person can gleam from looking at these two totally different rides is that George not afraid. Not afraid of building a bike that’s not in the comfort zone of the last or finding a whole new hallowed ground to shake up a little and then shake it up even more just for good measure. For instance, one’s got a timeless intricate killer paintjob and one’s got a paintjob that looks like it’s been killed with time. Swap ‘em from bike to bike and it’d be wrong on so many levels you’d find even the most uncaring motorcyclists searching for their torches so they could run you out of town or at the very least, politely ask you to leave.

 

   What George refers to as Model 33 is a boardtrack-style bike that looks like one of the best barn-finds ever. There’s just enough built-in patina to look right and not seem overdone or trying too hard. That’s a balance that many builders or painters try to achieve, but somehow you’re let down in a sea of make-believe rust or aggravated tarnish that just looks like recently abused metal. As soon as I saw it, all I could think was Flying Merkel and that’s not bad company to be in with. No it’s not a copy or an accusation of theft of style of any kind, it’s just got the same charisma sand presence as a nice survivor/barn-find Flying Merkel would have on me. Even the split rocker boxes that George loves doing on the Ironhead Sportster engine reminds me of the Flying Merkel’s top end external plumbing and that’s just one of those mechanical references that never goes out of style. Check out the rest of the engine and you can see nice use of raw metal, brass, and copper finishes juxtaposed with old timey satin black cylinders and heads. “Could be old/could be new, oh wait, it’s a Sportster engine” is the first impression.

 

   There’s a lot of nice use of pieces too like the finned aluminum beehive oil filter carefully notched out for exhaust pipe clearance and matching coil holder. Or, the delightful leather battery box that plugs in directly to the look of the seat. Speaking of the seat, the leather work looks to be done by somebody that just finished making an English riding saddle back in the early 1900s before they tried their hand at one of them motorcycle things. Hey, that’s my mental aside and I’m sticking to it even if that wasn’t George’s intention. There’s tons more wicked cool stuff too like the combo of reverse bar-end levers and natural rubber grips hovering over the Indian-style leaf-spring front end or the split-triple tanks for petroleum products with aged-but-not-dated Chaos Cycle graphics you couldn’t miss even if you left your old-guy reading glasses at home.

 

   All in all, Model 33 is a very neat ride that you’d never have to make excuses for, but you sure could probably make up a lot of heroic racing stories about this “old” bike that never happened. I’m not going to tell if you don’t and that’s what makes George’s bikes cool. They’re all fun to look at, dream about and even ride and fun is what motorcycles are all about whether they’re on the move or on the side stand. Obviously George takes his fun seriously, but he also has fun with it while he’s doing it. Hopefully we’re all here to have fun until Daddy takes the T-Bird away.

 

   For more information on George Stinsman and the whole Chaos crew, please punch up

http://www.chaoscycle.com/ and have some fun.