Perhaps you caught that tidbit about this being a production bike and it actually is. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t just a far-out one-off, but it’s slated to be reproduced in numbers up to 250 if things go right. The basic design was worked out completely on paper and computers before a cutting machine or any welding ever began to take place. Sergio’s innovative aluminum...

Click here for more photos Norley Story and photos by Rodent If Eric Buell had built something like Pete Ridet’s Buell, the Marquee might still be alive today. Sometimes the corporate structure doesn’t allow for much innovation. You can see the cafe racer heritage in this magnificent creation; it seems that everyone is getting on the...

Click here for more photos 2010 Kiwi Indian Factory Board Tracker Story by Wendy ManningPhotos by H.Roesler and F. Sander It was 1978 when Mike “Kiwi” Tomas, owner of Kiwi Indian Motorcycle Company in Riverside, California, found his first Indian 741 rotting away into a desparaging state of decrepitude in a forgotten barn in his native New...

Click here for more photos 1982 Sportster Ironhead by DP Custom Cycles Story by Wendy ManningPhotos by Jed Strahm Brothers Justin and Jarrod Del Prado, owners of DP Custom Cycles in New River, Arizona, took this 1982 Harley-Davidson Sportster Ironhead to the next level by channeling the classic days of Le Mans racing. Of the Le’ Mans Bobber...

  Armed with a giant piece of cardboard, Greg drew a full-size rendition of the bike he had in mind. “We’ve got the CAD/CAM [computer software for 3-D designing] but it’s actually faster to visualize it full-scale,” he said. Comfort was important in this build, so Greg lengthened the stock aluminum swingarm by two inches to give himself the wriggle room for mounting a single shock...

A perfect example of simple-done-right is Satya Kraus’ Snatch. bike. It may not strike you as an outrageous design until you look over any, yes any, part or piece of this bike and realize absolutely nothing is superfluous, every beautiful piece has a purpose, and everything combines to make a fun-to-ride motorcycle. “That’s a big thing to us, that’s pretty much our whole philosophy...

  The only thing comfortably familiar is Rafik’s choice of donor bike, a Buell XB 1200 series that would probably still be the donor bike of choice in a parallel universe. Good power, reliability, and a tidy unit-construction engine/trans makes it a perfect affordable choice for building a light (400 lbs), fast, and good handling compact ride. “I buy wrecked bikes and keep the...

  Looking at how well Fred packaged a big American V-twin in a sporty-style of bike and not having it look cartoonish like some others end up is worthy of Harley and Buell taking a gander at how it could and should be done. “Proto Slug is a mixture of different influences of what I like in motorcycles. I didn’t want to do something overdone, just a rideable and fast bike that looks...

When I asked Todd if he thought he’d still turn a profit on Olive given the current economic climate, he confidently replied, “Hell no! I basically plan on if I get my money back out of it I’ll be OK. A lot of times when we’re building a bike we come up with new products and new ideas. I wanted to do a new project that reflected what we’re doing here for promotion purposes.”...

  The nicest part about this bike to me is that it’s made to handle the twisty roads with bump-strewn surfaces that states with winter climates like Massachusetts have. This is not designed to be a queen of shock only meant to slowly amble down to the nearest watering hole and parked. “I think a lot of builders lost their way with these big tire things and front ends out three...