Jesse James working on custom chopper for Airstream
click above to see more images of Radial Hell
If somebody told us that a custom chopper was being built for Airstream, we would have assumed that the Orange County Chopper boys were behind it. Not so, it seems. According to the press release pasted after the jump, Jesse James of West Coast Choppers fame and his crew are hammering, riveting and welding together thin sheets of aluminum to construct a custom motorcycle and sidecar combo that will debut at the 2008 Legend of the Motorcycle show on May 3rd. This is the second time that James has released a new bike at the show, the first being back in '06 with his Radial Hell bike (shown above) that is powered by a Rotec 7-cylinder radial engine normally reserved for powering aircraft. We're always up for a new take on motorcycle design, and the idea of strapping the Monster bike to an old Airstream trailer has us wondering just what Jesse's bike will look like.
[Source: Legend of the Motorcycle]
Gallery: Radial Hell
PRESS RELEASE:
San Francisco, 28 January 2008 - World-renowned custom bike builder Jesse James has announced that his newest creation, a glistening aluminum-clad motorcycle and sidecar combo for client Airstream will make its first public debut at the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours on May 3rd.
As reported recently in Forbes* magazine, "James and his welders machined, riveted and hammered 18-gauge steel and razor-thin aluminum into a space-age-looking vehicle, applying some of the same construction methods Airstream uses in its shiny luxury trailers." The result is "One of the most elaborate masterpieces James' shop has ever produced."
This is not the first time the West Coast Choppers founder, "Monster Garage" host, and Baja 1000 competitor has chosen to unveil a bike at Legend of the Motorcycle. At the inaugural Concours in 2006, James debuted his Radial Hell aero bike powered by a 7-cylinder Rotec radial aircraft engine. The response from attendees was awe.
Other legendary custom builders displaying bikes at this year's Legend of the Motorcycle include Japanese minimalist master Shinya Kimura, Choppers Inc. founder Billy Lane, and Brooklyn's Paul Cox. Last year Cox and partner Keino, in addition to displaying two bikes by late friend, business partner and legend Indian Larry, debuted When Push Comes to Shove - a bike the pair built for client Brad Pitt - whose intricate and painstakingly detailed metal engraving was something typically only seen on handmade European shotguns. All three builders plan to unveil something new at the May event as well.
The third annual Legend of the Motorcycle, including the Bonhams & Butterfields auction of motorcycles from the Mike Corbin Collection, takes place the first weekend in May, Saturday the 3rd, on the lawns of the ocean-side Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California, just south of San Francisco. Tickets can be purchased, and additional information can be found, on the official website: http://LegendoftheMotorcycle.com
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
why not the LS2/LS7? 2:47PM (2/04/2008)
The OCC guys are mostly good at ordering parts out of a catalog and screwing them together. If you're going to put a radial engine on a bike, you're gonna need a fair bit of actual custom work, and Jesse knows that a lot better than OCC.
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neok182 2:52PM (2/04/2008)
in the past when they first started i'd say you were right. they did order everything from other places. thats what they did. they assembled the bikes. Go watch the latest shows. the make just about everything there. frames, wheels, tanks, fenders, almost all the custom work is done in-house now.
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Daniel Cote 2:52PM (2/04/2008)
Well, whatever it is, it will be totally cool. As much as I enjoy the family shtick from the boys at OCC, their work just isn't the kind of stuff I'd want to ride. (As if I could afford it.)
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Gardiner Westbound 3:10PM (2/04/2008)
I can't figure out what Sandra Bullock, who is apparently sane, sees in Jesse James.
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sk 3:18PM (2/04/2008)
How do your ride that bike? virtually no clearance at the lower cylinder.
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BLS 3:27PM (2/04/2008)
I just can't beleive it doesn't have seven spoke wheels.
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mk 4:05PM (2/04/2008)
Actually, Jesse James, from what interviews I've seen, isn't a schmuck.
He knows hard work, he doesn't seem to tolerate BS, even when working on something frivolous, and seems to have a bit of ground-floor business sense.
He just happens to look, and possibly spend his spare time as a bit of a hooligan on wheels. That is a matter of prerogative.
Sandra Bullock is not bad at acting, or to look at, and is genuinely funny; but occaisionally she wears politics on her sleeve in her hollywood roles, which some folks might find ever so slightly off-putting when trying to enjoy a show.
I've always wondered what the dynamic of their relationship is like. It always seemed to me like an odd couple, but sometimes those work much better than the match-made-in-hollywood, agent-managed PR relationships, with shelf-lives measured with a stopwatch.
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John 5:09PM (2/04/2008)
I agree. Jesse is rough looking on the exterior but he knows how to run a business.
As far as his old lady, I completely tune out when anyone from hollywood starts talking politics. Just because they have had some face time in movies doesn't mean they know crap about the issues of this country. Most of them live in their little bubble of the rich and famous and are just as out of touch with the problems with this country as the career politicians they complain about.
AL 4:37PM (2/04/2008)
It probably has an air suspension that is lowered when it parks. They are very common in the custom bike industry.
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John 5:02PM (2/04/2008)
I wish there was another Motorcycle Mania special or some other show with Jesse. The buffoonary of the OCC crew has reached the tipping point. No wonder Vinnie left.
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Peter Reynolds 7:09PM (2/04/2008)
http://crunch22.blogspot.com/2007/05/radial-engined-motorcyles.html
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Joe 5:43PM (2/04/2008)
This is pretty cool to look at, but when you go to hit the gas hard, you are going to die. On a normal bike, the torque makes your wheelie. On this bike all that torque is going to lay it down in a hurry. And then you die.
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