Autoblog

Fred Krugger's Veon is a deserving Custom Bike winner at Sturgis

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST

Click above for high-res image gallery of the top five bikes from the 2010 World Championship of Custom Bike Building

One particularly worthwhile criticism of the custom motorcycle scene in general is that builders often choose to make super expensive eye candy that's nearly impossible to ride and is therefore completely devoid of any real usefulness. American Chopper aside, thankfully we've been seeing a gradual shift away from blinged-out two-wheeled jewelry over the last few years, and this year's AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building offers some prime examples.

Most notable is winner Freddie 'Krugger' Bertrand, who is no stranger to the scene, having placed as high as third in the Championship in three separate years. His title-winning machine for 2010 is pretty spectacular - power from a liquid-cooled Harley-Davidson V-Rod engine means that it's fast, but it's the transforming frame that's truly exceptional.

With the flick of a switch, the bike can be changed from a cruiser (23.8-inch seat height, 30-degree rake, 4.7 inches of trail and 6.7 inches of ground clearance) to a sportbike of sorts (30.5-inch seat height, 23-degree rake, 3.1 inches of trail and 9.3 inches of clearance). There are two sets of foot controls that the rider can use, depending on which mode the bike is in.

Second place went to Thunderstruck Custom Bike's Sniper, which is a much more traditional-style long and low chopper powered by a highly customized Indian Power Plus engine. We're more interested in the third place bike, The Machine by Yuri Shif Custom. It's got an air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine made up of parts from a BMW R71 and a Russian K-750. Oh yeah, and a supercharger sitting up top.

Fourth place went to Garage 65's Kcosmodrive and fifth went to another bike we love called the Beezerker from Speed Shop Design. Check out all five machines in our high-res image gallery below and see the press release after the break.

Gallery: 2010 AMD Championship of Custom Bike Building Top 5

[Source: AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building]

Continue reading Fred Krugger's Veon is a deserving Custom Bike winner at Sturgis

Fred Krugger's Veon is a deserving Custom Bike winner at Sturgis originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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M-Org Chopper Concept is green, organic, hard to describe

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:36:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorcycle, Design/Style

M-Org Custom Motorcycle Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Honestly, we don't know what it means to have a "frame, suspension and steering grown from organic substances," but whatever it is, you can see it in the image above. Looks kinda cool, no? Designer Michael Smolyanov describes a process of using fluorine to "destruct the organics and process the carbon" of the frame, leaving a strong and lightweight structure. Whatever that means.

In any case, this concept motorcycle is supposed to be eco-friendly, though it's powered by what appears to be an air-cooled V-twin engine. Perhaps it would run on alcohol fuel? Looking over the design, the M-Org concept also appears to have some sort of mashup between a Cannondale Lefty and a BMW Telelever fork design.

Finally, the John Deer-esque color scheme is complemented by a saddle that you might expect to see on a very old and well-used tractor. Practical, or even possible? No, most likely not. But if you're gonna go way out there for a concept, might as well go all the way. See for yourself in our high-res image gallery below, and check out some more of Smolyanov's designs here.

Gallery: M-Org Custom Motorcycle

[Source: Cardesign.ru via Two Wheels Blog]

M-Org Chopper Concept is green, organic, hard to describe originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cook Custom Choppers wins AMD World Championship of Bike Building

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Motorcycle, Specialty

Cook Custom Choppers Rambler - Click above for high-res image gallery

Considering America's well-known love affair with custom motorcycles, you might think that the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building would be dominated by U.S.-based builders. Interestingly, though, this year marks the first time the top prize has been won by an American, in this case Dave Cook of Cook Custom Choppers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The winning bike is called Rambler, and it's definitely not the typical custom Harley. In fact, it's not even powered by a V-twin engine. Instead, an air-cooled 550cc four-cylinder engine from International sends power through a modified BMW gearbox and shaft drive to the 21-inch rear wheel. See for yourself in our gallery below.

Second place went to another non-Harley-based custom built by Kris Krome Customs of Freeland, Michigan. Called the Re-flex-tion, the machine is powered by the mill from a Triumph T120. Bronze went to Krugger Speedshop from Belgium for its S&S-powered Overmile. Hit the jump for the official press release and click here for a complete rundown of winners.

Gallery: 2009 AMD Championship Winners

[Source: AMD Championship]

Continue reading Cook Custom Choppers wins AMD World Championship of Bike Building

Cook Custom Choppers wins AMD World Championship of Bike Building originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lamarama: Actor Lorenzo Lamas launches new motorcycle company

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:59:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle, Celebrities, Design/Style

Lorenzo Lamas Cycles - Click above for image gallery

Lorenzo Lamas, everybody's favorite Bold and Beautiful Renegade from the 1990s, has announced a new motorcycle company named, imaginatively enough, Lorenzo Lamas Cycles. Just as Steven Tyler did when he decided to get into the custom motorcycle scene, Lamas contacted an established builder, in this case Ralph Randolph of Knockout Motorcycles, to actually engineer and assemble the machines.

So far, LLC has released four motorcycle renderings, two of which - the Reno Rocket and the Badlands Bomber - are slated for a public debut this week at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. All of LLC's machines seem to be based on production frames and will reportedly be equipped with Twin Cam engines from S&S and tires from Avon.

We're sure the timing of this announcement has nothing at all to do with the new E! reality series The Lamas Life, where Lorenzo will reportedly make amends with his son A.J. with whom he hasn't spoken in years. In any case, check out our gallery of the four LLC renderings below.

Gallery: Lorenzo Lamas Cycles

[Source: Lorenzo Lamas Cycles | Image: lorenzolamas.info]

Lamarama: Actor Lorenzo Lamas launches new motorcycle company originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Awesome-Ness custom bike exhibit to open in May

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Bugatti, Chevrolet, Misc. Auto Shows, Ferrari, Motorcycle

Click on the image to view three classic Arlen Ness customs

Arlen Ness, a legend to the custom bike community, started out by painting customer bikes on the weekends as he worked to deliver furniture during the week to pay the bills. Gradually, his skills and reputation transformed his small company into the parts-selling juggernaut that it is today. Along the way, Ness has created quite a few one-off creations, many of which are now considered to be classics. Some of them, like the '57 Chevy knock-off "Ness-talgia", twin-engined and twin-supercharged "Ferrari-bike" (above) and Bugatti-inspired "Smooth-Ness" recall iconic automotive designs of years past. According to Ness, those three bikes represent some of his personal favorites, and each of them, along with many others, will be on display at an upcoming exhibit at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio called Awesome-Ness. Interested in attending? The event will run from July 24 through the end of June 2009.

Gallery: Arlen Ness Motorcycles

[Source: Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum]

Awesome-Ness custom bike exhibit to open in May originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever ridden a Barley? How 'bout a Harley Busa?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorcycle

We've run across plenty of custom motorcycles in our time, and the goal of many of them is to combine the best features of both sportbikes and cruisers into one machine. The Suzuki Hayabusa is arguably the king of the sportbike, and there is no arguing that Harley-Davidson is the owner of both the custom and cruising crowns. We can imagine combining the two to make a laid-back, yet super-fast custom, but the thought of torturing yourself with the feet-back, forward-lean position forced by a sportbike with clip-ons, combined with the shaky, grunty lump of American V-Twin underneath had eluded us... that is, until we saw the Barley. We kind of like the name "Harley-Busa" better, but nobody asked us for our opinion. If they had, we might have questioned the wisdom of taking this particular route in the ongoing effort of making motorcycle bliss, but now that it's done, it's really not half bad. The original plans for this unholy union called for a turbo, and we think that its inclusion could only improve this machine.

If you want to replicate this offbeat creation, you can get the frame from Maximum Motorcycles, and soon, the body-work in carbon fiber from Tricky Air & Billet. If this doesn't strike you as a marriage worth consummating, though, might we suggest the alternate possibility of owning both a Hayabusa and a Harley? Just a thought.

[Source: Cyril Huze Blog]

Ever ridden a Barley? How 'bout a Harley Busa? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carroll Shelby gives two-wheel tuning a try

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:25:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

We love Carroll Shelby. You love Carroll Shelby. We all love Carroll Shelby. Repeat. We also love the cars that have the Shelby logo on them. Except, maybe a few of the Dodge products in the 80's. An Omni probably should never be called a Shelby. Anybody disagree? (Yes. I owned one. -Ed.)

Now, Shelby is getting in on the motorcycle craze. I happen to be a rider myself, and I can appreciate most every motorcycle on the market for one reason or another. This one, however, we have to dismiss. Would you put a Shelby logo on a lowrider Cadillac Fleetwood, even if it had a really big engine? No. And neither should it be applied to this low-riding, ill handling custom bike. Just because it has a big, powerful V-Twin engine nestled tightly between it's downtubes doesn't mean it has performance credentials. Think back -- what did Shelby build his reputation on? Winning races, right? Would you take this bike to a track day and challenge the GSXR's and Ninja's in the corners? Neither would we, which is why this is not a real Shelby.

[Source: Gizmag]

Carroll Shelby gives two-wheel tuning a try originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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