I know jack squat about custom motorcycles. I have been learning lots about racing bikes through my work with the ECTA, but when it comes to custom stuff, I can’t usually tell good from bad, unless my own opinion is the litmus test. That being said, I believe that the bike below is good….damned good. It is not practical. It surely is not comfortable, and there are parts of it that are probably illegal in most parts of the world, but as a machine that makes noise and moves under its own power, I am not sure I have ever seen one better looking.
I got tipped off to the story on this motorcycle which was constructed by noted builder Hazan Motorworks. The company was formerly located in New York but relocated to LA and this bike was the first project that they turned out of their LA shop after a tight five week build window. The thing that appeals to me about this motorcycle is that there’s nowhere for the builder to “hide”. Every inch of this thing was thought out and executed perfectly and that can be said with authority because you can literally see all of it. Sure, it has one brake, and ergonomically it is a complete and utter disaster, but look at it! No gauges, a glass bottle oil tank, that lone brake, all the cables and wires hidden, a lone switch on the top of the headlamp to turn it on, super skinny tires, and a seat that could turn into a prostate exam at any moment. Yeah, this thing is perfect in every way.
I’ll never be a “motorcycle guy” because I just don’t have the passion for them like I do cars, but when something so beautiful and awesome crosses my path I feel it to be my civiv duty to share it with the world. What do you think? Sweet or too far off into the weirdness to be cool?
Thanks to Nate for the tip!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE LINK FOR THE FULL STORY ON THIS AMAZING CUSTOM MOTORCYCLE –
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Unridable. Perfection. Nice living room or den piece…
… you need to be introduced to Shinya Kimura’s bikes and his customers before passing judgement on what is and is not ridable . Off hand … though not comfortable this bike appears very ridable to me
Well, I’ve been riding since 1968, my last open class Ninja had 95,000 miles on it when it was four years old and I sold it. I’ve had a pro license and run funnybike for several years (year ago), and I’ve built and riden several choppers during my life.
How far would you want to ride this thing? That was my point, not that it was totally and completely unridable, but from a practical standpoint, it is unridable and useless other than as a wonderful piece of art. I guess if your idea of riding is to trailer it somewhere 1/2 mile away from some “hey, look at me” event its fine. But I like to RIDE.
So does Shinya and the majority of the folks who buy his bikes . Some folks willing to tolerate a bit more than others as well as in some cases trying to relive the M/C experience of the past . Would I now in my late 50’s . No way ! But hey …. theres folks that will … and do … so lets not over generalize here and settle on different strokes n’ rides for different folks
true motorcycle art–used to have a Triumph that had a little more stuff to make legal, about same ergonomics, rode it everywhere (was young and stupider), loved it, miss it, could not take the beating it gave me now—
Actually … when it comes to Max’s work … though every one is a winner … this is the least favorite of mine in the bunch . The really BangShift approved ones in my opinion being the Iron Heads [ both the finished one and the one in process ]
Here’s the link to a great interview/article on Max and his bikes
http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2014/07/25/interview-max-from-hazan-motorcycles.html#.U9P0Jyhy_zI
Gotta say this . The Kid’s seriously got something going . Here’s hoping he doesn’t become another InstaFamous-InstaBroke [ thevintagent.com article ] victim of the Internet Theater of Success