Attention motorcyclists, Xian Leather should adorn every builder’s work.
Everything the artist makes has the same fanatical attention to detail with masterful quality.
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Retro Chic
On the other side of muscle machines, one-of-a-kind rolling sculptures, and factory household names, there are bikes to be had that are not your typical fare. They’re inspired from the past, but brand new. If you’re not into slinging a wrench and don’t want the time lost and hassle of dealing with an older bike’s repairs, then consider one of these offerings that give you retro chic appeal with a factory warranty to boot.
Available this year is the groundbreaking Honda Fury. Groundbreakings because it’s from a company that you may least expect it from and it’s before anyone else. An EFI liquid-cooled 1312cc engine from the VTX1300 powers it.
Its flat track heritage is evident in the XR-750-like styling cues for this once European only standard. Is it a Sportster or new H-D naked? It has 30 percent higher horsepower than a standard 1200 Sportster.
H-D has taken one of our favorite bikes and made it perfect. That’s right, perfect. The design cues on this machine are where all motorcycles should be heading.
If you haven’t heard of Bimota, don’t be too hard on yourself. These Italian-made sportbikes are not your run-of-the-mill road machines. Each one is hand-made and individually tested.
The future is now, brother! The MANA 850 is a genuine glimpse into good things to come. Aprilia attempted to make a bike that was easy to ride and fun as hell. But the real innovation is in the tranny setup.
Like its big bad brother, the Nightster, this insouciant youngster is out to cause a ruckus. Debuting for 2009, it quickly become a hit with the critics and a hot seller. Just try and find one.
If you’re heading west on the LIE past William Floyd Parkway there’s a place that is a must stop for ALL motorcyclists not already in the know. The Maples is a true biker destination in every sense of the word.
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Chaos Cycle
Chaos can reap beautiful things
Located on Long Island is a builder that is making headway to becoming an international presence. George Stinsman of Chaos Cycle, a custom bike building shop he co-owns with his wife Dee, may seem like your typical builder. But ask anyone who has dismissed one of his creations on the first view and they’ll say the same thing, they kept coming back for more.
Most large motorcycle manufacturers have R&D departments. But as competition increases they are taking greater measures to ensure a fortified place at the head of the wild one pack. The English, known for their intellectual approach to problem solving, have upped the ante, as is evident in Triumph’s new Frankenstein monster of a bike, the Rocket III Roadster. This is a behind the scenes look at the “science” that goes into creating the largest road beast ever made. VIDEO>>
News
Triumph Triumphs
Cheers to that!
In what is perhaps the worst year for motorcycling, Triumph has done the seemingly impossible – they’ve profited. In fact their profits have rose an astounding 16%, this in a year that has brought catastrophic sales slumps from Harley and others and the closing of Buell after 26-years in business.
Triumph says that it will invest all it’s profits into redeveloping a wider range of offerings, ala Ducati R&D. Cycle Culture will pay close attention to the Hinckley firms meanderings and bring the info to you faster than a Bonnie on the salt flats.
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Ducati's World Domination
Hyper-Buono
Ducati is on a roll, baby. At the 2009 EICMA Bike Show in Milan they unveiled their new for 2010 Multistrada and Hypermotard. The Hypermotard won “Best of Show” at the event in 2005. The Streetfighter won the same title in 2009. And the Multistrada won it in 2009. There’s much to boast about, to say the least.
We’ve all seen an episode at one time or another where a victim is pronounced dead only to re-emerge at a later scene. Sometimes they come back as themselves, sometimes as a new creature of sorts. Well, Buell was indeed pronounced dead, “October 30, 2009.” But this movie is not over yet. Like the hero who cannot be killed, no matter how many bullets and bombs you throw at him, no matter how precarious the situation, or how sure you are that this time is the last, our American hero, Eric Buell, has come back to kick some serious booty in the racing world. It’s a return to his roots as a maverick trying to establish an American bike that can compete on the world stage.
Buell officially left Harley-Davidson to open Eric Buell Racing (www.ericbuellracing.com). Remaining in East Troy, Wisconsin, the focus will be strictly racing bikes derived from the Buell 1125R. As Cycle Culture has written in the article, Buell 1125CR Deconstructed, the company should have remained a boutique business all along. The call was correct.
The 1125R won the AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Championship in 2009.
Eric Buell announces the formation of Eric Buell Racing. VIDEO>>
Erik Buell Racing will be based in East Troy, Wisconsin and will be staffed by Erik Buell and a veteran team of personnel. For more information, after December 1, 2009, contact: info@erikbuellracing.com
Eric Buell posted an obvious emotional response on YouTube and the Buell website informing Buell owners and fans about the news of Harley-Davidson closing down the boutique bike manufacturing company he founded.
World Superbike Champion for 2009, Ben Spies, talks about his meathod of getting ready for a race. (Interesting approach. Can't argue with his success.)
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Jackson Pollock: Intellectual Rebel
Visiting the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, NY
Cycle Culture explores the relationships between the lifestyle of riding a motorcycle and the culture at large. Bikers are free spirits. They also have issues with authority (for the most part) that’s often confused with law breaking.
On a quest for the home of the American artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner
Trying to find a location on Long Island is not much of a search mission, mainly because the island is so easily navigated. It’s more about what’s the most interesting route to get somewhere.
At Triumph’s website there’s a section called Create My Triumph. Once you’re past the splash screen you select the model you’re interested in, from Bonnevilles to Tigers. Then you go on to modify it based on a selection of color choices and accessories available on a scrolling list below your image. The accessory list changes for each bike, according to what’s appropriate to that model. The lists are pretty extensive.
Christian of Xian Leather refuses to describe himself as a Master. He feels that it’s impossible to master anything, there’s always something more to learn – always a higher place to take your work.
Fashion and culture are like music and art. New generations of visionaries emerge and transform, sometimes completely wreck, what’s been done before. In the world of marketing and bottom lines, sometimes companies need to re-brand themselves in order just to survive by capturing the attention of new generations of customers. In the case of Harley-Davidson the attention grabbing is crucial. With their new Dark Custom line of motorcycles and new Black Label collection H-D is heading in the right direction.
It’s hard to determine exactly when, why or how a certain look makes its first appearance in any area of culture and why it continues to linger and evolve. Darwinism is usually to blame. Necessity and availability breed innovation at the onset and the if-it-isn’t-broke-don’t-fix-it-rule keeps it alive and well.
