Stunners at the 2008 AMD
The 2008 AMD World Championship like always threw up quite a number of stunners. Yes, again Roger Goldammer won (he is kind of making it his hobby or habit, whatever you say) and as expected he won with quite a margin. Here are the complete results.
The Cafe Rouge
The competition stretched to 3 and a half day starting from 5th to 8th of August at Sturgis, South Dakota. There were 68 motorcycles from 13 different countries for the finals.
Well, I was looking at one of my favoirate custom builders, Krugger Motorcycles, but unfortunately they didnt make it to the Top 10. They finished 13th.
Half Day
I still wonder why Custom Bikes majorly have to be choppers, I mean that elongated body high handlebars, loads of chrome with a V-Twin engine... Yes, Roger Goldammer is different thats why he is THE Roger Goldammer, but even in this championship, I saw all the designs and 90% of them were ... well Choppers.
Little Miss Dynamite
Not that they dont look good, some designs which stood out among the choppers were Blacktop Choppers Against The Grain, Open Mind from Thunderbike and the Nickle Bike from Cook Customs. Then again, there were some really unusual bikes like the Rat, the Friki, the Buell inspired Krazy Horse and Bull
The Tech Twin American 13c
The real action going on was in the Production Manufacturer Class. Delaware American Motorcycles finished 1st in this category, and Stonebridge Motorcycle Co finished 2nd . And yet another bike I noticed while going through the pictures and reading the text, was one amaging custom bike by Lamb Precision Engineering Limited, the Cafe Rouge. Incidently, they were the only builders who had 2 entries in the Top 30 of Freestyle Class. Their other bike is Lamb Chop 2.
The Cafe Rouge - This stunning piece of machinary is the dream of Larry Houghton propelled by an 1976 Norton 850. One way to describe it is unique. The framework is built by hand and has a Vincent type cantilever shock working the rear swingarm with an upside down Suzuki GSX fork. Both the front rim 21"and the back 23" wear the tires of 130 mm. Yes, it didnt feature on the Top 10, but the bike was built mainly to showcase the radical design than its practicality. The bike took 16 weeks to complete. Everything in the bike is adjustable from the rake which can vary from 25 to 38 degree to the seat height and rear ride height. The engine is tilted 40 degrees delivering power through a 4 speed transmission.
The Half Day - This bike from Krugger Motorcycles of Belgium has used a HD engine, to be more specific, the owner Paul hughes has used a 93 P Series. Well Krugger needs no introduction after the mayhem they produced with the Goodwood. Anyway, the Half Day (dont ask me the logic of that name!) is a softail with a 4 speed Evo transmission. Dont know what took my fancy, but the overall cycle look with the twisted exhausts, classy kick level gelled very well with the engine for that vintage look and style. The dual tone colour on the tank and its overall shape is a delight, dont you think?
Little Miss Dynamite, as she has been named by owner/ builder Nick Gale of Stonebridge Motorcycle Company has also used a Harley engine, the Sportster. The heavily spoked Cafe Racer infuses tradition with modernity very effectively. The single pod with Lucas period headlight and the low bars and the golden front forks gives it a very mean look. Not that it only looks mean, because the exhaust is a MotoGP exhaust with performance valves by NGCC/Urbane, the hydraulic clutch is also by NGCC and the Intek performance valve from British superbike technology which makes the bike run 80% greener than stock on emissions due to the Intek valve. NGCC has also modified the air cleaner S&S stacks and the Evolution Indistries 2" belt drive. It has Harris Perfomance clip ons and ZX10 rear sets. All this performance enhanced steroid bike helps it to a very healthy 138 bhp on the rear wheel with a heap of 110lbs of toeque. It took only 2 months to build this green (not the colour, but the environment friendly) mean racer. This dude is one show off with all the go and more. Did you notice the tank? Its a one-off hand made aluminium Manx tank with a one-off aluminium seat base by NGCC/Tank Shop.
The Tech Twin American 13c is built by the famous Delaware American Motorcycles. Overall the bike looks like a cross over of street bike and cruiser and the overall look is... fantastic! The naked bike is well as you can see very naked with a very minimum clothing, but just the right ammount to increase the drool factor to a near perfect 100%. This will be a very limited production bike with each machine being handmade and includes special features. Dont fret if you cant see the exhaust. even the exhaust is hand made stainless steel featuring an under chassis NASCAR® styled muffler. If you havent heard about DAM (Delaware American Motorcycle), it aint no shame as this group caters to selective clients only for their is a high-end, high performance motorcycle brand whose foundation is based on innovative design, quality craftsmanship, advanced engineering and custom assembly. Look at some of the features - Oil in frame with over 5-quart capacity, 3-D steering head bracing, Super bike inspired single sided swing arm, Superior Suspension Control arms and triple trees carved from billet aluminum, Front shock developed by Penske Racing, BST Carbon Fiber Rims. etc. This particular machine has a 127 cubic inch engine developing 140 horsepower.
All the bike featured here in this post are courtesy AMD and all the links are provided above. You can also find links to all the custom builders mentioned above.
