Archive for the ‘Streetfighter Builders’ Category

Lance A. Lewsader: Well we all know you as EMom or Donna or Oldrider and the simplest of all Gavin’s Mother. We also know you came to us through a great tragedy.  What we want to know is what makes you who you are. Never have I seen you with a negative comment. Not even in the face of those who would say negative to you.

Oldrider: I think what we learn along the our path in life, is what shapes & molds us into who we are, even though it changes as we go along. I try to always be ‘positive’ in everything & especially when dealing with people.  The Bible says a kind/quiet/soft word (don’t know which one of those, since I can’t really quote the Bible), turneth away wrath.  My version is, if you really want to be the ‘winner’ in any argument, or personal attack, be prepared to be ‘nice’. Drives ‘em crazy if they can’t get under your skin & make you fight back. Also, makes them stop & think about the level of maturity THEY are displaying for the world to see. Works EVERY time! :)
I also have an over-developed sense of loyality & I like to ‘help’ if at all possible. I hate it when someone is unhappy, or suffering, & for whatever reason, I usually side with the underdog.  :(

The time has come for yet another CF winter buildoff, so we thought we would take the time to look back at our most recent winner and owner of the amazing carbon clad creation you see.

I took a moment to ask Knifemaker what makes him tick and the thought process that went into his Winter Build Off Winning Bike.

Lance A. Lewsader: What was your inspiration behind this build?

Chris (Knifemaker): I actually stumbled across a picture of a Honda VT1000 Hawk Concept and absolutely loved it.
http://idata.over-blog.com/2/78/64/83/vtr-concept-4.jpg

I really wanted to build a V-Twin bike, as all my other bikes have been twins, but when the F2 fell in my lap for $500 I couldnt pass it up especially after seeing Fathead03′s F2 build-off thread. It challenged what I thought of as far as custom fabrication goes, and I really wanted to give it a try.

LL: How many hours would you say you have in this build?

Chris: It is really hard for me to gauge hours, but I have been working on the bike since last June. I would say 1000+ hours of work would be conservative. Especially if you include all the machine time, fabricating, carbon fiber work, mechanical work, and finishing.

Every so often in the street fighter community someone brings a new and interesting flavor to the scene and surprises everyone with some stunning build photo’s and a mindful tip of the hat in the direction of the fightering masses. Enter desmoBibu from Romania. A cheerful bloke with a desire for the Ducati’s. When he isn’t turning a wrench, he is thinking about it.

I contacted Bibu and got the inside perspective on his beautiful GTV cafe and the ideals behind his current crop of SuperSport goodness. At the very least I can say I am impressed with the level of dedication motorcycle builders have, the world over, we all speak the same language when it relates to chassis codes and torque specs.

Gdogg’s interview series putting members of Custom Fighters that you should know in the spotlight!

Lance A. Lewsader: I have had a couple folks mention to me after reading your June 2011 FOTM interview that you seem to be combining a few elements. The 50′s UFO craze, Hot Rods, and Future SCI FI. Would you say this is a close representation of your style?

R3VO: I dont know about 50′s UFO, but I guess I can see that. I do like the beefy frontal look of muscle cars and try to incorporate that into the frontal portion of the bike. My goal in doing so is to eliminate visible air space in between the headers and forks. To me its one of the ugliest sections of a bike after the fairings are stripped. The addition of radiator covers widens it as well and covers that hideous chunk of finned aluminum all at the same time. As far as future/sci-fi….that’s a pretty good call. I get ideas from concept bikes from scouring the web. Search results on Google images is my friend.

I recently sat down with Erik Buell of Erik Buell Racing. Having been on the forefront of the American Sport Bike scene for many years, EBR recently took a major hit when Harley Davidson suspended their operations. Now, Erik has set out to recreate the scene – again.

Craig Kruckenberg: Now that you’ve had time to absorb everything that happened, how do you feel about HD (Harley Davidson) and what happened to Buell Motorcycles?

Erik Buell: I’m sorry that we didn’t get to do the things that we wanted to do, or rather the things that I wanted to do. They had to make the hard choices and unfortunately it was to focus on the core market of that business model that existed in the late 80’s. I don’t know that it was the right choice, but it wasn’t my choice to make. I hate losing the inertia and the forward motion that we had, it has its advantages as well. Now I can do what I want and what needs to be done to bring the American sport bike to the forefront. A fresh start and freedom to set my own agenda is exactly what I need.