Posts Tagged ‘Winter Buildoff’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Three years ago, the CF collective had a brain storm. With the northern hemisphere blanketed in snow during the winter months, there’s not much opportunity for riding, but this cold, gray time of year does, however, offer a great opportunity to dream, create and build. With that idea in mind, we decided to launch a Streetfighter “Build-off” among forum members.

The basic idea, then and now, is this: Starting on November 1 and closing on May 26 (coinciding with the Northern hemisphere’s cold-weather season), members of the Custom Fighters forum get half the year to decide upon, begin and complete their projects. The entire process, from beginning to end, must be photo and/or video documented so we can see the starting point and final result of your progress. Just to make sure no one is entering a previously built bike, the first pic of the build must be accompanied by a legible, currently dated newspaper with the bike in the same photo.

This year’s People’s Choice Award went to Brian “Fathead_03″ Kammers, of Oroville, WA. Brian started with a CBR600F3 that he had picked up a year earlier. He said the project sat on the back burner until the ’09 Build-off got him in gear. Early in the build-off, Brian started with a new subframe, some tank mods and rough fiberglass work. The real work, though, didn’t begin until February, at which point he had settled into a new location and a bigger work area.  After some reflection as to where the CBR was heading, he realised he wasn’t happy with his original mock-up. He made some deals with other members of the forum, and scored some suspension upgrades from a late model 600RR. Forks, swingarm, wheels brakes were all upgraded to RR pieces. With the bike on the work bench, sparks began to fly. Factory shock mounts were removed and new ones made to fit the Pro Link setup. The 600RR swingarm had to be narrowed to fit the F3′s frame rails and the first adaptation of the subframe was cut away for a new approach.

The winner of the Pro’s Choice Award, and 1st Place for 2009 Custom Fighters Winter Build-off is Trucker “TruckinDuc” Booth of Soddy Daisy, TN and his VTR1000F Super Hawk. The build thread for this bike has to be one of the most epic build threads on Custom Fighters! Truck’s project started with a very rough example of the Honda’s Sport Twin platform. The bike once served as a track day tool that ended its career in an off-track excursion. This VTR became a parts bike. By the time Trucker took possession, many of its key components were missing, and the frame had minor damage. But it wasn’t all bad: the 900RR wheels, brakes, upgraded Fox rear shock and Race Tech re-sprung forks offered a good starting platform. Trucker took the bike down to the frame and started over. The frame damage was first to receive attention. The dents were smoothed to make the frame as good as new. The swingarm was braced with an aluminum trellis to complement the frame. After a thorough cleaning, the chassis parts received the flat black treatment.