Tuesday 31 March 2009

Custom Air Filter




Ross has worked up a cool CAD design for the new airfilter, and I will try and get this mocked up to go on the engine shortly.shortly.

Thursday 26 March 2009

At Last

..the first bike is ready to come back for final building before stripping down ready for paint.  This stage will involve, getting the engine and carb right, controls. lights and speedo.

Monday 16 March 2009

Almost ready for the final build



The pipes are now ready and the rear fender on - just a few more bits of work and it will be ready to start the detailed building.

Friday 6 March 2009

....and back at the Metal Shop


........we are nearly there on the fabrication of Bike No.4 - this is going to be a cruiser style bike and so will have wide bars and a couple of leather saddlebags to hang off the rear frame.

All that is left to do is to finish off the rear mudguard and complete the exhausts, which will run straight across the left side before curving down and through the frame to project straight out on the right side.  They will be LOUD. 

 Once completed the bike comes back to me where we complete the dry build, lights controls, wiring positions, and any other bits.


Bespoke Parts


Once I have the brand, I will need to build a website to promote it.  The new bikes as well as my two existing customs will be the main platform - my couture so to speak.  I will also need to sell other stuff to support and build on the new brand - as well as obvious stuff like T Shirts, i want a range of bespoke parts, which can be used on other peoples customs as well as to bling up stock Harleys.

The first of these I am working on with a friend Ross McSherry a talented young designer  - and he is looking at designing an Air Cleaner Cover (fits on the side of the engine to direct clean air into the carb).

Again like the brand, we are looking at influences from the USA in the 30's and 40's when streamlined design was at its height.

Here are a couple of products which I think are great and could be used as styling
cues - the air compressor above designed in 1938 in Milwaukee (very appropriate as this is where Harleys come from), and the Polaroid desk lamp also from 1938 below.

Building the Brand

I have asked my old friends at Tomlin Bean (www.tomlinbean.com) who I have used successfully in the past to design a brand for 7 Ages Custom Motorcycles.  I went and saw them last week and they presented a whole range of ideas for me - rather than display them all I will post some images which really sets out the look I want to put over with the brand.  When they have refined their designs some more I will put the final few up for you to see.