However, the new Indians are not an easy choice for custom builders. Neither the 111 Big Twins nor the Scouts lend themselves to frame modifications, not to mention the fact that the watercooled Scout has the cooler as an integral part of the frame design. It’s ‘all or nothing’ if you want a radical Indian and throwing away almost all of a complete motorcycle is virtually inevitable. On the positive side, all Indian engines are so well developed that they hardly need any internal improvements in terms of tuning parts or upgrades.
But these difficulties don’t prevent the customising of the Scout—indeed, it can mean a much cheaper proposition for an owner and results can be as spectacular as on Rhönmotor’s café cruiser which was built for Custom Chrome Europe’s ever-popular Bolt On And Ride programme which, each year, produces a handful of impressive custom motorcycles as well as providing the CCE staff with something rather cool to ride during the summer. This isn’t the first Scout to appear in the BOAR stable, testament to the fact that CCE realised the customising potential of the model as soon as it was launched.
The two components that immediately catch the eye on the Rhön Racer, as it’s called (although it’s technically more of a café cruiser than racer) are the Café Sport fairing by Burly Brand and the tail end which was hammered by hand into shape by Blechfee’s Jochen Lehman who is renowned for his superb sheet metal parts. The aim of the BOAR programme is to demonstrate how owners can bring their own twist to their machines through the use of aftermarket parts, but, as even professional builders have discovered, this requires some finesse and thought to ensure that a combination of components will produce the best results.
Denne historien er fra Issue 253-utgaven av 100% Biker.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 253-utgaven av 100% Biker.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
There's No Place Like Chrome
When settling down to write a feature for a magazine, it’s necessary to have two things, nay, three things in front of you. A computer is useful, it saves all that messy ink and blotting paper that we used in those long gone school days, a strong hot mug of tea should also be on the desk (goes without saying), and finally, a set of scribbled notes that a couple of months ago resembled a detailed description of a motorcycle, but that by now, are largely illegible…
Spike And Bob's Big Swedish Adventure: Part 5
In 1979 Hasse took Caprice to the Norrtälje show for the first time, but he had changes for the bike in mind and, during the winter, he picked up a jammer frame and a set of 20-inch tubes.
Black Dog Custom Show - The Black Dog, Broadmayne, Dorset
Named after the only pub in the village of Broadmayne near Dorchester, nobody there can quite remember how long the informal get together that is the Black Dog Custom Show has been going
TWEETY
Over the last couple of years, very few if any motorcycles have inspired such bafflement and scratching of heads as Dan Duggan’s Honda CX500
THE DOUBTER
Every project starts somewhere and this one began at the Bike Shed Show at Tobacco Dock in London or, to be more accurate, when my mate Matt Donaldson turned to me and said, “I bet you can’t build a bike good enough for here.” Well, that set me to work!
JBS SPECIAL
Jarno comes from a family with petrol in their blood. His father races classic motorcycles and Jarno was raised on a farm where the barns are full of motorcycles instead of cows! This is his very first project, the Jarno Bastian Special
CUSTOMBIKE Messe Bad Salzuflen, Germany
Sometimes what is missing from a show is more interesting than what’s present. With the German show Custombike celebrating its fifteenth anniversary, the event remains a showcase for European customising in all its diversity— with the additional benefit of a focus on parts that are homologated and approved for Europe
COVERT MISSION
It’s not often that I have to sneak in and photograph a motorcycle without the owner knowing anything about it—something that was made tougher in this case by the said motorcycle being kept at said owner’s house
Carry On Screaming
As is often the case, I first caught sight of Nige Biffin’s cool Honda CB750 at a local show last summer, standing out as it did from the stock stuff and the classics present. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t just the ace paint that grabbed my attention, but the obvious quality of the build throughout. I needed to know more…
Paul's Harley
Ensuring that a custom motorcycle will comfortably chew up the miles is perhaps not always one of the main priorities for every builder, but for anyone in the National Chopper Club, it’s essential. Never more so than when you happen to live in one of the far flung parts of this island which means that you’ve usually got a journey to do before you even start going anywhere, as Paul, NCC National Secretary and member of Chopper Club Kernow, knows all too well. This is the story of his latest chop.
