FUEL FIRE&

Since the beginning of the advent of motorcycles there has been fabrication. Hell, that is how we even got the motorcycle at all. Word has it that some freaky Frenchman in 1867 had a wild idea of cobbling together a steam engine on a bicycle. And as we all can guess, progression of the motorcycle as we now know it was quick from there.

The foray into gas-powered bikes happened in 1884 when an Englishman by the name of Edward Butler built the petrol cycle, which was a trike-like concoction featuring a 5/8-hp 600cc flat twin four-stoke engine.

In 1901, on this side of the pond, Indian built the “diamond framed” Indian Single model.

And in 1903 Harley-Davidson started the production of its m l .

Just as soon as these production bikes were available to the public they were modified to get more power out of them for racing purposes, customized for a given task, or refabricated altogether as a replacement for horses on the farm petrol motorcycles. were more power for farm were 20 reading wouldn’t have been the early 1970s Sure, the late ’80s and early to mid-1990s out

The motorcycle fabrication we are more accustomed to started happening when GIs returned from World War II While in Europe they were used to riding sleek and slim motorcycles, and when they returned from the war they chopped, cut, and rebuilt the heavy USA-made machines to suit their own style.

The first mention of custom motorcycles was in the mid1950s during the custom-car show scene where motorcycles were being included at the big indoor shows all over the country. This type of action spread to the masses, and choppers were also just starting to emerge at this time as well. Custom-fabricated motorcycles of all shapes and sizes grew steadily over the next 20 years until it hit a fever pitch in the late 1960s.

The very magazine you are reading wouldn’t have ever been if it weren’t for the fabrication and customization craze in the early 1970s. Sure, the late ’80s and early to mid-1990s were a lean time in the custom era with more people just buying stock bikes from dealers swapping out a few parts and riding them. Then something happened.

There was already a small reappearance of hand-fabricated bikes happening in the late 1990s, and then the TV-show bikes of 2000s snared a whole new generation of adults and kids alike when they got to witness bikes being built from the ground up on cable television. This seemed to have spawned a whole new crop of folks who weren’t afraid to fire up welders and get their hands dirty.

And then custom baggers started happening big time right around 2006. Like them or not, those lay-frame big-wheel bikes take a total teardown and a ton of fabrication to get them looking the way they do a of in late generation adults witness bikes built the ground up spawned crop up welders or big-wheel get do. faster and work better their individual and needs all over again, huh?

And here we are now. Performance bike builds are what is going on And just like way back in the first part of the 19th century, folks are hand fabricating their motorcycles to go faster and work better for their individual wants and needs Seems like a case of déjà vu all over again, huh?

JEFF G. HOLT EDITOR

A presence that refuses to be ignored. Matte black from nose to tail. And the dominant Thunder Stroke® 111 V-Twin. You want the lead? Take it.With the Indian® Chieftain Dark Horse.® This is power in its rawest form. Build your own at indianmotorcyle.com