Incredible projects are made from old Soviet motorcycles! Today I propose to take a look at the 9 most amazing custom, in my opinion, built on the basis of USSR motorcycles.
Dnepr Brigadier by Falcodesign studio
The first custom is called Brigadier. Its construction was carried out by the Belarusian studio Falcodesign, which is already known for its custom designs based on the Dnieper. However, this bike turned out to be so cool that it immediately hit all the world's customizer charts.
Planet Sport by Yuriy Shif Custom
In the Minsk workshop of Yuri Shif, not just motorcycles are created, but works of art. IZH Planet Sport is a legendary device that still has many fans. However, there are those who are not satisfied with it. In 2015, a specialist from Belarus, Yuri Shif, presented a custom project from this Soviet monster. And he looks amazing!
So, on the basis of the Soviet IZH, the original scrambler from the Yuri Shif Custom company was born, which was made for the Moscow owner. The motorcycle has a lot of new things: brake discs on wheels, new suspension, fork, steering wheel, and much more. As for the engine, it has been significantly improved: power has increased from 32 to 50 hp. and the ability to unscrew it up to 11,000 rpm.
Cafe-racer Minsk Detonator
This bike was also made by Belarusian customizer Yuri Shif and won prizes at various motorcycle competitions abroad. Probably everyone has already heard about the fastest M1NSK. This is a concept with two-stroke engine with a volume of 125 cm3. It can reach speeds up to 205 km/h. Based on chassis highway-ring "Minsk", produced in the 1980s.
Minsk Detonator was named the best in the "Born in the USSR" category and second in the "Metric Motorcycle" category. He also finished in the top five overall.
Iron Custom Motorcycles Beckman
The Beckman motorcycle was assembled in the Kharkov workshop of Iron Custom Motorcycles for nine months. Last year, the Kharkov bike became the best at the world motorcycle customizing championship, held in Cologne, Germany. The craftsmen created a project based on the 1982 IZH Jupiter-4, but there were almost no original parts left in it, since most of them were created by craftsmen by hand.
A home-made engine increased the power of the bike from Izhevsk 28 hp. up to 50 hp And Beckman got its name in honor of the Soviet design engineer and racer Wilhelm Beckman - based on his books and articles, the master built it custom.
Custom IZH Jupiter
Many should be familiar with the work of the Moscow designer Mikhail Smolyanov. He seemed to look into another era by customizing IZH Jupiter for motorcycles of the early 20th century. What else can I say, it's a real masterpiece.
Fritz steampunk project
The Fritz project in the steampunk style was implemented on the basis of the Dnepr motorcycle units by craftsmen from Germany. Pay attention to the sidecar with a car radiator from the 20s, it gives a special charm to the motorcycle.
PanUral by IBCycles
This project, called PanUral, is the brainchild of the Italian studio IBCycles, which was presented at AMD-2016. All elements of this motorcycle with a wheelchair are made of aluminum, from which all elements of this project are made. The engine here was left from the Urals.
Project The Machine by Yuri Shif
Here is another interesting project "The Machine" by Yuri Shif. This work, based on Russian motorcycle K-750, has become one of the most successful. The project became the 2010 US World Champion in the non-US powered motorcycle class and also finished 3rd overall. In addition, "The Machine" is the winner of the International Championship of Germany Custombikeshow 2010.
The Machine shocked not only specialists, but also the public spoiled by design and technical delights. The bike was developed in the strictest secrecy and its premiere became a sensation even for people close to the Minsk customizer. Stunning appearance, taking you back to the distant 30s, the highest technical performance, fantastic design solutions for the chassis. The heart of the bike has become a futuristic power point, which was based on a pair of two opposites from legendary model Soviet motorcycle K-750, with a screw compressor mounted on top!
Electric Volga by Mikhail Smolyanov
Russian designer Mikhail Smolyanov, commissioned by Electric Cars Custom, created a prototype electric cycle called Electric Volga. The concept repeats the shape of the GAZ 21 Volga car of the middle of the last century, but stands on two wheels and is stuffed with high technologies.
Massive body elements are made of aluminum, and the frame is made of steel pipes. power unit The EV Drive can deliver from 160 to 253 Nm depending on voltage, spins up to 10,000 rpm and puts out about 134 hp. The speed performance of the concept is even more impressive: acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h is 2.5 seconds, and the “maximum speed” is limited to 200 km / h.
Do-it-yourself chopper, or maybe buy a ready-made motorcycle? This question is asked by many motorcyclists, especially beginners, who have long decided for themselves that they will ride not on a plastic sport, but on a real iron motorcycle, in which the sound of the legendary V-twin makes a solid sound, and not the sound of a squealing coffee grinder. In this article, which is more aimed at beginners in the interesting art of customizing, we will look at what it takes to make a proper chopper with your own hands, and how to make many details for it that will make it original enough and have a cool look. .
It is not so easy to write how to build a chopper with your own hands, since there are a huge number of styles of customized motorcycles (customs), and their steepness directly depends on the number of banknotes, the skillful hands of the master and the equipment he has in the garage. And when reading about the construction of a particular custom, some novice customizer may simply not be able to pull it off, due to lack of funds and the necessary equipment. Or he may simply not like the style of some kind of custom, because there are a lot of styles.
Therefore, this article will not describe the construction of a specific custom of a certain style, and my recommendations in this article will be purely conditional, but still I hope it will be useful for beginner customizers. In addition, when building any chopper, a lot of nuances can arise that cannot be described in one article.
But for a more detailed explanation, when making some parts for the chopper with my own hands, I will put the appropriate link, by clicking on which the dear reader will be able to study in more detail and in detail the manufacture of some kind of equipment or some part of the chopper, and successfully apply this knowledge at home in the garage. And so we went.
What you need before you start making a chopper with your own hands.
The first thing to do before starting work is to decide on a budget. After all, the right chopper, which, in terms of workmanship and its steepness, can easily surpass a serial factory bike, requires certain investments. Money. And the more these investments, the cooler the finished custom will turn out.
Of course, with certain skills in working with metal and the availability of appropriate equipment, tools and materials, you can make a decent chopper without big investments. But many novice motorcyclists don't have the skills, the equipment, or the right materials. And a significant part of the money will be spent on high-quality tools, materials and some devices that will be described below, and without which you can’t do anything with your bare hands.
And of course, the bulk of the money will be spent on the purchase of a donor motorcycle, without it in any way. After all, you cannot make an engine and a frame with a number and relevant documents on your own, even if you have super expensive equipment in the workshop (you can make a frame from scratch, only it will be numberless). Moreover, it will be possible to use some parts from some donor motorcycles.
This is the same engine, part of the frame with a number, front wheel(not always, but often used after revision), front fender (of course, also redone), front fork and other parts that, with certain skills and tools, can be changed beyond recognition.
A donor motorcycle, in order to save a significant amount of money, can be bought in poor condition or broken, the main thing is that it has the documents in order and that the motor and the number on the frame are preserved after the accident. The engine, documents and part of the frame with a nameplate or a number on it are the main things you need to build a chopper, and everything else can be made on your own, or purchased from catalogs.
And after buying a donor motorcycle, before you start disassembling it, cutting it and doing something with it, of course, you must first re-register it for yourself, register it, and I wrote how to do it correctly (the legalization of a home-made bike is also described in detail there ). This will help you avoid problems in the future.
And the serial frame itself, in addition to expanding its rear part, will also need to be finalized. For example, in the steering columns of the frames of domestic motorcycles, there are still weak bicycle-type thrust bearings that wear out very quickly and the handling of the motorcycle is, to put it mildly, lame. And the first step is to replace these bearings with more powerful conical ones (such as in the wheels of the Dnieper and Ural, but one size larger).
To do this, the cups of regular bearings are cut off from the frame, and cups of a slightly larger diameter are welded in their place, into which the outer races of tapered bearings are subsequently pressed. I wrote more about this in, as well as in an article about the geometry of motorcycle frames, and a link to this article is located below in the text.
The frames of modern imported motorcycles already have more or less normal bearings from the factory, but there are enough alterations on such frames. Since even imported serial frames are heavier and uglier than homemade frames, made from scratch, and most mass-produced frames (especially Japanese motorcycles) have to be cut off extra parts to lighten the weight.
Of course, there are a large number of types of frames (we read what frames are) and everyone chooses their own option for themselves. But now old-school style choppers are very popular, which have very light frames in the “hardtail” style (hard in translation), which do not have rear suspension and thanks to this they have beautiful classic lines of the triangular back. And these frames are the lightest.
And although it is quite uncomfortable to ride on such frames on our roads, beauty and style require sacrifice. Yes, and such devices are not designed for long trips, but for short rides around the city, or for moving the driver's body from bar to bar. And choppers with such frames are very popular now.
The front fork can easily transform the look of any chopper, and is able to change not only the silhouette, but also driving performance your motorcycle. Although, again, when building a chopper, most customizers usually do not pay attention to handling and comfort, the main thing is the appearance, which determines the steepness of the chopper and from which a significant revival can arise in the gray city traffic.
Of course, in addition to the fork, the silhouette and ride quality of the motorcycle is affected by the angle of the steering column, and to be precise, the trail and rake, which should be taken into account when reworking the frame or making it from scratch. This topic is worthy of a separate article that I wrote, and I advise you to read in detail about the angles and geometry of the frame. The same article describes in detail the refinement of the frames of domestic motorcycles and the replacement of bearings with tapered ones.
The most popular type of refinement of serial forks is their lengthening with special inserts and replacing the traverses with wider ones, or simply polishing the standard traverses. When lengthening the fork legs, so as not to lift the frame relative to the ground and maintain a beautiful silhouette and a small ground clearance, should be increased. That is, to ensure that after installing a longer fork, the ground clearance (the distance from the lower tubes of the frame to the ground) remains the same as it was.
But most often, the ground clearance (clearance) is underestimated two times, and in addition to a stronger fork tilt, the reworking of the rear of the frame also affects the understatement (transfer of the axle rear wheel higher than stock). With all these works, it is very important to maintain a clear geometry of the steering column and the entire frame, and it is only possible to carry out such alterations correctly if there is a slipway (the link to the article about the slipway is above in the list of tools and accessories).
So installing an extended fork is not so simple and will entail a number of serious alterations to the frame itself and its steering column, taking into account the correct angles (rake and trail - a link about them a little higher, about the steering column angles).
But now old-school and bobber style motorcycles have become very popular, in which the fork (usually a springer) does not lengthen, or lengthens very slightly. But changing the angle of the steering column is often used on these devices as well.
Indeed, with a greater tilt of the steering column, even with a short fork, the silhouette of the custom is significantly improved (it becomes more rapid). At the same time, the ground clearance is only a couple of centimeters, and it becomes difficult to drive on such a device on our roads. But still, for many, this is not important, because beauty requires sacrifice.
For so-called free-style choppers, a gas tank with a concave bottom, the manufacture of which I described, may be suitable. Well, for those who are interested to see how I made a more complex tank, then we watch the video below, which I published on my suvorov-custom channel as a guide for beginners and in order to fill the gap on this topic on the Russian-speaking Internet. I have no secrets and I think it will be useful for beginners to watch this video, divided into three parts.
Of course, beginners should first try to make a simpler classic tank, and as they gain some experience, move on to more complex products. But still, when making a more complex tank, in the video just below, there are some tips that I hope will be useful to novice customizers.
By the way, I have other videos on working with sheet metal on my suvorov-custom channel (on YouTube), and I hope that over time, as I have free time, I will try to publish more such videos, and in order not to miss new videos, do not forget to subscribe to channel.
As for the wings, of course, they, like the tank, should also fit in style. And for example, bobbers, or radical choppers, may not have a front wing at all, and the rear wing is usually very short. But still, it is better to make a wing for a chopper from scratch, since the alteration of some regular wing does not always coincide with the style of the future custom. In addition, an exclusive wing, made from scratch, will be one and only, and this will add to its coolness.
And if you can still do without a leather hitch, then you can’t do without a seat. But I described how to make a seat for a chopper with my own hands from scratch, and it describes two options for making seats, with a plastic base and with a metal one.
Well, under the article, I publish a useful and interesting video that proves that with skillful hands and a bright head, you can make an excellent custom even from an ancient Japanese motorcycle, and the motor of this motorcycle is not a twin at all, but an in-line four. But it does not spoil the look of the custom at all.
This video proves once again that you can make a unique custom even out of junk, and I hope that this video will be an incentive for beginners and serve as an impetus to start their further work.
Well, I hope that this article will at least help beginners to build a chopper with their own hands, and maybe in the near future, you will take this matter more seriously and make this exciting activity your main source of income, success to everyone!
Bicycles, which are called Custom (Custom, Custom), are fundamentally different from others. Usually these are handmade bikes, made to order or with their own hands. They have a unique geometry that fits the exact requirements of the wearer.
In Russia, even a club of custom lovers "RASTABike" (Russian Association of Homemade Vehicles) was formed. "Rastabike" is a chopper or cruiser with wide tires and a special frame. and the fork are cooked by hand. The most important thing in this business is that your bike will be one and only. You can think over the design yourself, what will make your bike stand out from others.
I want custom!
To make your custom bike, you need to do the following:
- Decide what you need it for: for walking around the city or hard descents from the mountains.
- Draw the frame of the future bike, taking into account the desired fit, design and characteristics of the bike.
- Cut pipes from sheet metal with a laser or buy ready-made ones.
- Roll the pipes and trim, based on the drawing.
- Weld pipes, observing the correctness of all angles in accordance with the drawing.
- , including non-unique parts: wheels, transmission and more.
The steering wheel can also be welded, or you can buy if you do not want to make your own.
Thus, you can make yourself absolutely any frame. The main thing is to do everything exactly, because if there is a misalignment, the frame needs to be redone. You will not be able to ride on a curved frame.
Customizers are convinced that it is completely pointless to buy a bicycle if you can make it yourself. It will turn out many times cheaper, and the future bike will satisfy all the whims of the owner. You will need to invest in a homemade bike only desire and determination!
Some interesting bike custom
Ipsum
This bike was created by designer Victor Sonna from various scraps.
There is a lot of garbage, so there are plenty of materials for creation. All parts are made from rakes, scissors, wrenches, hammers, springs, engine parts, etc. Some parts are welded to each other, while others are bolted with nuts. Victor proved that even from waste you can create a masterpiece!
Dmitry Grachev got the idea to assemble this custom when he had a dream. He saw the silhouette of a rat in the form of a bike. On the same day, he drew a future frame in rat style. This style involves the use of old and rusty parts. Such components of the bike give it a brutal look.
Custom made in three days. During this time, the creators on the go came up with various gadgets for the bike, so it looks even cooler than planned. On the second day, it was already possible to ride it, but the pedals, steering wheel and many small things were not completed.
On the third day, the Rat was ready to ride. What was the impression of passers-by and even the media! Dmitry Grachev is far from having this bike for the first time, he is already a master in this matter. He now has eight custom bikes in his collection.
Alexander Kucheryavy's trip to Spain inspired him to make with my own hands trike. A trike is a bicycle with three wheels. Alexander likes it very much. You can spend the whole day on it without getting off, because on three wheels you won’t tip over on one side and you won’t fall.
It is also the most convenient for transporting something: in front between the wheels there is a roomy trunk. This custom is most suitable for those who drive around the city almost all the time. Alexander Kucheryavy named his cast "Eva" in honor of the birth of his niece with the same name.
Like other improvised bikes, this one is made from old tools and parts from other bikes. Such a functional bike cost Alexander very cheaply, he had to fork out only for painting.
Brothers Dmitry Ryabeka and Evgeny Getta once saw an interesting bike. It immediately became clear that such bikes are unlikely to be mass-produced. Challenge accepted: they decided that they could make a bicycle with their own hands. Since then, since 2008, they have started to make their unusual bikes, surprising all the people who saw their custom.
The main idea of the Open Fire bike is to make wheel mounts on one side only. Only an engineering genius can make a balanced cantilever bike!
Custom got a cool design sport bike. The brothers complement each other: Dmitry thinks about the appearance, and Evgeny works qualitatively on the embodiment of Dmitry's ideas. The brothers say that this hobby helps to relax and escape from everyday life, relieves accumulated stress.
The Open Fire bike has been put up for sale. A handmade bike, although made with minimal financial investment, is sold for a considerable price. The reason for this is authorship. Dmitry and Evgeny value their work dearly, which fully corresponds to the efforts expended.
Another work by Alexander Kucheryavy. Alexander explained the name as follows: he decided to create a god machine. This means that the bike should be as beautiful and comfortable as possible.
Alexander Kucheryavy came up with his own method of creating bikes: first, he assembles a custom in a draft version, tests it.
Then he identifies the shortcomings of the model and eliminates them. When the bike is fully thought out, Alexander reassembles it, but tries harder: polishes the seams, welds everything that is needed, and paints. In the first version of this trike, the seat was between two rear wheels. It became clear that you can accidentally hit the wheels with your hand, foot or other parts of the body.
This is very important, because Alexander planned to ride his dog on a bike! Having provided the safest design with special wheel flaps and a small wheel on the side of the animal passenger, he finally completed his trike.
The gold paint, as the creator decided, reflects the essence of the god's bicycle. The design of the steering wheel and fork is interesting - they are made in the form of lightning bolts.
The creator of this bike, again Alexander Kucheryavy, was surprised by the customizers from Amsterdam. They were on heavily lowered bikes that stood out dramatically. These bikes turned out to be the fastest, and their owners - the most cheerful and cheerful! Alexander got the idea to make himself the same.
The basis for the custom was a tandem. Tandem is a long bicycle for two people. It is long because it is not for one. Alexander decided that this is exactly the length that is needed for his future bike. A specially sawn tandem was transformed into a "burrito". For the sake of beauty, the master attached a license plate from Panama to it. He had a dream to go to this wonderful country.
Since this is a walking bike, Alexander made beer mounts on it. It's so nice to ride in the park with a bottle of delicious drink.
Thin road wheels created a great bike roll. The three-speed transmission is also for speed.
As a result, the bike received some characteristics: high speed, comfortable fit and unusual design.
Customizing is an art. To master it, you need to try hard, try, create. A good bike is unlikely to succeed the first time. In this case, perseverance and diligence on the part of the customizer is very important.
A custom bike is a motorcycle or a small series of motorcycles made to order. Customs are made for a specific person and are practically works of art. Making custom is quite an expensive activity that requires engineering and design knowledge. There are workshops that remake bikes to order, however, it is believed that a real custom biker must assemble for himself.
About custom motorcycles
FROM English word « custom» translates as "made to order". The main idea is to make the motorcycle the way the owner wants from technical features before appearance. Customs are usually assembled based on production models, replacing parts or supplementing the design. Less commonly, they are assembled completely from scratch, taking as a basis either only a frame from a bike, or creating a frame on their own.
Custom craftsmen such as American Orange County Choppers and West Coast Choppers and Russian King Kong Custom, Fine Custom Mechanics, Motodepo CS make amazing custom. The whole world follows their work and then other masters try to repeat it.
Motorcycle manufacturers such as Honda, Harley-Davidson and others add the word "Custom" to their model names. But these are not custom bikes, they just have great potential for creating custom motos, that is, they are easy to remake or modify.
Custom - is it safe?
If you order a custom bike from a workshop, the answer is yes. Because in this moto the load will be correctly distributed between the parts, the rigidity of the structure and other technical parameters will be calculated.
When modifying a bike on your own, in order to make a quality bike, you will have to carefully calculate the necessary parameters and dimensions. Be sure to first make a project of the future custom moto on paper.
What is customization and who is a customizer?
Customizing is a process or activity that involves modifying a motorcycle to meet specific needs. In fact, this is an external and internal tuning of bikes. In Russia, customizing has been common for a long time, since they began to refine and replace parts with Urals, Izhi, Java and other Soviet motorcycles.
A customizer is a person who modifies a motorcycle, he can work in a workshop or do it for fun in his own garage.