Sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover. Take Generation Cycles for example, a father and son bike building team calling themselves The Cure for the Common Sportster®. Their business card says it all.
In a one car garage, not far off the beaten path, in a working class Virginia
Beach neighborhood, this duo cuts, stretches, welds, paints, and fabs bikes
that Milwaukee should have built.
Our first example is a Buell that's come full circle. As you may know, Buell
American Motorcycles were born of the determination of Erik Buell, a Harley-Davidson
engineer frustrated with the lack of an American sportbike capable of competing
with the superbikes coming out of Japan. What started in 1993 as a small
volume producer of hand assembled sport motorcycles powered by a modified
H-D Sportster engine, became a part of the Harley-Davidson Company and grew
to produce the technologically advanced hooligan bikes Buell assembles today.
Generation Cycles took the single cylinder heart of a 2000 Blast, Buell's
entry level bike, and transplanted it into a rigid H-D Sportster frame,
the most basic Harley skeleton. The Blast also donated its wheels and a
complete front end, including the gauges and headlight fairing. Generation
then fabricated motor mounts, a custom exhaust that crosses through the
frame behind the motor and exits the opposite side of the bike, a battery
tray, electrical box, license plate bracket, rear fender, and gas tank.
The rear fender is actually a front fender turned around with the center
rolled for an old skool look, and the hand made gas tank features a matching
roll. Completing that theme is a classic look seat upholstered by Precision
Auto Glass and Upholstery on a metal pan beaten by Generation.
It's not a sport bike, a cafe racer, or a chopper. It's a long, low, and
light, rigid framed American motorcycle that's gone back to its roots. It
stands just a little bit outside standard motorcycle classifications. A
little bit like Erik Buell.
Next we've got a 1995 Sportster 883 that's been treated to a 2" stretch,
46 degree rake, and a 1200cc motor. For this bike, Generation fabricated
custom forward controls, rear struts, and an awesome one off exhaust integrating
grooved pipe at the bends to add a unique finned look to the pipes. The
miles of chrome were plated by Royal Silver of Norfolk.
Generation shot the tins in deep black paint, added silver leaf designs cut by Tex's Sign Shop, and had Igor's Pinstriping lay down the details. Igor's magenta and purple brush strokes highlight the lines of the bike and add depth to the leaf. A purple monster, in the style of the legendary Ed Roth, grips a pair of ape hangers on the tank sides.
The silver and black seat, again upholstered by Precision Upholstery and
Auto Glass, looks like it could have been lifted from a classic Schwinn.
Other classic touches include mini-bullet tail lights, reminiscent of the
finned Caddys, and 60 spoke twisted spoke wheels wrapped in Avon white wall
tires. All told, the bike took 3 years to build and has collected over 20
trophies, including a Best of Show.
Next up on Generation's lift will be an old skool '72 iron head rigid chopper.
Look for it, and all of Generation's creations at upcoming Virginia area
bike shows.
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