#Custom

A self-described underwater photographer, technology entrepreneur, helicopter pilot, and Pacific Cup sailing veteran, Kerry Brown is a man of many interests. When it comes to his transportation on dry land, Brown is the owner of a 2014 Zero DS. Considering his many interests, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Brown customized it. For this he took inspiration from his love of underwater photography and went nuts making his DS look like something at home in the ocean.

You probably know Ryan Reynolds from his many acting gigs, including his most recent gig as the star of the action/anti-superhero flick, “Deadpool.” But did you know he also rides motorcycles? A rider since the age of 15, when he bought a Honda CB750 – a “pile of crap,” as he calls it – from a friend of his. The machine itself may have been in tattered condition, but the experience changed his life as he has loved riding ever since.

If you’re reading this in the good ‘ol US of A, then Thanksgiving has come and gone, and you might still be sleeping off that food coma. As you look down at your stomach and regret all the turducken you just consumed, let’s be thankful there are still companies out there who will custom make leather suits exactly to your dimension. For this week’s Church feature we take a look at one of the early players in the custom suit market: Z Leathers. This article, written by Todd Canavan from 1996 is particularly special because: 1) Much of it still rings true today 2) Designs from the 1990s are hilarious and 3) Z Leathers is still in business today. 

Snortin’ Nortons, Trumpeting Tritons, Beastly BSAs, Invincible Vincents … they all rallied to the 36th running of the iconic Hansen Dam Motorcycle Rally. For 2015, the rally broke all its previous records by the sheer number of bikes and people in attendance, spilling into virtual overflow capacity at the popular recreational area. Major gearhead himself, Jay Leno, rumbled in to enjoy the event aboard a major piece of motorcycling history; a well-ridden Brough Superior SS100.

In 2007, a group of SoCal vintage bike enthusiasts were looking for a good party complete with cool bikes, tasty grub, cold brew and hot music. Not finding what they wanted and energized with backgrounds in a variety of professions – graphic artists, engineers, musicians, film makers, bike builders, computer geeks – they decided to build the party themselves.

The decision to get creative with rules and regulations is in keeping with the all-bike-brands-welcome spirit experienced at all Deus get-togethers. Another big plus was not only the variety of bike flavors – from small-displacement chittychittybangers to rorty Laguna Seca-ready hyperbikes – but also the wide spectrum of people who helped rev up the energy level. So, for this coverage, we do a little adapting as well, with a focus on five of the machines entered into the competition and then some handing out of my own non-official citations of excellence. Strangely enough, most of my early pix also scored with the judges. Yeah, great minds thunk alike.

On an abnormally beautiful Valentine’s Day weekend in Portland, Oregon, love was truly in the air as motorcycle enthusiasts of all types, shapes, and sizes turned out to see the sixth year of The One Motorcycle Show. The event was hosted in the lower Eastside industrial area of Portland in an old historical manufacturing warehouse with more than 20,000 sq.-ft. of floor space.  Additionally, the building had a massive fenced in parking lot that was perfectly set up for mini-bike races, beer and merchant booths.

Now approaching its sixth year, The One Motorcycle Show has quickly become a popular event for custom motorcycle builders. But a half-dozen years hasn’t caused the event or its founder, Thor Drake, to take themselves too seriously, as this week’s video attests. Drake and the See See Motor Coffee Co. spoof the custom motorcycle scene (Because sparks make it look … legit!) to promote this year’s show.

During the early morning hours of Sunday, December 14, while traveling north from L.A. on the 101 Freeway, you might’ve found yourself in the company of a flurry of bikes, primarily of the Harley chopper family, burbling and growling their way through the slower car traffic. What’s the buzz all about? Well, that would be the pilgrimage to the 11th Annual Chopperfest Motorcycle Art and Culture event, now held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

Located on SoCal’s famous Pacific Coast Highway, South Bay Triumph specializes in high-performance parts, services and complete bike builds via their aftermarket division known as Triumph Performance USA. Both enterprises housed under one roof are overseen by Matt Capri, with some 40 years in the industry both in sales, technical development and competition, having won at variety of race venues as well as established speed records on Triumphs, Nortons and BMWs.

The Dirtbag Challenge – there’s nothing like it: nichts, nada, Ничего. To my knowledge (a modest caveat) this moto-happening in the San Francisco Bay area has no counterpart, anywhere. Also known as the “Low Rent Chopper Build Off,” it’s a high-octane blast.

Every model year Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations offers a limited selection of factory customs for what the motor company considers to be its most discriminating customers.Traditionally, these limited editions have been used as a proving ground for new components or finishing methods before being added to the extensive factory accessory catalog. With this much on the line, naturally, H-D would only choose models that it thinks represent the best motorcycle models in production for the year. The Street Glide’s status as the best selling motorcycle the manufacturer produces makes it an obvious choice for inclusion in the CVO line.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Ninja,  Kawasaki kicked off the World Supberbike weekend at Mazda Raceway by unveiling a 2015 model year  30th Anniversary Limited Edition Kawasaki Ninja ZX–14R in addition to the 2015 30th anniversary liveried ZX–10R and ZX–6R. For the Kawasaki faithful, the manufacturer put together a celebration of all things Ninja in theMarketplace of Mazda Raceway yesterday evening.

The only thing missing from this edition of the Weekend Awesome is Kenny Loggins singing “Danger Zone” and Tom Cruise playing beach volleyball in a pair of jeans.

On a nondescript suburban street in the nondescript but perfectly nice city of Poway, California, sits a perfectly normal ranch house with a completely abnormal two-car attached garage. Inside it you’ll find, more often than not, Richard Pollock, the Mule behind Mule Motorcycles. If you haven’t heard of him, you haven’t been paying attention. Racer, rider, fabricator, dreamer, doer – Richard builds some of the finest custom motorcycles money can buy.