I’m tired of insanely tall, stretched out 45-degree v-twin “choppers” with Hugh Jazz rear tires.
Thank *** the judges in Sturgis didn’t award many bikes fitting that description in the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building last week. Not many metrics received awards, and no Japanese motors won, but a nifty BSA (previously profiled here on bikerMetric), a slick Norton, and an extremely tweaked Eastern European BMW knockoff kicked the 300-wide ***** of everything else.
The Beemer knockoff placed 3rd in the Freestyle class, and was the first metric bike to receive an award. The builder, Yuri Shif of Yuri Shif Custom from Minsk, calls it the Machine. It has hub steering and he built the supercharged motor from a BMW R71 and the seemingly uber-rare Moskva K750 to create a 90 cubic inch/1475cc four-cylinder boxer.
 |
| the machine | yuri shif custom |
 |
| the machine | yuri shif custom |
In 5th place, and the 2nd metric, is the 1965 BSA 650 Beezerker by Chris Flechtner at Speed Shop Design. It has a girder fork, cast stainless steel BMX grips with twist clutch and throttle, stainless headers that merge into the ceramic-coated frame that exits behind the saddle, and oil in the downtube. Every component was hand fabricated.
 |
| beezerker | speed shop design |
 |
| beezerker | speed shop design |
 |
| beezerker | speed shop design |
The next metric in the AMD Championship, the third metric to place, came in at #8 and was build by last year’s first place winner, Dave Cook from Cook Customs. It’s a wicked 1975 Norton 850 Commando that was constructed to be a regular rider for the owner. It’s got one-off everything, from the frame and wheels to the perimeter brakes.
 |
| norton 850 commando | cook customs |
 |
| norton 850 commando | cook customs |
 |
| norton 850 commando | cook customs |
The first two bikes are incredibly unique. From the blown-out drag bike the Machine – which should be brought to Bonneville! – to the retro-modern sleek look of the Beezerker, I’ve never seen anything similar to either of them. Dave Cook’s bike is wicked, but he’s done a few with the same design ethic, including the Cook Cadillac, and the Nickel Bike. The Ramber placed first because of it’s unique transversely-mounted inline-four Honda powertrain. The Norton has a beautiful style, but it’s no longer new.
To read and see more about these bikes as well as discover the winner, a V-Rod by the always innovative Fred Krugger, visit the AMD Championship website (click the blue arrows on the site for each bike).
Photography by Horst Roesler and Frank Sander.
Get the best of bikerMetric directly in your inbox, once a week, every week.
[wysija_form id="1"]