The Ride 2nd Gear ─ New Custom Motorcycles and Their Builders

Men and motorcycles: a story that has vacillated
somewhere between cult and cliche
for years. Custom bikes, in particular, have
a history that is deeply rooted in the spirit of
freedom and change of the 1960s, as well as
man's primal urge to build something with
his own hands --or, in this case, tools. The
Ride 2nd Gear is a showcase of the power and
beauty of these bikes.
The book presents a stunning selection
of recent custom motorcycles, as well as the
small, local workshops around the globe in
which they are built. Hotbeds of creativity
and craftsmanship, these workshops are
mostly run by single individuals and attract
a small yet devoted community of fans
and fellow builders. Rather than coveting
the newest luxury models to come off the
assembly line, this community is more concerned
with transformations. They want to
turn grandpa's old heap, a bargain found
on eBay, or a soulless model from another
era into something of their very own. They
want to augment old motors and existing
mechanics with modern technology or
make their personal visions of aesthetics
and handling a reality. This process takes
time, dedication, technical expertise, and
skilled handcraft.
From limited series to one-offs made
for personal pleasure or to order, The Ride
2nd Gear features the brilliant results of
this process. Its pages are filled with bikes
that offer extraordinary design and driving
experiences. In fact, established brands
are now acting on trends set by the custom
scene whose bikes are often more radical
and sophisticated because more attention
can be paid to detail and each new idea can
be fine-tuned to perfection.
The models shown in The Ride 2nd Gear
stem from or are based on classic bobbers
and choppers, Italian-style racing machines,
plastic Japanese motorcycles, and rare
BMWs or Triumphs, some of which may
very well be 30-50 or even 80 years old. They
are vintage in the best sense of the word.
They not only preserve, but also improve
and expand upon the quality of traditional
craftsmanship. Decked out with state-ofthe-
art disk brakes, LED lights, gears, and
drive components, these custom machines
are more agile, faster, and therefore more
fun than anything produced in the past.