18 Nisan 2011 Pazartesi

Porsche Tribute Chopper Has Me Scratching My Head

 

 
If you were going to build a motorcycle honoring Porsche, what would you create? Would you start with the V-Rod motor, since Harley-Davidson consulted with Porsche on its design? Would you shoehorn that into a light frame, hand built from aluminum and wrapped in carbon-fiber-goodness? Would you paint it in silver, the traditional color of racing Porsches, and would you make sure that it was fast in corners as well as in a straight line? Wouldn’t a bike like this embody what Porsche was all about?

Custom Wolf, a German bike builder, see things differently. To honor the Stuttgart based automaker, Custom Wolf built up a stretched chopper and stuffed a carbureted S&S v-twin engine into the frame. The LA Chopper exhausts ensure that it will be obnoxiously loud, a trait I don’t often associate with Porsche. The black and gold theme (including gold-plated screws on the motor) leaves me puzzled, since I can’t think of a single classic Porsche in this livery. Even the gas tank, which wears murals of Steve McQueen and James Dean, is far too over-the-top for my tastes. I obviously haven’t ridden it, and I’m sure it’s plenty fast in a straight line, but the fork rake and wheelbase have me thinking that it’ll handle like a school bus in the twisties. It certainly won’t be comfortable, and you can rest assured that you’ll attract plenty of attention from the Polizei with the open exhausts. As a tribute to Porsche, I’d have to rate this a “FAIL”, but respray the paint and you could easily make it an “Orange County Choppers” tribute bike.