Istvan Puskas, a motorcycle enthusiast from Hungary took the term “chopper” litterally and actually spent the last two years chopping his dream ride from black locust wood. In the past, we’ve featured a few other unique wooden vehicles, like the bicycles of Slawomir Weremkowicz, or the VW Betle built by Momir Bojic, and even the popsicle stick bike made by Sun Chao, but this is the first functional chopper we’ve ever seen. Istvan Puskas has spent the last two years building a -one-of-a-kind chopper almost entirely out of weather-resistant black locust wood. It’s not clear whether the agricultural machine expert from Tiszaros, 161 kilometers east of Budapest, couldn’t afford to buy himself an ordinary chopper, or if he just wanted to create something that would stand out weherever he went, but his wooden masterpiece certainly got a lot of attention when it was recently unveiled.

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This is one of the most unbelievable stories I have come across in a while, and had my doubts about its authenticity at first, but after reading about it on some reputed websites, my worries were put to rest. The story was recently made public by Reddit user ‘Naruhodo‘, who linked to a bunch of photos of a Mad-Max-style motorcycle apparently built out of the parts of a broken-down Citroen 2CV, by a man stranded in the Sahara Desert. Pretty unbelievable stuff, only it turned out to be absolutely 100% true. It all happened back in 1993, when Frenchman Emile Leray was on a solo trip in Northern Africa, driving his specially prepared Citroen 2CV. His car broke down in the middle of the desert, tens of kilometers from the nearest settlement. To survive, the French MacGyver created a motorcycle out of parts of his broken down car. Read More »

What if an Alien and a Predator decided to put aside their differences and have a baby? It sounds crazy, I know, but I’m guessing that’s what Roongrojna Sangwongprisarn had in mind when he built this mad-looking motorcycle.

Roongrojna is a Bangkok-based artist who creates all kinds of awesome metal sculptures, based on popular monsters, using discarded parts from cars, motorcycles and bicycles. The 54-year-old owns four shops across Thailand, called Ko Art Shop, and exports his works of art all over the world.

You’ve probably seen more impressive Hollywood movie props, but unlike those, this impressive piece of metal work is actually rideable. I have no idea what bike this was initially, or how fast it is, but who needs speed when you’re riding a metal masterpiece like this, right? It’s hard to believe it was made exclusively from discarded metal parts…

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We’ve featured some pretty awesome motorcycle miniatures, in the past, but few were as incredibly detailed as young Vyacheslav Voronovich’s wooden masterpieces.

The Lvov-based artist dreamed of owning a motorcycle ever since he was just a kid, and rode his first one in the seventh grade. At the same time he was always interested in hand-made miniatures, and developed a passion for woodcarving. So even though he couldn’t afford to buy himself a real motorcycle, he discovered he could create his own perfect wooden replicas.

The idea of making his first 1:12 scale wooden motorcycle first came to Vyacheslav a year and a half ago, and it quickly turned into a hobby. He was inspired by some other motorcycle miniatures he had seen online, and wanted to see if he could make his own, from wood. In the beginning, he had some doubts he could actually pull it off, but after figuring out what kind of wood to use for each component, things started going smoothly. He finished his first bike and noticed that every new one he created looked better than the last.

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Talented Brazilian artist Jose Geraldo Reis Pfau creates beautiful motorcycle miniatures using only parts from old wristwatches.

Pfau’s passion for motorcycles began in the 1960’s. He owned various types of motorcycles, some of them modified and inspired by the movie “Easy Rider”. But the artist born and raised in Blumenau, Santa Catarina was also fascinated by the arts, and it was only natural that his artistic talent and passion for bikes combine in a unique project. At first, he developed several motorcycle images, but after reading about artists who created motorcycle miniatures out wood, pottery, wire and other materials, he decided to make similar artworks, out of a completely new medium – wristwatches.

The time pieces that inspired Jose Geraldo Reis Pfau’s creations were collected with a help of a friend who happened to own a wristwatch shop. Through an advertising campaign, clients were encouraged to give their old watches as a first installment on the purchase of a new one. This provided the artist with the necessary materials to experiment and create his unique wristwatch motorcycles.

Although Pfau only creates his art during the weekends, he has a collection of hundreds of motorcycles made exclusively from wristwatch components. They have been showcased at jewelry fairs and art exhibitions throughout Brazil and several other countries.

 

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The designers of Parker Brothers Choppers have managed to turn the iconic CGI Tron Lightcycle into a real, rideable motorcycle.

While it may look impossible to ride in real life, Parker Brothers Choppers managed to create a real life replica able to reach speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. The 8-feet-long, 23-inches-wide and 215-kilograms-heavy masterpiece looks exactly like the space-age bike featured in Tron, it’s powered by a present day TL1000R motor that powers the chain driven friction drive system.

At first, the guys just wanted to see if they could build it, but as the videos of the build process they posted on YouTube went viral, it turned into a serious project. 800,000 people viewed the test drive of the Tron Lighcycle, and all the media coverage attracted the attention of Disney, who now wants to use the bike at promotional event for their new motion picture.

The real life Lightcycle is just a prototype, but Parker Brothers Choppers is currently working on another four lightcycles. Sadly, if you were thinking of buying one of these babies, you should know four of them are already spoken for, so that just leaves a single one for Tron fanboys to fight over. According to the Florida-based motorcycle manufacturer, a real life lightcycle sells for $55,000.

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Just because someone can’t ride a standard motorcycle anymore doesn’t mean they have to stop exploring the open road. With the Conquest wheelchair motorcycle you can keep the dream alive.

We live in an era where being disabled below the waist doesn’t mean you have to give up driving, thanks to custom made cars, but for motorcycle enthusiasts things didn’t look so good. Until the invention of the Conquest, that is. Thanks to this innovative three-wheel motorcycle disabled bikers don’t have to give up what they love most.

Sure, it doesn’t look as good as a Harley, but it does come with a 1170 cc engine, that pushes the Conquest to speeds up to 105 mph, and gets it for 0 to 60 in 7.6 seconds. Thanks to its rearward ramp, riders can get on board in their wheelchairs, and fasten it with a locking mechanism.

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Built back in 2007, by the guys at Orange County Choppers, the Barbecue Chopper actually features a working barbecue, for people who enjoy a nice steak, on the go. This totally awesome chopper was featured on Make, as a present for its readers, on Memorial Day, and reminded me of the great bikes built by OCC. Normally their concept choppers are just for show, but this particular masterpiece, built for RUB, has a working barbecue, made by pit master, David Klose. The lucky rider can actually enjoy a nice fresh barbecue and ride this baby at the same time. I’d say that’s the ultimate biker’s dream. Read More »

All you Batman fanboys out there, better get your tissues, so you don’t drool on your keyboards, because this Batpod replica is a treat. We’ve seen cool Tumbler replicas before, but this is the first functional Batpod I’ve seen, so far. And the best thing about this thing is that it’s for sale. Sure, we can’t all just whip out $100,000 to buy it, but at least we can dream. The 1:1 replica Batpod took several months to complete, including 2 months of research and over 1,000 hours of intense labor. Its frame and tubing are made of hardened steel, the covers and arm guards are high tensile strength fiberglass. The engine is a whopping 650cc, which features nitrous injection boost and water cooling. In case you’re wondering this custom made Batpod can be ridden, and although it’s not street legal, it has been tested in a controlled environment. According to the seller, it can be made street legal, at the buyer’s request. Still I wouldn’t recommend taking this thing for a ride on the highway, if you value your life. The auction for the Batpod replica is ongoing on eBay, so you still have a chance of snatching it, for $100,000. Read More »

Jim Jablon used the skin of a dead alligator to create one of the strangest bikes ever seen on the roads of Florida. Ironically enough, Jim Jablon’s ‘Gator Bike‘ was created using the skin of an alligator killed by authorities, but it’s now used to raise funds for a wildlife foundation. Alligator are constantly culled, in order to keep their numbers under control, and most of the skins end up pinned up in people’s yards. So Jim thought to put one to good use and get some exposure for his Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando (WROH) foundation. That’s basically how the Gator Bike was born. The Gator Bike took Swedish leather expert Benny Ohrman a full year to complete. The skin and tail come of the bike, but the alligator head is fixed in place and has the speedometer and the rest of the gauges in the back of the head. Jim Jablon decided to raise money for his foundation by organizing a raffle with the Gator Bike as the prize. A raffle ticket costs $100 and only 1,000 will be sold. The winner of the bike will be selected in May, in Fort Lauderdale. It’s worth mentioning the Gator Bike comes with a powerful Ultima engine, and over $86,000 to make. via Daily Mail Read More »

It’s not exactly a music industry breakthrough, but it does show Russian music fans can be very resourceful when they need to. I’ve seen quite a few ingenious motorcycle sidecars, but a full drum set? Sounds a bit silly, but if you’re looking to draw some attention to yourself, there’s no better way than banging on drums while a friend drives the bike through the city streets. Actually, this sounds like a good way to get noticed by record companies as well. via English Russia

If you’re going to ride ina sidecar why not make it a really cool sidecar? I bet that’s what Francois Knorreck said to himself when he started working on this unique motorcycle-car, 10 years ago. That’s right it took him 10 years and $20,000 to complete this masterpiece he calls the Snaefell. He used a Laverda motorcycle and put together the car using whatever parts he got his hands on. Great effort, this crazy project is right up there with the 1967 Mustang Trike. via Dvice