Blunt Weapon: Classified Moto’s Speed Triple ‘Frank’
It?s tough being a custom bike builder. Aside from having to make a living, you?re at the mercy of public opinion?which can be a whole stadium?s worth of armchair quarterbacks. In short, you need a tough skin.
They don?t come much tougher than John Ryland of Classified Moto. He?s developed not only a signature style, but also a solid business. And there?s more demand for his work than ever before.
It?s a gutsy approach that has made Ryland?s Richmond, Virginia shop world famous. But this latest commission was from just 500 miles up the road: the headquarters of Rebel Yell Bourbon in Louisville, Kentucky.
The brief was pretty open?but that?s a double-edged sword. ?Parameters can be bad or good,? says John. ?Too many, and you can?t let your creative juices flow enough. Too few, and you can?t blame your ideas on anyone but yourself.?
In the case of this 2007 Triumph Speed Triple 1050, the ideas obviously flowed freely. ?Frank? is obviously mad, bad, and dangerous to know, a product of the twisted imaginations of John and his lead tech Danik Herashchanka.
?Part of the enjoyment came from using what we had around the shop. And the Speed Triple is what we had,? says John. ?We also didn?t have anything specific the bike needed to do, except look cool (to us), be reasonably comfortable for a 1,200-mile trip to Sturgis, and be capable of some antics along the way.?
Despite the radical looks, much of the bike remains stock: the hardest part was building a swing arm to accommo...
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