Big $20, winner take it all—that’s the philosophy behind building Lightning Bolt custom motorcycles. Regional, invite-only events attract cyclists from all over the world, from disturbance person ARRIVE chopping machine, for a chance to win the biggest winner’s prize in the country. However, there is a catch — qualifying bikes must be able to run and you will have to prove it.
We reviewed bikes from the recent New York event and handpicked our favorites. The show in NYC last month was the third Lightning event, after the first two were held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Organized by The House of Machines and sponsored by BMW Motorrad, the Lightning Bolt is a simple event with a big prize pool. It also forms part of a larger building series; Individual performances are considered regional, with the winners taking part in the upcoming international Golden Bolt competition.
The event welcomes all types of bicycles, as long as you can impress the organizers during the registration process. Instead of packing a huge venue with bikes, Lightning shrunk the participants down to just 10 finalists, before the screening. So the competition is fierce.
Three separate judges, contested by Kevin Dunworth, look at every detail of the bike, scoring on the overall design, build and paintwork. BMW Motorrad design boss Edgar Heinrich, Buttera’s Metal Werx’s Brian Buttera and India’s Larry, John the Painter hosted the event in New York.
Your vision and craft get you a seat at the table, but you’ll have to prove your bike’s road skills to win the real prize. This year’s contestants rode around NYC, departing from The House of Machines, through Chinatown and Little Italy, before heading to the Foley Gallery in Manhattan.
There, the bikes were displayed to both the judges and the public, before the official after-party of the show at The House of Machines. Out of the 10 finalists, only seven passed the drivability test — we picked our 5 favorites from that pool.
Evan Favaro’s Yamaha XS650 the head of honcho at Speakeasy Motors in Wallkill, New York, Evan Favaro is building a two-wheeler for himself and friends to race around town at age 12. So it’s no surprise to see his 1981 car. Yamaha XS650 is inspired by speed; in this case, the race track racers of the 1920s.
Making the XS look like a part starts with a sturdy long frame from Voodoo, combined with an Indian-style leaf spring front end. The split tank and rear fender are handcrafted and fitted with custom stainless brackets.
Look under the low saddle and you’ll find custom triangular racks and a small monoshock. To add to the awe factor, Evan added a bevel gear throttle assembly and custom cam caps made from billet steel and Lexan.
Larry Curik’s Harley-Davidson Shovel Head Larry Curik’s Lone Star Choppers in Texas dug deep into the history of ’70s Harley-Davidson to build a shovelhead-based tracker with the flair of the XR750. It is based on the Arlen Ness frame with major modifications to the backbone, steeper rake and custom rear subframe. 19-inch Harley wheels and a steel tailgate complete the tracker-style look, with the front license plate perforated to let the hidden headlights shine through.
Even so, getting the S&S Cycle shovel head motor to look like a part is no small feat. Larry changed the rear cylinder and head to hang a pair of carburetors on the right and a pair of Supertrapps on the left. Finish it all off with a glossy finish, track Hoosier rubber and a handlebar stabilizer, and you’ve got a big chunky XR suitable for the track or the street.
Rick Dozer’s Harley-Davidson panhead We are used to seeing aluminum prefab houses and countless bright products by Rick Dozer his vintage HDs and Lightning Bolt builds don’t disappoint. Inspired by the monolithic bodies of Tracy’s Fiberglas Works of the 1970s, Rick built a pan head show car with a seamless aluminum bodywork from the fuel tank to the rear fender.
This bike is based on an OE-style rigid frame, but Rick has raised the neck, saddle, and axle plates, and extended the rear by 3 inches. 18- and 21-inch tall wheels complement the long low stance, as do narrow chrome springs.
Among the many subtleties you’ll find the internal throttle cable setup, the B-side and teardrop-shaped chrome tubes machined into the cam caps, propeller pedals and shafts.
Honda XR650R by Spencer Parr Classic style with modern performance, that is by Spencer Parr motto, and his Honda flat-track for Lightning Bolt offers a lot of both. Hiding under this fragile body flat trackis Honda’s mighty XR650R.
Starting from the basics, Spencer rebuilt the 2002 XR650R bumper, improving performance with Lectron carburetors and custom twin exhausts with Supertrapp mufflers.
The new rear subframe, tail section, license plate and grille are handcrafted from aluminum for a tracker-style look, along with 19-inch Excel wheels and DOT flat track rubber. Added with Honda’s nostalgic racing paint color, this XR is a dream big displacement machine that any thug would covet.
Steve Iacona’s Harley-Davidson Softail [Winner] When Steve Iacona’s Custom bike Iacona start your work Harley Softmail chopper, he says he’s building the bike he’s always dreamed of having the time to build. After countless hours of work, he had a real performer with great manners on the road. But we’re sure that a giant check for $20,000 has gone beyond even his wildest dreams.
It wasn’t in Steve’s nature to leave anything in storage, so his new Softail helicopter started off with a completely reworked chassis. Every part of the HD is modified, chromed or polished, down to the brackets, linkages and plumbing.
Classic chopper details are combined with modern touches, such as the aggressive club-style steering wheel layout and modern street tires.
With its eye-catching skin and paintwork, and wild loop-shaped exhaust pipes, this Softail looks like a real road sweeper. And according to Steve, reality fun is riding it.
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