Top 10 custom bikes of 2014

FOR once this Top 10 isn’t relying on our own subjective opinions here at Visordown Towers but those of some real experts – the judges of the AMD 2014 World Championship of Custom Bike Building.

While the event actually took place back at Intermot in Cologne in October last year, the awesome machines that entered were fighting for column inches against a host of new factory models at the time, so there’s been little press coverage. As a result, there’s a good chance you haven’t seen them.

These are just the top 10 from the Freestyle class. Pictures of all the rest of the entrants, as well as those from the Retro Modified, Modified Harley Davidson, Street Performance and Café Racer classes are all there to be seen at the website of the AMD Championship.

10. Sex Metal by CF Costruzioni Meccaniche

You probably wouldn’t choose a Honda Dominator as the basis for a world class custom bike. But Sex Metal’s Italian creators did, and it works surprisingly well. Ok, so there’s not much Honda left apart from the engine, but the bike is a marvel with a skeletal frame, front swingarm suspension and its fuel tank hidden in the bellypan.

9. La Bestia 1372 by Valtoron

Spanish builders Valtoron used a 1982 Kawasaki as the basis for their creation, and it retains the engine and much of the frame. Interestingly, there isn’t too much expensive stuff here – the forks are FZR600 parts and even the wheels and brakes aren’t massively high-end. This is about building skill rather than a big bank balance, so check out instead the hand-made aluminium bodywork and the pipework to the massive Rayjay turbo, with its specially made ‘Valtoron’ branded heat shield.

8. Knuck Out by Riverside Motorcyclettes

The Euro theme continues with the French-made Knuck Out, which is a totally different proposition to the last two entrants. More like the latest American designs, it combines classic cues like the S&S engine and the springer forks with modern touches like the massive 26-inch alloy wheels.