It's safe to say few bikes are more polarizing than Lock Baker's Speed Fetus. The owner of Eastern Fabrications describes his creation best.
My inspiration for the Speed Fetus came from the Japanese. I have been a fan of Japanese bike builders for some time, and this is my attempt at making an exageration out of their style which I feel is essentially an exageration of ours. I wanted to mix as many old motorcycle components as possible, without it looking confused or out of place. The copper plating and acid treating was to help achieve an antique look, to match the antique parts. The tank design is what I would consider an extremely exagerated Sportster tank. The throttle assembly is the third version. I have been experimenting with this concept for a while now and think that this is the best so far. The name "Speed Fetus" came from the fact that the bike is very fast for a knuckle, and because it has a frail, under-developed look to it.
composit knucklehead motor, replica cases and heads, original 47 flywheels, rods, pistons, cylinders, cam cover, tappet blocks. 61" displacement. Flywheels shaved down to approx half stock weight and staic ballanced at 55%. Carb is s and s B, ignition is spyke coil and motor factory ignition.
Frame is hybrid efab/78" harley. neck, downtubes, frame rails, swingarm pivot area are HD, top tube, support bar, seat tube, seat area is e-fab. Panhead swingarm modified for Ohlins monoshock. Entire bike is copper plated and etched with acid.
Trans is Kiwi Indian chief, late style, 4 speed.
Primary is indian chain, clutch assembly. Front pulley is Indian adapted to HD sprocket shaft. efab tensioner and oiler system.
Sheetmetal is all efab, steel, hand formed (and no the tank is not "taken" from anything!)
Fork is moto guzzi ambasador, lowered 2". efab top tree. triumph bonneville drum brake, modified a bit. efab axle.
Other efab parts: rear wheel, bars, throttle assembly, seat/tail section, plumbing, grips, footpegs, exhaust, oil tank, battery box, tailight housing, shift knob, risers, foot controls, all cast bronze parts too.
Hardly an art bike, Lock's machine is a rider, and one most people either love or hate. That's just fine with him. Regardless of your personal take on this motorcycle, the craftsmanship and clever thinking can not be ignored, nor should it. While the handmade tank is clearly Lock's focal point, the truly magnificent details are in its small bits and pieces. Take the grips and bird deflector, for instance. No bolt-on CNC stuff here, nor cast alloy, for that matter. These grips may look like carved wood, but they are actually made of laminated and shaved leather. Who does this kind of stuff? Lock Backer does, and he does it well.
With the leverage that usually gets applied to apes, everyone knows they can slip in the risers. Lock solved that problem, too. Enjoy the third mounting point on the center of the bars, complete with an adjuster for putting them in just the right spot. Clearly, original and clever engineering is the central theme here, not just freaking out the squares with a funky tank and calling it "Japstyle" or whatever buzzword might fit.
Engine: Composite knucklehead motor, replica cases and heads, original '47 flywheels, rods, pistons, cylinders, cam cover and tappet blocks. 61-inch displacement. Flywheels shaved down to approximately half stock weight and staic balanced at 55%. S&S B carb, Spyke coil and factory ignition
Frame: Hybrid eFab/'78 Harley. Neck, down tubes, frame rails, swingarm pivot area are H-D; top tube, support bar, seat tube and seat area are eFab. Panhead swingarm modified for Ohlins monoshock. Entire bike is copper plated and etched with acid
Trans: Kiwi Indian Chief, late style, 4-speed
Primary: Indian chain, clutch assembly. Front pulley is Indian adapted to H-D sprocket shaft. eFab tensioner and oiler system
Sheetmetal: All eFab, steel, hand formed
Fork: Moto Guzzi Ambasador, lowered 2 inches; eFab top tree; Triumph Bonneville drum brake with eFab axle
Other eFab parts: rear wheel, bars, throttle assembly, seat/tail section, plumbing, grips, footpegs, exhaust, oil tank, battery box, tailight housing, shift knob, risers, foot controls, all cast bronze parts
You can see more of Lock Baker's amazing work at his Eastern Fabrications website.
ridemore16
tattoo2303
Vassago
Ghosttown
Topher
C
Topher
C
dannyb
Tejanodiablo
tuco
evobuilder
Crying9s
KlubFoot
NHMike
Boylecomm
Lock's knives look real nice.,Make me a knife....
cro
Tejanodiablo
bmjwright
SLCBrandon
64panman
Snidley
beanmachine
Metalismo
JakenBake
CABALLERO
Poppy
dan321
davidabl
with the rider on it. True no doubt, and twice as true in the case of this bike ..
While it's being ridden I fear that it'd either look like the rider is trying to keep
the tank from flying off the bike or that the rider was having an inappropriate relationship with the tank. Like the tank was a "man lure" not a fishing lure!!
"Thinking outside the box' is a good and necessary thing,and art and science can't advance without it. But the artist should remember that sometimes there's a good reason that something hasn't been done before.
garco
http://heyltjerose.com/#/client/template.xml?aaa=h...
dannyb
TEACH
Flatheadsoup
rider728
stay weird brother...
RIPshitRIOT
leap5
McFonzarelli
KENDALL
davidabl
example) i'm starting to get purely mechanical questions about mounting
a tank this way.. Gas tanks are always mounted at several points, and with
the largest dimension of the tank parallel to the ground. Both things done to
reduced torque forces on the mounts..This one's just the opposite, so the
mount would have to be heavily over-engineered to make it secure.
TroyFab
elgranzombo
ironlance
me
AJSEVEN
Fperiodcorrectchoppers
If you cant get why Lock didn't open the custom chrome book to the coveted page 69, or why he didn't just walk his ass down to the weekly so. cal swap meet to buy the "sickest" Bates seat or pot metal sissy bar than you shouldn't be posting comments about how this bike is an abortion.
Building motorcycles should be about setting the bar for the next builder. Creating something that inspires others to push the limits and launch a new era of chopper; not assembling a pile of parts stick welded together buy a bunch of hippie bikers in the sixties when you can create something so much cooler, fresher and (try and wrap you heads around this one) with your own hands, skills and vision?
Oh, and tuco, you ride a banana, shut the fuck up
AttilaHOD
SportsterBob
awesome! just awesome! :)
ventu