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Confederate Hellcat. "Our bikes aren't styled, so potentially, they'll never be dated," says J.T. Nesbitt, design chief of Confederate Motor Co., as quoted by Bill Breen in Fast Company (August 05). In fact, "style" is a four-letter word at New Orleans-based Confederate, where the motorcycles are built not for looks, but to "create a super-strong, super-responsive riding machine" that creates "a whole new notion of the American motorcycle." Something "fiercely American." Says Confederate founder Matt Chambers: "I want to create something that I can show to my German and Japanese friends and say, 'Here is what America is capable of.'"
What Confederate is capable of is a $62,000 motorcycle that takes a week to build, by hand. Fewer than 100 are produced each year. The inspiration is "early racing bikes" but radically re-interpreted. For one thing, the engine is tied "directly into the motorcycle's swing-arm pivot, where the rear suspension meets the bike's foundation." Says J.T. Nesbitt: "This is one of those rare instances in vehicle design where the engine and chassis weren't designed separately ... They're part of a married whole." Not only that, but there's no muffler, as the "exhaust system drops down through the rear suspension. The backbone, which curves over the motor, doubles as an oil line and electrical route ... the exhaust and wiring are hidden."
For a motorcycle not designed for looks, it's truly a sight to behold, and you've pretty much got to see the Confederate Hellcat to believe it: confederate.com. Confederate's newest bike, the B91 Wraith, the first 60 of which will roll out in October, meanwhile was praised by a "leading reviewer" as the "rolling antithesis to market-driven conformity." That's exactly what Matt Chambers has in mind: "The more we diminish money as our chief goal, the more passion we can put into our efforts," he says, adding: "Passion gives the motorcycle its life force. You can literally feel it coming off of the machine." Confederate hopes Harley will soon feel that heat, albeit in a good way. The hope is that Confederate ultimate might get Harley to "adapt some of its breakthroughs and bring them to a wider market, at lower prices." As J.T. Nesbitt puts it: "We don't want to beat Harley, we want to teach Harley."
Tim Manners, editor
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©2005 reveries.com |
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