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"ALIEN" by Rick...pics by Rod.
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The concept of the Alien started to develop a few weeks after the 05 Gold Coast Bike Week. I was drawing a mental picture of a mean & nasty looking machine with an aggressive presence. The vision that was taking place was for something that had a very clean minimalist look that would involve a lot of technical engineering advances. I was setting a challenge for myself to create something that was visible attractive whilst incorporating all that technical stuff. I didn't want to do something that just looked really cool. I wanted it to work, not just work but work well and make it last. I wanted the engine to be a feature of the beast, the heart if you like to stand alone, to look like it was slung from the under belly of the beast. Free of all the things you normally see hanging of the engine. It followed that the gearbox should be separate but still be part of the guts of it all.
The carby idea was one I've had for a couple of years now but never got the chance to use, it's actually a Mikuni that is normally found in the marine environment. Apart from being a very efficient mechanical devise it worked well with the theme I was trying to do. It's like the umbilical cord from the belly of the beast connecting to the heart.
That is the engine. It did take some tuning though to get it right.
Of course you can’t buy a frame like this so Jim and I made it ourselves as part of the minimal theme I decided that l didn't want any conventional lower frame rails as such, so basically we started building the frame around the engine & gearbox. The lower part of the frame was constructed from 10 mm steel plate that l formed a dye for from a few blocks of hardwood, set it up in the press got the oxy torch out and went for it. Should have got some pictures of that, middle of summer, white hot metal & smoke pouring off the burning timber. Just like an old blacksmith's shop but it worked out pretty well in the end forming an almost perfect curve around the crankcase. I'd already machined the engine mounts as such out of 25 x 25 steel bars that was relief cut to exactly match the cases basically forming a raised section that we could clean the paint from and not have to cut into the paint itself as such. I did the same thing with the axle plates as well. Next we extended the plate off the back of the engine pan to form the support for the softail type gearbox then it rises up behind the box to form the pivot point for the swing arm.
Under the gearbox l chose to mount the FLT oil pan basically where the softail shocks would normally go. Inside the oil tank we incorporated a diffusion baffle to stop oil slop and also separate the oil feed and return if you look at the positioning of the oil lines you will see why this was necessary
For the swing arm pivot itself l basically replicated the dyna set up. Honed it to size after all the welding was done to achieve perfect roundness so the bearings run sweet as.
The swing arm itself was particularly challenging getting the line l was after and maintaining clearance to the belt was a problem, what we ended up with was a bit of a compromise between what looks good and what works. The belt actually runs through the swing arm so we built in a removable section to enable belt installation
For the mono-shock suspension a white power / oldies unit originally meant for a R1 Yamaha race bike was sourced from a old mate Pommy Dave who's had a lot to do with suspension set up's on GP bikes over the years. Obviously we had a bit of work to do with spring rates etc but we've pretty much got it sorted. Depends on the rider weight but the amount of adjustment in the shock itself is enormous I originally worked on a linkage type system for the shock as does the R1 but space didn't permit this and we had to revert to a direct push system similar to say a Buell which we all know works quite well.
Back to the frame itself I had to work out the mounting points and clearances to achieve the 70mm of swing arm travel required and still keep it all hidden as much as possible. From the swing arm pivot we split the frame tube to run around the shock and met up with the curved back bone of the frame which we needed to run quite high over the engine for clearance to the carby and air filter. Finally meeting back up with the frame neck which l machined up to incorporate a steering lock also out of a Dyna.
I should mention here that we chromed the lower section of the frame in a satin finish a look I was after to help hide it and to blend it in with the polish and chrome of the engine and gearbox. I even got asked by a couple of the judges at Bike Week if indeed there was a lower frame section.
With the frame of the beast complete l looked at the tin ware as such. Close mounted fenders on rigid frames look good but we had a swing arm type frame. I have seen plenty of attempts at mounting the guard to the swing arm like a rigid and keeping the seat separate none of which have worked for me so l came up with the idea of basically 2 separate guards. l must say that at this stage the opera house did come to mind.
The lower guard doing what guards does the upper one supporting the seat which we also made to look like a saddle thrown over the beast.
With the pipes l didn't want them to be a feature of the engine as they generally are on most bikes. Still trying to keep that engine as a stand alone feature and bringing them out the front like this helps achieve that. Wrapping them around the forward controls and splitting each pipe into 2 so the final effect of having 4 pipes aiming at you gives a menacing appearance, as well as providing a serious WOW factor.
We had already decided to make our own forward controls that would appear to rise up from under the bike. Doing this also provided an opportunity to relocate the shift linkage to run under the primary instead of over it, clearing this area for the rear exhaust to run where the shift linkage would normally be.
For the tank I had the idea of carrying through with the with the layer concept of the rear fender. l thought of doing it myself but realistically there was no other choice than to again call on Scotty of Scotty’s Choppers fame. I envisioned a 2 piece that would wrap around the carby and be topped by the breast plate of the beast, hiding the air craft type filler cap underneath and leaving a perfectly clear space for some of the most amazing art work you will see on a motorcycle.
The paint work for me anyway, was the easiest part of the whole job? Get two of the best guys in the business Craig and Perry, and let them do their thing. These are the same guys who painted my last bike "Flame" also featured in Ozbike issue # 295 we had already worked out the basic theme of the “Alien” but l decided to leave it up to them to pick colors and the layout. What l was trying to do was let a couple of the best guys in the game work without restriction. They're way better at their job than l am so why get in their way
Craig of custom spray painting concepts on the Sunshine Coast (54 934 054) did the prep work and molding to perfection laying down the base coats that he mixed up himself. A choice of candies that often look black but get them in the right light and the effect is amazing changing into brilliant blues and shades there of as the eye moves over it.
Perry of Mallet custom art (0407677901 or check out www.malletcustomart.com.au ) is responsible for the amazing artwork. With this l also left it to him in complete confidence to do as he pleased. You don't need to tell the best air brush guy in the country how to do his job. Take a good look at the colours. It is really the imagination detail depth and fineness of line that amazes me this guy has the talent to become one of the countries great artists. Recently releasing his first limited edition print.
When Perry was finished it was back to Craig for the final clears which are completely flawless, perfection in paint and yes the judges at Bike Week later told me that they gave it a perfect score of 30 / 30 points yet we didn't win the best paint award (that's the politics of shows l guess).
Rounding out the package we used PM casino wheels and brakes only the best for the best. The front end is a beautifully made Goldhammer unit from Canada that l had to pull apart to re-machine to accept the custom cycle controls. The headlight is from Germany that works pretty well with the fork.
There's much more to the bike that l could go on about but that’s enough from me.
Hope you enjoy the bike…..
RICK |
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