Photo: Yuri Hvtisishvili
Motorcycle replicas made from wood are not exactly a new thing, but Yuri Hvtisishvili’s jaw-dropping creation will definitely leave you with eye popping out of your head. A woodworker in a carpentry shop, Yuri was not exactly busy during the beginning the year, so he thought about how he could use his free time the best way possible. A master craftsman, Yuri had already seen multiple other bike models made from wood, but he wanted to create something rather different.
So a 1:1 scale replica seemed one of the craziest ideas, and before the actual work on the model could be started, he had to decide which bike he should choose. Since the former Soviet Union has produced quite a lot of domestic motorcycles, Yuri’s choice was not exactly easy, but in the end, it was the IZH-49 he fell in love with.
IZH has manufactured the 49 model between 1951 and 1958, so this bike is a true vintage piece of machinery, with dual seats, a suicide shifter and all the other characteristic elements the bikes of yesteryear proudly came with. Yuri said that the seats and the fuel tank were the parts which he loved most about the IZH-49 and helped him choose the bike.
The complexity of the endeavor did not scare Yuri. Au contraire, it looks like the intricate details he had to reproduce were more like a factor of extra determination for creating something quite unique. It took 4 months of painstaking work to go from “lumber to rumble”, with the project receiving its last varnish coat on May 18. Yuri used pine and beech because he knew they make a wonderful combination together.
Yuri Hvtisishvili carefully reproduced the shapes of the IZH down to the minute details, from the biggest parts to the smallest ones, such as bolts and wires. Speaking of details, you’ll most likely find it hard to believe that the things which look like wire from afar are indeed pieces of wood, too, so we’re really talking black belt carpenter skills this time. In my book, this wooden machine is perfect, and I can’t really find a fault to it, if we agree that rideability is a non-issue.
Via motorbiker. Follow the link for more photos of Yuri’s wonderful wooden IZH-49.
IZH has manufactured the 49 model between 1951 and 1958, so this bike is a true vintage piece of machinery, with dual seats, a suicide shifter and all the other characteristic elements the bikes of yesteryear proudly came with. Yuri said that the seats and the fuel tank were the parts which he loved most about the IZH-49 and helped him choose the bike.
The complexity of the endeavor did not scare Yuri. Au contraire, it looks like the intricate details he had to reproduce were more like a factor of extra determination for creating something quite unique. It took 4 months of painstaking work to go from “lumber to rumble”, with the project receiving its last varnish coat on May 18. Yuri used pine and beech because he knew they make a wonderful combination together.
Yuri Hvtisishvili carefully reproduced the shapes of the IZH down to the minute details, from the biggest parts to the smallest ones, such as bolts and wires. Speaking of details, you’ll most likely find it hard to believe that the things which look like wire from afar are indeed pieces of wood, too, so we’re really talking black belt carpenter skills this time. In my book, this wooden machine is perfect, and I can’t really find a fault to it, if we agree that rideability is a non-issue.
Via motorbiker. Follow the link for more photos of Yuri’s wonderful wooden IZH-49.
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