Indian Chief-based Chopper Grabs First Prize at the 2022 European Biker Build-Off Show

The first European Biker Build-Off competition took place way back in 2007, during the famous Custombike-Show. The rules are simple. Two teams go head-to-head and try to prove which one can complete their custom bike within just a three-day time limit. Even more so, they build the entire thing under the watchful eyes of the people attending the show. Talk about "no pressure."

This year's rivals made the show a special one because they are more or less locals from that area, barely 19 miles (30 km) from each other. Bike-Farm, the Indian Motorcycle dealer, is from Melle, and Reibchen + Stegemann, the Harley Davidson, hails from Bielefeld. So after the three-day bike build-off, the voting was closed, and the results were in, with Bike-Farm’s ‘Purple Haze’ Indian Chief chopper crushing it, with 529 to 179 votes.

Ola Stenegärd, Director of Industrial Design at Indian Motorcycle, said, “A classic long fork chopper based on the 2022 Indian Chief! It’s absolutely stunning what the Bike-Farm crew has created here. This bike radically brings to flower the seeds that are at the core of the current Chief lineup: The spirit of the past combined with the technology of today.”

The winning bike was designed around the current air-cooled Thunderstroke 116 engine, but it also has all the electronic features of the original Chief Dark Horse, from which it "sprouted." These features include ABS, and GPS. What's awesome about it is that the touchscreen is now on the reinterpreted Chieftain tank. Other elements that were brought over from the original bike were the footrests and brake systems.

The frame with the full 48-degree rake was built by VG Motorcycle Specials, a Dutch company. All the other parts were custom-made by Bike-Farm. The entire thing took eight weeks to create and was worked on by four people. Manager Tristan Frische said, "Not only have all the electronic features been retained, but also the fully road legal, including remaining Euro 5. So, this dream bike will soon be seen quite regularly on public roads.”