Photo: Indian
By definition custom motorcycles are exciting piece of engineering, the result of a single individual or group imagining it for their own use and enjoyment. What that means is no matter how inspiring a custom bike, it very rarely gets the chance to shine in public, for more of us to enjoy.
We were expecting the Indian FTR Tokyo Connection to do the same, and after its initial unveiling at the Bike Shed Moto Show in London back in May for it to disappear from the public eye. Yet, citing high acclaim, Indian decided to keep it under the spotlight some more.
More to the point the bike will be displayed at Indian Motorcycle London in Kensington starting July 11 and until the end of the month for all those who can make it there to see and enjoy.
There is a catch with this display, though, as it's not only meant to advertise the bike. The custom is not for sale, at least for now, but apparel items that were created to match is, and Indian is hopeful visitors will spend some money on that. The list of products being offered includes a heavyweight hoodie, t-shirts, and a cap – pricing has not been made public for any of them.
Back to the Tokyo Connection, the bike came to be after Indian, specialized magazine Sideburn, and Japanese custom builder Toshiyuki "Cheetah" Osawa joined hands to create the incredible project. Other big names in the motorcycle industry (S&S Cycle, Hagon Wheels, and Dunlop) had a hand in it as well.
Extreme in design, the FTR has two main visual highlights, the one-piece aluminum fuel tank, complete with a special cover, and the S&S Grand National exhaust system painted, very surprisingly, in white (a shade called Stormtrooper).
As with all custom builds the devil is in the details and great care was taken to cover all angles. Indian itself contributed to the build things like the rearsets, levers for brakes and clutch, and the caps for the radiator and oil tank. Rizoma supplied the indicators, and Neken the handlebars.
The bike rides on 19-inch wheels front and rear, both of them wearing Dunlop tires. They get their spin from the stock engine of the FTR, left unchanged for the purposes of the build.
Neither of the parties involved said anything about how much the Tokyo Connection costs. It's also unclear what will happen to it after the public display in London ends at the end of the month.
Probably all options are on the table, including a sale to an interested party, and that's when we'll likely find out how much money one needs to own such an incredible machine. Naturally, we'll come back to the story as soon as we learn more about that.
More to the point the bike will be displayed at Indian Motorcycle London in Kensington starting July 11 and until the end of the month for all those who can make it there to see and enjoy.
There is a catch with this display, though, as it's not only meant to advertise the bike. The custom is not for sale, at least for now, but apparel items that were created to match is, and Indian is hopeful visitors will spend some money on that. The list of products being offered includes a heavyweight hoodie, t-shirts, and a cap – pricing has not been made public for any of them.
Back to the Tokyo Connection, the bike came to be after Indian, specialized magazine Sideburn, and Japanese custom builder Toshiyuki "Cheetah" Osawa joined hands to create the incredible project. Other big names in the motorcycle industry (S&S Cycle, Hagon Wheels, and Dunlop) had a hand in it as well.
Extreme in design, the FTR has two main visual highlights, the one-piece aluminum fuel tank, complete with a special cover, and the S&S Grand National exhaust system painted, very surprisingly, in white (a shade called Stormtrooper).
As with all custom builds the devil is in the details and great care was taken to cover all angles. Indian itself contributed to the build things like the rearsets, levers for brakes and clutch, and the caps for the radiator and oil tank. Rizoma supplied the indicators, and Neken the handlebars.
The bike rides on 19-inch wheels front and rear, both of them wearing Dunlop tires. They get their spin from the stock engine of the FTR, left unchanged for the purposes of the build.
Neither of the parties involved said anything about how much the Tokyo Connection costs. It's also unclear what will happen to it after the public display in London ends at the end of the month.
Probably all options are on the table, including a sale to an interested party, and that's when we'll likely find out how much money one needs to own such an incredible machine. Naturally, we'll come back to the story as soon as we learn more about that.
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