Twin Club MC is one of the oldest and most respected motorcycle clubs in Sweden. It was founded in Norrtlje in the autumn of 1969. For more than 30 years (since 1974, to be precise), Twin Club MC has been putting on the biggest and most prestigious custom motorcycle show in all of Scandinavia. Builders from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia, Germany, and all over Scandinavia and Northern Europe ride their creations in, to the delight of the more than 10,000 people who crowd the Societetsparken on the harbor in the heart of the ancient town. Last year the show was chosen by American Motorcycle Dealer magazine, a well-respected industry publication, to be a European affiliate show for its World Championship of Custom Bike Building. This year's First Place winner was Itso Kotavuopio of Tampere, Finland.
Itso blew the crowd and the judges away with a rolling work of art that would be equally at home on the road or mounted on a pedestal in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Please keep in mind that this show is not a "chopper show" but a custom bike show, although there were plenty of sweet choppers entered as well.Isto's inspiration came from his early experiences with death and rebirth. In small towns in Finland, old, ornate horse-drawn hearses are still commonplace. Most of the ideas for the fantastic handmade details on the bike were taken from these vintage-1800s carriages.
Looking at the bike, it's difficult if not impossible to tell what's going on under its shell and how it was put together. "That's one of the mysteries of life," Isto explained. We'll try to unravel the mystery here. The frame was made out of 25mm seamless hydraulic tubing and covered in hand-fabricated 1.5mm sheetmetal. The sheetmetal was first shaped on a Pullmax, then finished off by hand-hammering it to its current perfect shape. The frame and fuel tank were then molded with lead just the way vintage custom car makers such as George Barris did it in Southern California back in the '50s. We have to tell you firsthand that this machine is no lightweight.
The rims were another major project unto themselves. Isto drew up the plans and laser-cut the blanks himself. He then twisted the spokes, ground them round, and hand-polished them. Being a silversmith by trade, Itso took the time to design and hand-fabricate the exquisite detail pieces you see in the photos. The Flying Eyeball headlight itself took almost 100 hours to complete. It's got a modern bulb and lens wired in.