AMCA Live-blogging the Birth of a Bobber

Looking for something fun to follow on the Internet over the holidays? The Antique Motorcycle Club of America has the answer.

Right now, 18-year-old Ryan Mackey, the winner of the AMCA’s Youth Program Basket-Case Contest, is building the bike of his dreams, a custom bobber based on a 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA, from the ground up. And you can follow the entire project online.

Mackey was chosen as the winner in the AMCA contest, which attracted 90 entries from young antique-bike enthusiasts (aged 18 to 25) across the country. His prize was a collection of parts that could be turned into a authentic Harley bobber, the stripped-down style of custom motorcycles popular with servicemen returning home to America after World War II. Plus, Mackey won the opportunity to build that bike under the direction of some of the most knowledgeable experts in the field.

Right now, while Mackey is on winter break from paramedic school, he’s at Carl’s Cycle Supply in Aberdeen, South Dakota, tackling chassis and sheet-metal work under the guidance of Matt Olsen, the AMCA’s youth coordinator. And you can follow along in a special thread established to cover the project in the forum area of the AMCA website.

You’ll be able to see the entire process of restoring, refitting and reassembling the hundreds of parts that make up this classic machine, all through the eyes of a novice builder. Watch as he learns how to turn the pile of parts donated by AMCA members into a running motorcycle. And who knows? You might even learn a few bike-building tricks yourself.

The winter phase of the Bobber Build will continue through January 17, with updates daily (and sometimes more frequently). The next marathon work week will take place during Ryan's spring break, when he’ll travel to North Carolina to work on the engine and transmission at Dale Walksler’s famed Wheels Through Time Museum. Final assembly of the project bike will take place sometime in late July or early August.

You can follow the entire adventure at www.antiquemotorcycle.org! Just click on the “Birth of a Bobber” link on the home page.

Photo cutline: Ryan Mackey learns the first rule of building a ’42 Harley custom: Cut away anything that doesn’t look like a bobber.

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The Antique Motorcycle Club of America is the nation’s largest organization for vintage-bike enthusiasts. Its sister organization, the AMCA Foundation, is dedicated to preserving the history of motorcycles and educating the public about the heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.antiquemotorcycle.org.

On a drive – yes, drive – from Ohio to Southern California, having just completed UFC Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva's Hayabusa, and now with two outstanding custom Suzuki Hayabusa’s in the trailer, Rob Uecker was comfortable taking some time to talk to me on his cell.  No, he was not driving, he was the navigator, dealing with Oklahoma City rush-hour traffic. The founder of VooDoo Industries was on the road to deliver two special custom motorcycles to the TapouT display at the Long Beach Cycle World International Motorcycle Show. These two machines also point to a new direction for VooDoo: they will lack extensive amounts of chrome and will instead be matte. That’s right, you read it correctly, a matte finish. However, do not expect that to mean that they are boring; it is just the opposite – Uecker is moving the custom sportbike universe on a bold new path and he will not rest until we all experience it for ourselves.

Read the rest of this article in the February issue of "AllAboutBikes" magazine.  To receive copies of both digital and print magazines as they are published, sign up as a member on AllAboutBike's Community and make sure you provide your mailing address. Sign up or Log In

Dan Evon
Staff Writer
For the past twenty years, the idea of the hubless motorcycle wheel has floated around. The stunning design promises to offer better control, better breaking, and will eliminate a lot of unnecessary weight. It’s too bad that no one has been able to make the hubless wheel practical. 

Franco Sbarro, an Italian engineer who is credited with the idea of the hubless wheel and even designed some concept bikes, was never able to get one up to cruising speeds.

The torch was then passed to Dominique Osmos and his company, Osmos. But again, the hubless wheel seemed more suitable for the show room floor than the open road.

Recently, however, the boys at Amen Designs have released a video of a hubless motorcycle cruising down the interstate.

The bike, called the hubless monster, is still geared more toward flare and design than it is to practicality, but the bike does show a promising future for the hubless wheel.

Jeff Dickinson
Staff Writer

Since 1904, Beta has built performance trials motorcycles that can scale most any rock with precision and skill.

For 2010, however, you can now get a Beta that will be just as comfortable in the dirt as it is on the rocks. Beta recently unveiled its new line of dirt bikes – the RR 400, the RR 450 and the RR 525 – complete with KTM engines and a Sachs shock in the middle.The RR line of dirt bikes from Beta also features a lightweight chrome-moly frame that makes handling easy. 

Some dirt bike enthusiasts might be asking, “If the Betas have KTM engines, then why not just buy a KTM?” The Beta RR line isn’t necessarily better than its KTM dirt bike counterparts; it’s just different. The Betas handle differently and are geared differently than the KTMs.  

There is also a much different price tag with the Beta RR bikes. The Beta RR 450 retails for a whopping $8,945. Compare that to a very similar KTM 450 SX-F that goes for $7,998 and you can see one of the biggest differences between the two bikes.

If the old adage “You get what you pay for” is true, then the Beta RR line of dirt bikes might be worth the investment. To learn more about Beta’s 2010 dirt bikes, visit www.usbeta.com.

05 Vstar 1100

2002 Honda Shadow Sabre – Heavily modified

• Stock Neck tube cut out & replaced w/ a Harley Davidson Neck tube. Total front end stretch from 32 degrees to 47 degrees.


• Stock tank modified and stretched and a Pop Up gas cap installed


• Front & rear fenders replaced w/ Kendall Johnson fenders


• Stock swing arm modified to allow for the rear rim to be changed to accommodate a 210 series tire (stock was a 170 tire)


• Digital Speedometer to replace stock set up.


• Headlight & turn signals replaced as well as a side mount tag hold & brake light.  


• Custom Paint and powder coat work.