Ten Bolts. Ten Custom Builders. One Winner. You Decide. Such was the headline traversing around the web when Star Motorcycles gave calls to some of the top builders in the country to compete in a “customize it as you see fit” build contest based on a freshly minted, stock 2014 Yamaha Bolt.
Big OEMs continue to help grow motorcycling by realizing that the DIY movement is here to stay, and that the only way to play in the same sandbox as the rapidly growing vintage custom market is to show their support through projects like these. Triumph, Kawasaki, BMW, Moto Guzzi—they all get it. And now Yamaha America is declaring they get it, too.
The future is bright for those of us not content with what rolls off the assembly line. This means a new possible leap in custom motorcycling—meaning new customers for these smart brands—who realize that customers are based on the motorcycling lifecycle, and not just current purchasing power or habits.
One of our favorite builders was on the list when the calls went out: Greg Hageman, of Hageman Motorcycles. Greg has built a quiet but undeniable reputation for building ultra-clean performance customs based on vintage machines. His penchant is for the old, combined with upgrades in spots that count—suspension, rubber, braking.
This time, Greg had a chance to put a modern machine under the knife.
“My goal was to build a bike that would bring back that feeling of awe I had when walking into a dealership as a ten-year-old. I’d walk up and down the aisles looking at bikes, just dreaming and staring at the beauty of these things, especially the dirt bikes and enduros—the go-anywhere bikes that seemed perfect living in the country like we did. So when given the chance to build a modern, go-anywhere, do-anything interpretation, I jumped at it.
“I did as much research as possible before receiving the bike, but there just wasn’t much out there. There were a few builders posting pics, but really nothing available aftermarket yet, and very little info about the bike. Once I received the bike, I sat and studied it for a few hours, and rode it around a little to get a feel for the power and balance it had. After that, I tore it down. Once I had a “clean slate” and had removed all the clutter blocking my view of the skeleton, I then envisioned what I wanted to do.
“I built the bike in a way as not to molest or harm the stock frame or components—something that was all bolt-on, so I can later create a kit to supply so others can reproduce it. The end result is a retro-looking, tough machine. With the knobbies, you can hit the gravel, unmaintained roads, or ride down to Starbucks for a coffee.
Or if you prefer, throw on some less aggressive tires and you’ve got a retro supermotard. They just don’t build anything like these bikes anymore. You walk into a dealership now, and your choice is to buy a cruiser, a plastic sport bike, or a plastic dirt bike. Nothing with soul or beauty like the bikes had in the ‘60s and ‘70s.”
This article first appeared in issue 11 of Iron & Air Magazine, and is reproduced here under license.
Hageman Cycles | Website | Instagram
Story by Brett Houle | Images by Erick Runyon
