BikeTest: Kaos Kustom Conor Twomeymet Ireland's first and only custom bike builder at Kaos Kustom Motorcycles, Carrigrohane, Co Cork.
It's late and it's raining when I finally find Gary Cotter's home in the countryside west of Cork city. It's tucked away up a small side road, and there are no signs on the main road to tell you that this is where Kaos Kustom cycles can be found.
It's really not the best day to be visiting Ireland's only bike builder, and I know there will be no hope of taking his current chrome-laden creation, the Lounge Lizard, out for a spin in the deluge. At least we get to chat to the man himself and have a poke around this one-of-a-kind Irish company.
As yet, the business is in its infancy. Like most start-ups, it currently sits in a converted garage and a large wooden shed in the middle of Cotter's garden, but it's only a matter of time before he'll have to move to bigger premises. He's running out of space as it is. Barely a year old, Kaos Kustom Motorcycles is already well known and well established both here in Ireland and internationally.
His creations have taken numerous national and international bike builder awards, most recently the Best of Show at the 2007 Ireland Bike Week in Killarney. His bikes are not only a match for established bike makers all over Europe and America, they're also a big hit with customers.
While the hand-built bikes are a valuable part of the business (they can cost up to €50,000 each) they're not his sole source of income. Instead, the bulk of his business comes from custom parts of which he carries a vast amount in stock. Even in the two hours I spent at his showroom late on a Saturday evening, he shifted several hundred euro worth of parts without even having to slip into sales patter or make any really effort at all.
As soon as someone enters the shop, there's so much shiny chrome on display it's impossible for them to leave without something catching their eye. Cotter reckons he's the only person carrying this array of stock in Ireland, which makes it much easier for customers to figure out what they need, rather than imagining how it will look from tiny catalogue pictures and waiting weeks for delivery.
Trained as a carpenter, Cotter was always interested in Harley-Davidsons, even when there were only about three in the whole country, some 20-odd years ago. He recalls how he and his friends picked up a shovel head Harley motor and would sit around in the evening, drinking a beer and dreaming of the bike they'd build around it (it eventually became Ireland's first, proper 9ft-stretch chopper).
His own first full project was an award-winning black and gold Goldwing trike which created so much interest that Cotter found himself spending less time working with wood, and more time tinkering with motorbikes. When the time came to go into bike building full-time, he already had an established clientele and enough work to keep him in the workshop late every evening, seven days a week.
Taking a close look at the Lounge Lizard, I can't help wondering just how Irish the bike really is. The frame, for example, has to be brought in from the US, mainly because insurance companies need a serial number from a recognised frame builder before it will cover the bike. They used to fabricate and modify frames in the past but not anymore, says Cotter. Instead, he gets his frames from Pro-One in California, albeit tweaked to his specification if required.
Like all the best bike builders, Cotter uses tried and tested S&S engines and a variety of well- known components from the likes of Primo, BDL, Zodiac, Tolle, W&W, Kuryakyn and others. But anything that needs hand-fettling is done here in Ireland - James McCarthy mills Cotter's one-off components, veteran painter Ger Conlon from Spectrum Paint in Five Mile takes care of the stunning paint-jobs, as well as the hand-made tanks and fenders, while Jim Savage Leatherworks in Bishopstown looks after the leather work on the bikes.
Cotter builds the entire bike himself, too, an undertaking that usually takes several months in between servicing and modifying his clients' Harleys. It's about as Irish as a bike can be, really.
Hopefully, on our next visitCotter might let us get a feel for what it's like to ride on a bike that costs more than most people's cars. In the meantime, like most of Kaos Kustom Motorcycle's clients, all I can do is lust silently and try not spend every penny I have on chrome-plated accessories for a bike I don't yet have.
Factfile:
Lounge Lizard
Engine:S&S 96 Cubin Inch (1,573cc) air-cooled V-Twin Output: 120bhp Approx
Transmission:six-speed gearbox, dry clutch, 3" BDL belt drive
Frame:Pro-One hand-made steel frame
Dimensions:Length: 9'2"; seat height: 24"
Weight:350kg dry
Suspension:front - Midwest 10" overs; rear - steel 'softtail' swingarm, dual shock
Wheels:21 X 2.15 front, 18 X 8.5 rear; tyres: 90/90 R 21 Avon Venom, 250/70 R 18 Avon Venom
Brakes:Pro-One single disc front and rear
Price:€35,000
[ www.kaoskustomsireland.comOpens in new window ]
Gary Cotter: 021-438 3018 or 086-101 1983