El Diablo uses American style V-twin power, but there are over 20 other customs at the Museum powered by Indian, Yamaha, Harley-Davidson and Triumph engines. “When I first saw El Diablo on the cover of Easyriders I knew I would own that or one like it before my motorcycle days were done.” In late 2013 Sedlacek decided to donate this bike and two others knowing the National Motorcycle Museum would display them for thousands of visitors to enjoy each year.
A builder himself, yet a student of custom bike builders for many years, in 2001 Jaey Sedlacek toured the WCC shop at just the right moment and became El Diablo’s new owner. After a customer backed out of a commitment to buy the finished bike, El Diablo wound up back at West Coast Choppers on display for a year. The bike was featured on the cover of Easyriders in July 2000. Paint is by Damon’s, chrome was done by South Bay and assembly was done at the West Coast Choppers shop. Jerry Merch, Merch Performance supplied the 131 cubic inch engine which got further tweaking at James’ shop by engine builder Bruce. Here the El Diablo rigid frame and El Diablo forks, lengthened 12 inches, a long James-formed tank, blacked out wheels and a vibrant paint job set the tone.īut even with Jesse James such creations are a collaboration of specialists. So much so that West Coast Choppers offered frames, forks and other components as starting points for other builders. It came away as the year 2000 Road House competition winner.īy 2000 Jesse James was very much on top of his game and the world of customizing, rather building motorcycles. El Diablo was James’ eye-catching response. In 2000 Jesse James was one of several builders invited to design and build a Camel Roadhouse bike. Reynolds presented a competition of custom bikes built by America’s best shops. The bike was shown over the past weekend at the BMW Motorrad Days in Berlin, but we have no info as to what will happen to it now that it has been revealed.To promote the Camel cigarette brand, for many years R.J. The BMW R 18 The Crown is named so because of the small crown placed on top of the BMW logo that adorns the bodywork. The presence of a fuel tank and a saddle means the bike is technically rideable, but I have a hard time imagining how one would go about doing that.
A leather-covered aluminum seat can be seen further back. It's impossible to single out the bike's fuel tank from the body, but it's there, also made of aluminum and capable of holding eight liters of fuel (about two gallons). As said, the powerplant is completely hidden under the bike's Champagne Platinum bodywork, which in turn also includes the factory-supplied headlight, instruments, and footrest. Oehlerking went for a double-sided swingarm with a central suspension strut as the solution, so that's what we have instead of a fork.Īt the back the suspension system is the same as stock, and so is the engine, now breathing through a pair of stainless steel exhaust manifolds. The front end of the bike is, for that matter, the one that received the most modifications, as the suspension system for the wheel had to be built from the ground up. Speaking of the front wheel, as you can see there's no actual fork to hold in place. Stripped to its bare essentials, the bike was then rebuilt with an extensive aluminum body that covers all of the bike's essentials, including the big boxer engine and most of the front wheel. Inspired by the "industrial culture and the proximity to industry and crafts," The Crown is the lowest, most futuristic, impossible-to-recognize BMW R 18 we've ever seen. That one was shown back in 2021, at a random time for Motorrad, but this year the German motorcycle brand is celebrating its 100th anniversary and The Crown is, if you like, one of the many gifts the Germans are treating themselves to. It was put together by Kingston Custom's Dirk Oehlerking, a name you might recognize, as it's the one behind another BMW R 18 insanity, the Spirit of Passion.
The Crown is the name of an R 18 that can barely be recognized as such. Even so, most of these bikes do not stray too far from the general design of a two-wheeler as we know it. And it did, as we've seen these past few years a number of R 18s modified in such a way as to resist any and all customized Harleys.
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