pdf

FOREFRONT
THE
NEW
PRO STREET
Kreater Custom Motorcycles Redefines a Genre
WORDS: ERIC ELLIS
PHOTOS: PAUL BUCETA
MODEL: KRISTIE TAYLOR
MODEL’S MAKEUP AND HAIR:
VALERIA NOVA, TRESEMME
HAIR CARE
HBKP-120800-KRET.indd 54
5/1/12 1:22 PM
www.hotbikeweb.com HOT BIKE | 55
HBKP-120800-KRET.indd 55
5/1/12 1:22 PM
FOREFRONT
S
ometimes you can give a
custom bike a thorough
look and it becomes clear
that the builder isn’t just an
ordinary guy with a welder
and some handtools assembling bikes.
You can notice a certain deliberate style
and specific cues within the bike that
indicates either a strong motorcycle
racing background or the detailed and
artistic aesthetics of an engineer. Looking at this sleek and unique creation
from George Tchor of Kreater Custom
Motorcycles in Toronto, it’s evident his
background encompasses both.
Speaking with George we quickly
learned that his influences in bike building comes from a wide array life experiences on the racing side that include
working for a GT1 team on the Rolex
24 Hour and Canadian race team AIM
Motorsports in the Grand AM Series, as
well as dabbling in some motocross and
superbike racing. On the more technical side, George worked as a heavy
equipment mechanic before obtaining a
degree in mechanical engineering.
Once out of engineering school, the
hobby of building bikes as a side business exploded for George and so he
decided to go at it full force and make
it a full-time career. Now after more
than 10 years, Kreater Custom Motorcycles has two shops, Kreater East and
Kreater West (both located in Canada),
with each shop loaded to the hilt with
equipment and staff tackling everything
from basic service to full custom builds
such as this one.
With an average of half a dozen custom builds going on at any given time,
it can sometimes be a waiting game for
clients to get their projects into the mix.
With an opening in the build schedule
and after seeing the sketches George
had drawn up for this bike, his client
jumped on board.
As any smart person will tell you, it’s
best to just let the master do his thing,
and that was pretty much the case with
this bike. The client liked what he saw
in George’s drawing and gave him carte
blanche to do whatever he wanted with
only a few stipulations. Being a bit shorter in stature, the client wanted the bike to
comfortably fit him, which is an obvious
request with any build. “This was actually
one of my easier clients, there was very
little direction, only a few limitations.
Mainly seat height and bar positioning,”
George stated. “When I look at that bike,
it looks tiny in some of the pictures. I’m
almost 6-foot [tall]. Originally this bike
was supposed to be about a foot longer
and 4 inches taller, but I’ve got to accommodate my clients’ needs.”
56 | HOT BIKE August 2012
HBKP-120800-KRET.indd 56
5/1/12 1:22 PM
chain tensioner incorporated in the under-side of
«theAframe
helps keep the final drive chain tight. Vents
built into the gas tanks (mesh screens at the front and
rear) help dissipate heat generated from the engine.
HBKP-120800-KRET.indd 57
5/1/12 1:22 PM
FOREFRONT
George looks like a giant next to the bike. He says the
bike handles great and the combination of the Penske
shock in the girder and the solo shock under the seat
help make for a comfortable ride.
The oval legs on the RMD girder frontend fit well with
the tapered oval tubing that the frame is made of.
As you study the sleek lines and raw mechanical nature of this
bike, you come to realize that aside from maybe the drivetrain and
controls, everything else is one-off/custom-made—and that’s pretty
much the essence of a ground-up bike from Kreater. While it’s a
pretty astounding bike in its entirety, the frame and gas tank are often
what really draw people in.
The unique frame cradles and suspends the engine making the
engine cases an integral part of the chassis. Unlike most bikes where
the frame is typically all one piece, such as with a rigid, or two pieces
(frame and swingarm) with a Softail, this frame is comprised of several pieces bolted together. “The backbone/midsection/rear fender
and rear section (what would typically be the swingarm on a Softail) is
all one piece. There are four pieces to that front motor mount which is
the downtube, two halves, and the top plate,” George noted. “I made
it in that manner so that it’s just three bolts and it exposes the oil filter.
It’s all hidden, everything is nice and clean. The oil filter is in the standard location, it’s just encapsulated in the front motor mount. You just
take the three bolts off then the top plate comes off and the oil filter is
exposed so it’s nice and easy for servicing.”
Looking at the bike you might think there’s no oil bag, but it’s
actually been hidden in the frame. The rear fender is incorporated
into the rear frame section, and from the left side of the fender you’ll
notice the fill tube for the oil tank. The actual oil tank is incorporated
into the top transmission mount. Obviously George put a lot of time
and thought into the design of the multi-piece frame to not only draw
attention but be functional as well. What you may find really interesting about the frame is the material that it was made with. Instead of
using traditional round tubing, George pushed the design even further
by using tapered oval tubing. “When I started building the chassis,
my team came to me with concerns on the direction of the project.
58 | HOT BIKE August 2012
HBKP-120800-KRET.indd 58
5/1/12 1:22 PM
SPECIFICATIONS
FOREFRONT
SHOP NAME
Kreater Custom Motorcycles, Ontario Canada
SHOP PHONE
(416) 231-5055
SHOP WEBSITE
kreater.com
YEAR/MAKE/MODEL
’12/Hardtail/18
FABRICATION Kreater Custom Motorcycles (KCM)
ASSEMBLY
KCM
BUILD TIME
One-and-half years
ENGINE
YEAR/MANUFACTURER
TYPE/SIZE
BUILDER
CASES
CYLINDERS
HEADS
ROCKER BOXES
CARB
AIR CLEANER
EXHAUST
’05/H-D
H-D/95ci
KCM
H-D
Zippers
Zippers
H-D
S&S G2
KCM
KCM
TRANSMISSION
They were worried about its integrity.
They thought it didn’t look like something that would actually function. They
thought I was losing it. I told them,
“After all these years you’re questioning my design? Just have some faith,”
George chuckled.
The gas tank is two separate halves
that were formed out of aluminum.
With their angular and arched shapes,
matching up each side to be a mirror
image of each other was a task in and
of itself. To show off the craftsmanship
and skill of his Kreater team, George
decided to leave the tanks in their raw
aluminum state, which left no room for
errors or ugly welds to be hidden by
filler, bondo, or paint. In order to get the
tanks to hug the top of the motor as
tight as possible and keep the bottom
of the tanks devoid of mounting hardware or tabs, the halves were mounted
to the sides of the backbone. If you
look closely, you’ll notice two cylindrical shapes, one at the front and one
at the back of each tank half. George
designed post-style mount so that the
60 | HOT BIKE August 2012
HBKP-120800-KRET.indd 60
tanks actually detach from the backbone sideways. The posts are about 4
inches long with neoprene cushioners
to absorb vibration. The tanks slide on
over the posts and are then secured in
place with bolts. The tops of the cylindrical shapes are covers that hide the
mounting bolts/posts. Since the frame
and gas tanks hug the engine so tight,
George incorporated vents into the front
and rear of the tanks so they wouldn’t
absorb a ton of heat from the engine.
As they say, good things come to
those who wait. And while the future
owner had to patiently wait a little more
than a year for his dream ride to be
completed, it’s safe to say it was well
worth it. We came across this bike in
the Avon Tire booth this past February
while attending the V-Twin Dealer Show,
and as soon as we laid eyes upon it,
we fell in love with its intricate frame,
industrial style, and Kreater’s new twist
on the Pro-Street style. We knew it
would make a killer cover bike. The only
thing missing to make this incredible
bike even more amazing was a smoking
hot model. Luckily photographer Paul
Buceta took care of that lined up the
beautiful Kristie Taylor to pose with the
bike. With her own sleek and elegant
lines, we’d say Kristie complements the
bike perfectly. And while she may consider herself just a small town country
girl from Grimsby, Ontraio, she’s soon to
be big time, having just scored a cover
with Playboy Magazine. To see more of
Kristie check her out on Facebook.com/
kristie.taylorGTA, twitter @_KristieTaylor,
or on hotbikeweb.com HB
YEAR/MANUFACTURER/TYPE ’12/Baker/OD Six-speed
CASE
Baker
CLUTCH
PM
PRIMARY DRIVE
PM
FRAME
YEAR/MANUFACTURER
RAKE
STRETCH
’12/KCM
34 degrees
3 inches out
SUSPENSION
MANUFACTURER FRONT
LENGTH
TRIPLE TREES
RMD
28 inches
RMD
WHEELS, TIRES, AND BRAKES
MANUFACTURER FRONT/TYPE KCM/Billet spoked
SIZE-HEIGHT/WIDTH
21x3.25
TIRE/SIZE
Avon/120/70-21
CALIPER
Brembo
ROTOR
KCM
MANUFACTURER REAR
KCM
SIZE-HEIGHT/WIDTH
20x7
TIRE/SIZE
Avon/220/50-20
CALIPER
HHI
ROTOR
HHI
FINISH/PAINT
COLOR
PAINTER
Matte Black
Xtreme Custom
ACCESSORIES
REAR FENDER
FENDER STRUTS
GAS TANK & CAP
OIL TANK
HANDLEBARS
HAND CONTROLS
FOOT CONTROLS
FOOTPEGS
HEADLIGHT
TAILLIGHT
LICENSE MOUNT
SEAT
KCM
KCM
KCM/KCM
KCM
KCM
Speigler
PM/KCM
PM
Speigler
KCM
KCM
KCM
[email protected]
5/1/12 1:23 PM