When the story of Falcon Motorcycles’ restoration of The Black, based on a Vincent Black Shadow, emerged, there wasn’t a motorcycle blog that didn’t publish it. We took our cue from Bike Exif, being gurus in the vintage, custom sector - but they weren’t the only ones waxing lyrical about what a beautiful bike it is.

Chris Hunter made an important point when writing about The Black, saying it is the typical example from Falcon Motorcycles that “blurs the boundaries between motorcycling, industrial design and sculpture”. Since then, debates have been sparked over whether this motorcycle will ever be ridden, and whether it is more about art than a functional riding experience.

Some comments on Bike Exif say:

• I don’t know what to think about Falcons. The standard of craft on show is so mind-warping it makes carping about the bike’s functional aspects (let’s start with the position of that monoshock) seem churlish. Still, no one’s actually going to ride it are they? Or are they?
• I think “form” was a clear priority here. Function…? Well, at least this one has some form of suspension. That said, why must everything be functional? If so, we would all be riding Honda Deuvilles. Isn’t it enough that it’s absolutely, gobsmackingly gorgeous?
• Ridden? Not with the present rear suspension set-up … Other than that awesome build quality, work of art.

More after the jump.

Continue reading: The Black Falcon: art or a "real" motorcycle?

....

0 comments

Originally the project for the new Falcon Motorcycles model, The Black, started life as a conversion of the Vincent Black Shadow. But it got to be much more than that. It’s the third model in a series of ten concepts from Falcon Motorcycles, and as Bike Exif says, it “blurs the boundaries between motorcycling, industrial design and sculpture”.

The Black Falcon custom built bike took a year to build, and is now equipped with a 1952 Black Shadow engine which was found in pieces and which had been modified over the years. It is now stronger and lighter, and has 75 hp, and combines with two separate fuel tanks - one for everyday riding and one for drag racing.

This Falcon Motorcycles creation has just one first place in the custom class at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering in California. If we needed converting to custom bikes and tuning in Europe, something like this would be completely effective. We’ll see what the 2011 EICMA inaugural custom space brings, but it will be difficult to see a beauty like this. See Bike Exif for all the details, and go after the jump for a video of the Black Falcon. See more details and pics on the Falcon Motorcycles website.

Continue reading: Falcon Motorcycles Black Falcon

....

0 comments