American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 220 November 2017 | Page 14

Custom Scout Bobbers Biker Fest 2018 to host
AMD World Championship
affiliate custom bike show
Three stock Scout Bobbers, three very different personalities, three very
different custom outcomes. From the left: Kraus Motor Co., Keino Cycles,
Steve Caballero/RSD
We wish we had more space available
to showcase these three great custom
Scout Bobbers, but in a busy AMD
edition we wanted to be sure to at least
acknowledge the creativity that Satya
Kraus, Keino Sasaki and skateboarder
Steve Caballero (in collaboration with
Roland Sands) have brought to what
started out as three identical stock
bikes.
First unveiled at this year’s Minneapolis
X Games, “Strip it Down” was the
mantra that Indian say drove the
design of the Scout Bobber, and as the
title sponsor of the annual Brooklyn
Invitational Custom Motorcycle Show,
Indian unveiled these three custom
versions to highlight the intended
versatility of the platform.
Indian describe their stock Scout
Bobber as “a low-slung, blacked-out,
100 horsepower, minimalist
motorcycle that proves less is definitely
more.” Keino Sasaki, as ever, certainly
“got that” and has kept it simple with
an aluminum fuel tank, front fairing,
fenders, exhaust, Beringer inboard
brake, some custom spoke wheels and
stock modified rearsets.
Roland Sands took Steve Caballero’s
ideas for a street flat tracker and raided
the RSD parts bin.
For Satya Kraus the clue is in the upside
downies – performance and handling
were the order of the day
(coincidentally see page 45 of this
edition of AMD), with selected parts
including Rotobox carbon fiber wheels
(Slovenia), Beringer brakes (France),
inverted front suspension with Öhlins
forks (Sweden), a linear steering
damper, Kraus isolated risers, Rizoma
mirrors (Italy), chain drive and a hand
TIG-welded 304-16 stainless steel 2
into 1 Scrambler inspired exhaust by
Fab28 Industries.
The 32nd annual Biker Fest (aka
Italian Bike Week) at Lignano
Sabbiadoro, on the Adriatic coast
of Italy, north of Venice, will be
staged from 10 - 13 May 2018,
again hosting the Italian Custom
Bike Championship finals, the
official affiliate round of the
AMD World Championship of
Custom Bike Building for Italy.
This year saw thousands of bikers
descend on Lignano Sabbiadoro
for one of Europe’s oldest custom
bike events, the brainchild of
father and son team Moreno and
Micke Persello, creators of the
original Chopper and Custom
Show at Padua back in the 1990s
and publishers of leading Italian
custom lifestyle magazine Biker’s
Life.
Next year will be the seventh
time the ever-popular Biker Fest
will play host to the climax of the
12 city/event Italian Bike
Championship with no less than
four builders winning 1,000.00
euro each of expenses to
compete at ‘AMD XIII’ at
INTERMOT ‘Customized’ in
Cologne, Germany, in October
2018.
Over 100 bikes in total were on
display at the impressive Terrazza
Mare, and classes will again
include Freestyle, Modified
Harley-Davidson, Metric,
Streetfighter/Sportsbike, Cafe
Racer, Scrambler, Bagger and Old
Style, with the three ‘Best in
Show’ winners and ‘Public Vote’
pick scooping the ‘AMD’ prize
money being put up by the show
organizers.
With a larger vendor presence at
the event this year, an expanded
additional “customizer” vendor
area was set up opposite the
Terrazza (in addition to the usual
vendor lot at Luna Park) where
there were opportunities for
builders and custom shops to
present their work - a new
feature in 2016 that is
developing into a popular
opportunity for custom builders
to connect with the over 35,000
riders who attend.
Exhibitors backing Biker Fest in
2017 included Custom Chrome
Europe, Motorcycle Storehouse,
Free Spirits, Italian suspension
specialists Andreani and Bitubo,
Asso Special Bike and motorcycle
manufacturers such as Harley-
Davidson, Indian Motorcycle,
BMW, Honda, Aprilia, Ducati
(Scrambler) and Moto Guzzi.
www.bikerfest.it
Best in Show, Italian Motorcycle Championship, 2017
14
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - NOVEMBER 2017
www.AMDchampionship.com