Indian Motorcycle , in collaboration with Wheels & Waves , commissioned four European builders in December 2021 to design their vision of an Indian Chief for the resurgent Wheels and Waves festival . More than 35 000 people voted for their favourite design and , in combination with a panel of Super- Voters , ‘ GRIND Machine ’ by Tank Machine x Rise Designs was announced as the top-ranked entry . Completed in just three months , ‘ GRIND Machine ’ made its public debut at the opening of the Artride exhibition during Wheels and Waves on Thursday June 30 and was awarded to prize draw winner , Fabien Orquin , on the festival ’ s main stage on Saturday July 2 .
Clément Molina founded Tank Machine in 2015 with a focus on motorcycle design , customisation and the development of Plug & Play Kits . Already well known for his many outstanding customisations of Indian Motorcycle models , his submission for the Indian Chief Design beat strong competition to become the winning concept that would be turned into reality .
“ I was honoured to be chosen as one of four custom builders to submit designs for the Indian Chief ,” said Molina . “ As a specialist that loves working on bikes from Indian Motorcycle , I was really enthusiastic about the opportunity , only heightened by the partnership with Wheels and Waves , an event that I enjoy so much .”
Working from the brief to create a vision of an Indian Chief inspired from the past , anchored in the present , and looking towards the future , Molina teamed up Antonin Bazin from Rise Designs to merge their “ Board Culture ” into the project and reflect the skate element of Wheels & Waves .
“ We were really happy to win and have the opportunity to realise the design , even though it was a big challenge to complete the project in just three months for the Artride exhibition ,” Molina continued . “ But the process was so enjoyable , thinking about the bike , the details , working with different materials like skateboard decks , fabricating new parts and then fine tuning everything . It ’ s a pleasure to reveal the completed bike at Wheels and Waves and to then hand it over to Fabien . It ’ s great to know he truly understands and appreciates the time and effort that has gone into the build . He is the perfect new owner for me – an engineer , an engine technician , and a really good guy .”
NEWS MAGAZINE
133
TRAVERSE 133