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In The Press Braveheart would have loved this bike!
In The Press Braveheart would have loved this bike!
| Braveheart would have loved this bike! |
The Sunday Post - November 13th 2005 - By Murray ScougallIf William Wallace was alive today he'd love riding this amazing motorbike. Because it's a customised Harley Davidson inspired by Scotland's greatest warrior.Although only completed a few weeks ago, the bike has already been entered into the industry's biggest competition - the Custom Bike Building World Championships in Las Vegas next weekend. "The Wallace" was designed and built by Colin Rutherfor, who works at Glasgow's Harley Davidson dealership. The 48-year-old has a job any boy would dream of - designing and building motorbikes using other people's cash. He has developed a reputation for creating unique motorbikes for his clients. So when businessman Douglas Irvine asked Colin to build a bike based around the legendary Scots patriot, his creative juices began to flow. The result is a Harley Davidson that features Celtic crosses, a giant Claymore embroidered over the seat and swords for handlebars. The project took almost four months to complete and cost an amazing £46,000. But the owner is so happy with it he has agreed to pay for the bike to be flown to Las Vegas to compete against the world's best. Colin said "I work with the bikes for sol long that I'm probably too close to the them to notice how good they are. But my friend, Bill Kuiper, also a Harley owner, has been telling me for some time now that my bikes were getting better. "He said if I entered The Wallace in the World Championships I'd have a good chance of making the top 10. We haven't even entered any of the bikes in European competitions, but I made inquiries and the organisers said it was eligible. "I mentioned it to the bike's owner, Douglas, at the unveiling in the store two weeks ago. He was over the moon, so we talked about finances and he agreed to pay for the flight." Colin worked for a Harley Davidson dealership in Edinburgh for 15 years, before heading west when the marque opened a branch in Glasgow. "I was service manager to begin with, but I was more interested in getting my hands dirty," he explained. " What I really wanted to do was go into custom building. I'd always be dabbling with and adding to my own bike. "My boss let me give it a go. It was quiet to begin with and it's hard to establish yourself if you don't have a reputation. But I built a couple of bikes and put my name out there. I wanted to go further than that, so set up my own signature series." Colin will usually take a standard Harley Davidson and strip it back, leaving just the cradle of the frame and gearbos. With the exception of the painting and some fabrication work, he does virtually the whole customisation himself. But the owner of the bike must be willing to trust Colin. "I don't draw, measure or design anything," he explained. "I visualise everything and just do it all in my head. "I'll ask the owner what he likes then take it from there. Sometimes they don't have much input, but in the case of the latest bike Douglas said he wanted a Wallace theme. "The finnished bike has to be exactly how I visualise it in my mind. It's a matter of trust. I never let them see it until it's completely finished. Every unveiling is an anxious moment but I've yet to have anyone tell me they hate their bike. "Another bike I built earlier this year had an AC/DC theme. It's called Back in Black and I played the band's albums constantly during that process. "I even bought a Gibson SG guitar copy, as used by guitarist Angus Young, broke it down and used it as a template. The guitar became the main feature of the bike." Colin's reputation has brought in a flood of requests and he currently has four bikes lined up for customising. But not all of them are based on macho biker subjects. "One of the next bikes I'm working on has a fairy theme - it's be painted metallic pink!" |