The bike is designed as a tribute to the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The hollow curves of the Aluminum Monoscoque structure on the upper sides of the tank apply to the same elegant lines of the Semi-Monocoque structure of the F-16.
Stefan van der Riet chose to implement the design features of the F-16 because for 6 years he worked as an F-16 mechanic during his day work. And a few months ago he switched to the Apache AH-64 helicopter. As it was a personal project, he wanted to combine work, passion and his biggest hobby in this bike.
To get started with the bike, we strip all unnecessary parts for the desired design. The original front fork was thrown aside and we fitted a Kawasaki ZX-7R USD front fork with a custom steering stem and some rim and mounting modifications to the original CB500F brake caliper. Then he started modeling the subframe, which was folded onto our home made tube bender.
Before making an aluminum body, he always starts by making a wireframe to verify the desired shape / design and he also does it to see the free space I have on the front fork, clip-on and other parts. The wireframe also acts as a template for making cardboard molds to cut the aluminum sheets into the desired shape.
In their bike videos, you can see how this process is done. (YouTube: Raw Metal Racers) After cutting the aluminum plates, it's time to form these panels. First he starts pounding aluminum on a hollow tree stump to shrink and stretch the aluminum, then he starts hammering it on the leather sandbag to get the desired shape. All those dents from hammering need to be rolled out into the English wheel, where we can also make some final changes to the shape of the panels. TIG weld the pieces and you will get this.
The bike features a 3D printed air intake with a custom DNA Filters XV hexagonal air filter. The exhaust system is made in their shop, they make many custom and production stainless steel exhaust systems at Raw Metal Racers. For this exhaust, they teamed up with BOS Exhaust, where they put together a silencer to our specification.
The conical end of the exhaust represents the converging exhaust of the F-16. He tried to make a design with the muffler under the saddle to really implement the F-16 exhaust, but that would have ruined the design of the bike. Finally, Marcel Miller of Miller Kustom Upholstery made a beautiful black vinyl seat.
As with any project, they have made timelapse videos for our YouTube channel, so be sure to check them out and subscribe to our YouTube and other social networks.
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