Last weekend, during the Custom Bike Show in Bad Salzuflen, Germany, the finals of the European Biker Build-Off saw Indian Motorcycle Dealer Bike-Farm Melle gain nearly three times the votes with their Indian Chief based Longfork Chopper “Purple Haze” over Harley-Davidson Bielefeld to take the title.
First held in 2007 and the highlight of the famous Custom Bike show, the European Biker Build-Off sees two teams competing to complete their custom bike in just three days, live, under the eyes of the trade show visitors. This year’s title fight was even more exciting as both finalists come from the region, just 30km from each other: Bike-Farm, the Indian Motorcycle dealer from Melle and Reibchen + Stegemann the Harley Davidson dealer from Bielefeld.
From Friday to Sunday at noon, viewers followed the creation of two extraordinary custom bikes on the show stage. At 1 pm on the Sunday, the time had come: Judgement Day. With 529 to 179 votes, nearly a 3:1 ratio, the audience chose Bike-Farm’s ‘Purple Haze’ Indian Chief chopper as the clear winner.
Forkin’ Cool
“A classic long fork chopper based on the 2022 Indian Chief! It’s absolutely stunning what the Bike-Farm crew has created here. This bike radically brings to flower the seeds that are at the core of the current Chief lineup: The spirit of the past combined with the technology of today.” said Ola Stenegärd, Director of Industrial Design at Indian Motorcycle. “We always had the builders in mind during development and we worked really hard to make the reimagined Indian Chief a delight to work on. So, it’s such a pleasure to see this great canvas to create motorcycle art.”
The shop designed ‘Purple Haze’ around the current air-cooled Thunderstroke 116 engine. It also features all the electronic amenities of the original Chief Dark Horse from which it evolved: from ABS to GPS navigation, via the touchscreen of the original gauge now cantered in the revised Chieftain tank.
The shop adapted other core components from the original bike such as the footrests and brake systems. The Dutch experts VG Motorcycle Specials manufactured the frame, with a full 48° rake. The Bike-Farm crew custom made the other components. Among them the tank cover sissy bar, seat, wheels, handlebars, final drive, intake, and exhaust system. Even the seal-less, oil-free fork with its Teflon-lubricated sliding tubes incorporating Progressive Suspension Cartridges. Finally, Lange Metallveredelung took care of the chrome surfaces. Vossi Lackcenter Melle also handled the finishing of the paint.
Public Spectacle
“We created the entire bike within just eight weeks,” as workshop manager Tristan Frische recounts. “With four men, we wrenched, shaped and turned day and night. All the more we are delighted with this title. Not only have all the electronic features been retained, but also the fully road legal, including remaining Euro 5. So, this dream bike will soon be seen quite regularly on public roads.”
The VG frame is available for order at Indian Motorcycle Melle. Naturally, any official Indian Motorcycle dealer carries the Chief.
Find out more about ‘Purple Haze’ and Bike Farm/Indian Motorcycle Melle here. Follow their social profiles at Facebook and Instagram.
Photo Credit: Ben Ott (@benottfilm)
