Comments on: Confederate Hellcat in Cycle World

By: Damon

Damon — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:38:35 +0000

A Confederate us like a one off chopper. It’s going to need some tlc. The Confederate is conceptually the most beautiful, most badass, and most promising motorcycle I’ve seen in my 40 years of riding.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 02:11:45 +0000

For crying out loud, leave the politics somewhere else. But if you want to talk about motorcycles then think about the statement that most engines should be torn down after 8 passes. What a load of crap. Pro stock bikes go that far without a teardown in a race weekend. And they make nearly twice the horsepower per cubic inch. I have a Confederate with over 170rwhp out of a 120in Merch and I use it pretty hard without having hurting the engine. But I have the same complaint about the transmission, will not shift properly under load. Very annoying if only one out of four passes down the strip hits every gear. And Confederate spouts alot of bull about their commitment to customers and how they stand by their products. I love my bike, but it has nothing to do with the factory or the machine they sell you. Think of it as an unfinished product you have to develop and finish yourself.

By: Tom R.

Tom R. — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 01:45:46 +0000

Confederate’s silence is deafening! I can see the minority question passed by, but reasonable questions on design, engineering and safety should be answered!

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:30:28 +0000

… Believe this bullshit?!? “How many minorities did you employ?” With all due respect, what a dumbass question. And who really gives a *%$#, unless of course you’re still cloaked in slavery. Good god, man, get over it & ride. I remember the good ‘ol days when riding a motorcycle was simple and care free, albeit perhaps a bit more “dangerous” by today’s standards. Ooo yes, there was such a time. A time before contamination. A time before helmet law, litigation, and political correctness. Yes, those were the days, my friend. That’s way back when I was still on my Honda SL175. Can you believe that bike once threw a rear sprocket? Broke the damn thing right off the steel hub and locked the back wheel solid. …. At 40 miles/ hr +. Yesserree, bob, that was one wild launch and landing, let me tell ya’. And that was a HONDA, no less, with ‘millions’ spent on stress analysis and safety research. Someone must’ve been sleeping at the assembly line I guess. Oh, and how ’bout the time I T-boned that car at 50. It pulled flat out from a stop sign and paid no attention to little ‘ol me. I torpedoed over the hood, shattered it’s windshield, and tumbled to a stop some 80 feet later. No helmet, no full leathers, and somehow, no broken bones. I did split my pants. The entire bike, including the well-researched swingarm, was toast. Thank God for small miracles and a hard head. Anyone ever watch biker build off? A piece of scrap metal here, a well placed sledge hammer there, cover it in chrome and wild paint and whallahh, you’ve got yourself a $60,000 theme bike. Just curious, how many minorities do the Tuttle’s employ? Bottom line, I’m about as concerned about my Hellcat’s swingarm or Confederates employment practices as I am about transfats. Confederate makes one Hell of a bike. And call me crazy, but if they have confidence enough to ride their own design, that’s good enough for me. I certainly hope they will never let themselves be held hostage or get bogged down by all the dumbshit demands of those bureaucratic few.

By: Corey

Corey — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:37:03 +0000

I absolutely agree with you guys that James is pushing the boundaries of this forum. You both should be commended for your rational and reserved responses!
The racial issue was brought up in the Cycle World article when the black guy asked the make of the bike and “to avoid a small riot” Hellcat was the “corrected” answer. Guess Cycle World was trying to fire up that issue in it’s own sad way.
There are several technical outside points that maybe need answering from James hatred based diatribe that Mr. Case could clarify:
1) Is there any possibility of heat stress problems with that the swingarm may have? I know Honda would spend millions answering that question, being a small company how did you come up with the correct wall thickness, heat treatment, long term stress analysis…?
2) Did the wall thickness need increasing at all? If it did, and due to its curved shape, wouldn’t adding more material (unsprung weight) actually defeat the overall performance design objectives? Forces travel in straight lines (pivot to axle) so there must be a good reason you would curve the swingarm.
3) Straying a little here, but I also have a question on this same unsprung weight issue concerning the Wraith’s fork blade shape. Wouldn’t adding extra material and weight to make that curved shape be something to avoid? I know the blades are shaped to intersect the rearward seat edge using an imaginary circle but again the performance issue surfaces…
4) This will no doubt be the easiest to answer and will stop the stupid attacks like James’. Since you produced bikes in New Orleans, and since it has a predominately black population, please let us know if you employed any minorities while building there. That should put the sad “good old boy” question to rest.
Thanks for taking the time to clarify these questions and best of luck to Confederate in the future.