The Kneeslider

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Triumph Rocket 3 Custom – MGS Custom Bikes

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Triumph Rocket 3 based custom by MGS Custom Bikes

The Metric TV custom build off has resulted in a lot of bikes which still seem to be waiting for their television debut. We mentioned the show some time back where a group of builders were each given a metric bike, cruiser or sportbike depending on their specialty, and given 180 days to produce something unique. They’ve come up with a few interesting customs and I thought I would show this one just to continue the Triumph powered custom theme from the other day when we featured the Triumph triple powered Ferrari Chopper.

This custom by MGS Custom Bikes began as a Triumph Rocket 3. What’s interesting is the builders don’t know beforehand what they’ll be working on and when MGS got a Rocket 3 they were a bit surprised. After the shock wore off they got to work and the result you see here utilizes more stock pieces than you might notice beyond the engine, things like gauges, gas cap and headlights and a few other pieces, but obviously the stock bike is now a mere memory. They haven’t produced a corner carver of any sort but the workmanship looks first rate. Somehow, I don’t expect to see a lot more Rocket 3 based customs but you never know.

Link: MGS Custom Bikes

Comments

  2. It looks like a “can’t turn it, and get runover by a beer truck” type of bike. I agree….Triumph had a fine tuned piece of art until these guys got a hold of it and turned it into a useless bar bike.

  3. I think it’s kinda cool, in spite of its overwhelming impracticality.

    It wouldn’t be big fun to ride, it would be a PITA to keep clean and would bottom out going over a Bott’s dot. But it’s a well-integrated, coherent whole, rather than a bunch of parts bolted to a Harley. For a clean-sheet product in three months…great.

  5. I love it!!!! I’ll race that bike any day of the week regardless of weather, nice work very impressive and like the ingenuity that went into it.

  6. On a side note this looks like a great drag bike but if I had to make a turn I’d like it just a bit higher 😉

  11. It’s built like that because it was easiest to leave the engine sitting on the floor and build a bike around it.
    -todd

  12. Come on, guys!! Where’s your vision? Obviously you have some air suspension underneath there, so there’s plenty of clearance once it’s raised up. This was built for a competetive forum which had guidelines, and being able to ride it was one of them. It rides like a dream. That 360 rear tire handles great on that suspension. Of course we’re not going 100+ in the corners, but what a wild ride it is. This bike is definitely not a “kneeslider,” but it is a very rideable work of art!
    Thanks for acknowledging it anyway.
    MGS Custom Bikes

  13. I’m always a bit hesitant to show a chopper on The Kneeslider because they invite comments like the above. My reason for showing this bike was to highlight the obvious workmanship involved here. Also, getting a Rocket 3 as your starting point is a big challenge, I’d bet it would be tough to build any type of custom around that engine.

    Mark’s first comment, “Not my cup of tea” is an honest opinion and everyone else can say the same if they feel that way, there’s no reason to go any further if you really don’t like it.

    I’m not a chopper fan myself but I do appreciate quality work and I try to cover a wide variety here, sport bikes, vintage machines and choppers, too, if they’re interesting or have some unique aspect. Jesse James’ radial engined custom certainly isn’t very practical either but it rates high on my list of very cool bikes and this Rocket 3 based bike shows another great effort at incorporating a very unusual engine.

  15. “It’s built like that because it was easiest to leave the engine sitting on the floor and build a bike around it.” – todd

    Ha ha, but you gotta love that ‘zorst though!

  16. Bloody ridiculous. Now that the joke is out, perhaps the Crew would like to show us their real bike.

  17. “I’m always a bit hesitant to show a chopper on The Kneeslider because they invite comments like the above.” -kneeslider

    I didn’t realize that it had air suspension. Stupid I was for making the “get run over by a beer truck” comment.
    The pictures do not show the bike riding down the road, instead, it shows the belly of the bike on the ground; probably in a static/dust free laboratory environment.
    My intial assumption that this was an “unrideable” bike is false, and I certainly now feel like an idiot.
    Get us some pictures of someone riding it; and maybe a rider with a smile on his/her face. Show us some LIVING art. (maybe a hot chick in some tight leather driving it) just a thought.
    “Ride it or be ridden.” -Chris

  18. I must chime in with those who find this machine ridiculous. I have one of these magnificent machines and there are some custom things one can do to it without making it look stepped on. Perhaps a V-Rod or Rune type radiator, Jardine pipes, custom bars, these things are appropriate. Hell, even a turbocharger can be justified, but what these guys did is, in my not-so-humble opinion, a crime.

  19. OK I have waited long enough. I have to put in my opinion. A few more details other than the air ride that you guys have overlooked, the Triumph is originally a driveshaft bike that had to be reengineered to a chain drive to adapt the 360 rear tire on a 18 X 14 wheel, and keep the balance of the bike correct. There is an inboard braking system also so there is no visible rear rotor or caliper. Oh yea and did anyone mention that the crew at MGS did not choose this bike as their favorite bike to customize, it was the bike that had to be used for an upcoming TV show. I thought we were all “motorcycle” enthusiasts, which should mean that we respect the work in all shapes and sizes of the industry… I think it is an exercise in how far you can stretch the limit of your creativity especially when it is not what you hand picked to work on. Oh and did I mention that I am the chassis shop / builder that is responsible for the chassis under the Triumph. Thanks Kneeslider for publishing it……

    J.T. http://www.nothingbutcustoms.com

  21. One guy said the STOCK Rocket 3 looks way better… I agree and that’s saying something for one of the most ungainly looking bikes going!