When most bike builders build for a show they want to win, they pull out all the stops. They get a game plan in order. They get a design in mind, research all the best parts, figure out who to call for help, give themselves a timeline for the build itself, and then get ready to kick butt.
The idea to build "Radical Simplicity" started at the 2005 Grand National Roadster Show. Mike Stafford, owner of MGS Custom Bikes in Lancaster, CA, was all fired up with what they thought was a show winner, the "Teaser" bike. Although all the bikes in the show were top-notch-the best of the best in the industry-the Teaser was a showstopper and grabbed a lot of attention for MGS. But the shop walked away with Second Place. Mike wasn't sad about not winning top honors. In fact, all the second-place finish did was make him think about how he could do better next year.
Immediately after the show, Mike's mind moved on to 2006. That night, Mike and good friend and painter Dave Little walked the floors of the Pomona Fairgrounds, looking at all the beautiful cars on display. Mike thought to himself, "How can I build something that flows like these cars, that looks radical and beautiful at the same time?" It was from this question that the wheels of inspiration started turning. Determined to answer Mike's question, both guys agreed, "We are going to win this next year."
During the next few months, the design process unfolded in Mike's mind. Because Mike doesn't have the artistic capabilities he might like, it's a struggle for him to get his bike concepts out on paper. Often it's difficult for anyone else to grasp what he's going for until the bike is done.
Another hurdle for MGS was the cost of such a bike. The small shop has built some great bikes, but the really expensive works of art don't sell very quickly. Since Mike's not the kind of guy to hold back what's on his mind, he began discussing the build, now dubbed Radical Simplicity, with his friends in the industry. He hoped they'd be able to give him advice on how to deal with the high cost of such a creative build. Explaining his concept did more than solicit advice. The project quickly became a collaborative effort among many great manufacturers and industry leaders who believed in Mike's ability to create a show winner.
Mike wasted no time getting started on winning the 2006 Roadster show. He got his hands on a Low Life frame from Independent with 40 degrees of rake in the neck and 8 inches added to the backbone. The bike was going to have a long and low-to-the-ground look-just like so many of the cars at the show that inspired Mike in the first place. To further help pull off this look, Mike called Tim Hanlon from Mean Street. Mike described what he wanted in a frontend, and Tim was certain he could come up with something great. With more than three weeks of trying to get the internal brake lines to work with no luck, Mike called to check with Tim and see how things were going. At that point Tim told Mike about all the challenges he was facing and how he felt like throwing in the towel. Mike told Tim not to give up and that the two of them would be able to make it work. Because of the tight time frame, it was a tremendous undertaking for them to come up with the beautiful Avalon-design frontend with internal brake lines, but everyone at Mean Street stepped up and got it done.
Mike needed wheels and tires. Just three weeks after the 2005 show, he ran into an old industry friend, Greg Hoeve of Ego Tripp. Greg told Mike he'd be happy to help him out with anything he needed. So when it came time to put wheels on this bike, Mike knew whom to call. The two were on the phone for more than two hours, with Mike telling Greg the look he was after, and Greg telling Mike how hard it would be. By the end of the phone call, Greg knew just what to do. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was definitely worth it once he was done. Simply put, the one-off wheels on this bike are amazing. They were painstakingly designed and machined with precision like nothing else from Ego Tripp. Greg explained that there were so many steps involved, they're not sure whether these wheels will ever go into full production. When the wheels got to the shop, Mike was blown away. It was then that he got inspired to start shaping the sheetmetal and have all the lines flow in a manner that mimics the shape of the wheels. It's not every day that a bike gets built around a set of wheels, but look at what happened here. Next, Mike installed a set of Avon tires and placed the wheels on the bike. This allowed everyone in the shop to see where the bike was at that stage of the build.