2006 ACME Rigid Racer

We are an eclectic group here at HOT BIKE, and we appreciate all types of bikes. We like the beefy look of wide tires and flowing lines on pro-streets, and the stretched-out, seamless sheetmetal of the big-bodied Cadillac-esque bikes (we have a beautiful example of one in this book from Xtreme Machine). However, sometimes less is more. And in our opinion, you don't have to spend hours cutting, bending, and shaping sheetmetal, trying to cover up every mechanical aspect of a motorcycle for it to be considered a hot bike.

Every once in awhile we'll come across a clean and simple bike, put together with just the right components that'll stand out amongst the rest. This stripped-down, no frills, chrome frame rigid from Wayne Ahlquist of ACME Choppers out of Meredith, NH, is proof of that.

Sure, we know what you're thinking: "There's not much to it, and hell, it doesn't even have a front brake." But that's exactly what drew us to this bike: its simplistic beauty. With its lightweight and compact stature, it's one of those bikes that just begs to have a leg thrown over it and be ridden hard.

The nature of most custom motorcycle shops is to create bikes based on the designs and specific parts requested by their customers, and a lot of the bikes we feature are built by custom shops for just that purpose. So when someone from a shop decides to build a bike for themselves, it's like we are getting to look at a Rorschach test the builder has created from metal. Glancing over the bike and studying the components they chose to use gradually reveals his or her personality.

For instance, when looking at the Wishbone frame we get the feeling that Wayne has an appreciation for classic styling and tradition. The fact that he decided to use brass ACME accents like grips, footpegs, kicker pedal, and magneto cover tells us Wayne has a deep respect for old-world metals and the generations of metalsmiths who have passed down their knowledge of metallurgy.