Death or Glory custom - All Or Nothing Riding

Icon has become almost synonymous with bold riding gear and in keeping its image and products fresh, the company regularly releases new, innovative designs to stay on top of riders' needs. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before Icon would build a bike to showcase one of its newest product lines, Death or Glory. Much like Icon's former bikes, this custom was built around the graphics on the riding gear and stood to make a statement for the company.

The design ideas behind the Death or Glory (D/G) bike can be best described by first understanding the concept of the gear. From the helmet to the jacket, the riding gear can be best summarized, according to Icon, as victory or failure, checkers or defeat, or in other words, death or glory. So when it came to this bike's design, it was built to not only show off the company's gear, it was built to race...and seek the overwhelming feeling of glory that victory can bring.

The D/G custom was also intended to be one of Icon's catalog motorcycles--not a show bike--to show what folks can do with their own rides and riding essentials. "We get people who ask for close-ups of the graphics on our gear so they can paint their bike or helmet up," said Icon Design Director Kurt Walter.

Given this all or nothing riding concept, or death or glory, this bike was a mesh of sheer horsepower and a lot of Japanese race bike components. "This motorcycle's design," Kurt said, "pays homage to late '70s Japanese super bike racing." Kurt added, "What makes this bike cool is it's unusual for the V-twin market because of some of its parts." With the graphics from the gear in hand, Kurt and his team got started on the build with a Detroit Bros. frame with 38 degrees of rake and 4 inches of stretch in the backbone with a 2-inch drop in the seat area. An Ultima 127ci motor was stuffed between the framerails of the gooseneck, drop-seat frame. A Jagg oil cooler keeps the triple-displacement motor running nice and cool, while a Hooker 2-into-1 header with dual Devil GSXR 1000 carbon silencers keep the bike sounding silent, but deadly.

Riding like a straight-line American dream, the D/G bike is suspended by an Ohlins front-end, often seen on higher-end race bikes. Mounted atop the super-beefy Attack Racing triple-trees are Renthal dirtbike handlebars, which were attached with Vortex clipons. In fact, the entire frontend is made up of race bike parts, from the hand controls to the low-mounted headlight, with the exception of the Mattel Barbie-edition mirror, thrown in for playful measure. For precaution, if the D/G bike was going to be run hard, it had to be able to stop on a dime. To complement the sport/race bike theme, a set of 17-inch Kawasaki Ninja front and rear wheels were installed, with braking duties handled by Tokico calipers and Kawasaki rotors.

Taking cues from the D/G jacket and helmet, Kurt and his team got started hand-forming the aluminum gas tank, oil tank, rear fender, and seat, and also custom-made the "lucky No. 7" plate adorning the frontend. Once all the parts were up to par with the rest of the build, the frame and tins were sent out for powdercoat and paint. Paul Comeau from Comeau Painting laid white and Ducati Red over the metal, while all the graphics were handled by Icon, from the race stripes and the red pinstripes to the checkered flags.

After just four short months, the D/G bike was completed and ready to face bright lights and beautiful women during its photo shoot for Icon's catalog. "We live this lifestyle," Kurt said, "and that can be seen by us merely designing a helmet and building an entire custom around it." Kurt also added, "This is the extent we would go to for one photo in our catalog." Now if that's not stress on a photographer, we don't know what is.