Editor's note: Back when I was a kid I remember watching TV, and every once in a while these old black and white clips from the 1950s would come on showing what people thought kitchens, houses, and cars of the future would look like. As soon as I saw an image of this bike I immediately flashed back to watching those clips. A little bit 1950s futuristic, a little bit art deco, this bike definitely has a lot of character, and craftsmanship.
The saying is as old as the ancient art of prostitution, but aptly sums up Andy Carter. "Never judge a book by its cover." Like the unique two-wheeled creations that roll out of the unusually large shop door (a private airport hangar) where he does his work, Andy is more than the sum of his parts. As the owner, builder, parts designer, head of shipping and receiving, accountant, toilet cleaner, CEO, CFO, and President of Pangea Speed, Andy is refreshingly unaware that he should have a much larger ego (or any ego, for that matter) to match his talent level. The enthusiastic way he greets everyone (an ear splittingly loud high-five and his classic shit-eating grin) is more little kid than arrogant artist.
Andy hand formed the headlight housing to hold the Dual Angel Eye Projector headlights mou
Don't let the little kid persona fool you though, this little kid is well on his way to becoming a master craftsman and metalworker. At the age of 25, Andy has amassed more real world experience than a lot of people twice his age. From ALMS race teams, powdercoating companies, hot rod shops, and rapid prototyping firms (the family business), Andy has gained valuable experience. All of which has been integral in bringing about his latest endeavor, the aforementioned Pangea Speed.
"I always want our parts to not only serve a function on a motorcycle, but also have an aesthetic value as well," states Andy. To accomplish what the company set out to do, it incorporated techniques that vary from old-world to NASA-esque. Sand Casting, Stereo lithography, and Polyjet Printing are all used in one way or another in the course of a year at the hangar, and were put to good use on the bike you see one these pages.
The Zion Express, as Andy has dubbed it, came about as the result of some friendly bartering and a desire to "Andy up" an old Iron Head. "Andy-ing up" something is really the only way to describe what happens when he gets his hands on something pretty basic by nature and the gears in his head start turning. First on the agenda was chopping off the transmission to make room for the RevTech five-speed; yep, that's how the kid's mind works.
After completing the seemingly serious surgery that he made look easy, Andy moved onto areas where he could put some of his other acquired talents to good use, starting with the bodywork. Andy handcrafted everything (with the exception of the oil tank) by hammer-forming, planishing, shrinking/stretching, and English wheeling till his hands were nearly numb. Fuel tank, headlight cowl, tail section, sissybar, etc., all started life as raw stock and were worked into what you see here in a very traditional way by a dedicated craftsman.