Japanese artist Chicara Nagata spent approximately 7,550 hours hand crafting each of these motorcycles which are on display at the ippodo gallery in New York City until January 31, 2009. Using ancient Harley Davidson and Honda moped engines Chicara has integrated contemporary craftsmanship and first-class engineering to create functional motorcycles that transcend into the world of art.
Nearly killed in a motorcycle accident at age 16, Nagata creates million-dollar bikes in honor of those who have died; everything except the drivetrain is built by Nagata.
I know that I want one of these machines, but I believe that the price tag is around US$1 million each. A bit out of my price range. However, as i will be in NY next month I’ll try to get to the gallery and do a little bit of drooling.
EDIT: We did make it to ippodo gallery in Manhattan, but alas, it was closed for the day and we had to be satisfied with a distant view of the motorbikes through the windows.
This post was originally published on November 14, 2008.