That's right,
the only
one!
It's over ten
feet long, with a 23 front wheel and a 360mm by 18mm rear tire that took two
months to make just for the Hubless Monster. The rear tire was the first of
its kind in the motorcycle industry. The Hubless Monster made such an impression
that the bike was part of an exhibition as one of only 30 at President Clinton's
Presidential Library this past Fall (As was another interviewee's bikes Rick
Fairless. See his interview on this website for more info) in Little Rock, Ark.
Getting the bike down the halls and up the freight elevators got to be quite a
shore, according to Joe.
The bike is owned by Mike Brown out of Rogersville, TN, took 30 straight days to
make, and was built in February of 2004. Now we are not going to get into the
fixed rotating parts or the inner and outer rings. You have Google for that. We
like the bike as something that hasn't been done before and want to present it
as such to our readers. When you see the bike going down the street you'll
understand why it is truly a work of art and passion. The bike has no spokes,
chain, or hubs, and it took a lot of work to get it done. Try 850 ball bearings
just to make it roll.
And whata better
way to showoff this great looking bikewith the assistance of three
beautiful ladies who volunteered to be photographed with the Hubless Monster.
Meet Ms. Terry on the left, Ms. Jamie at the center, and Ms. Cindy on the right.
Joe Gordin, owner of Amen Motorcycles of South Texas, 16195 S. Hwy 288B, in
Angleton, Texas, 77515 is a good friend of Mike Brown and when Joe was trying to
raise funds for a local guy, Johnny Lindly, Mike let Joe use the bike as a way
of getting publicity for the raffle. Joe donated a custom chopper to the local
VFW who was holding the raffle for Johnny who needs a kidney transplant. That
just shows you how good of friends Joe and Mike are as Mike does not let The
Hubless Monster on loan to just anyone.
For those of
you who are curious as to how the bike rides, Mike has a 54 second video on you
tube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJPTSaARlvs)
where you can see Mike riding it. When you look at the video, you see Mike on
the bike but the bike appears to be stationary. The thing that gives it away
that it is actually moving is that the background is going by you. Interesting.
Joe calls the bike a pretty unique work of art and that it is. The bike has
also been called The coolest ride that has been seen.
Mike Brown is
a very serious, very intelligent individual who's favorite saying is We make
round things out of square things and square things out of round things,
according to Joe. However, there is a question as to its rideability but
according to Joe, this bike is a prototype and if a bike like the Hubless
Monster were to be made for a customer all that would need to be done is to
reduce the rake and raise the height of the bike. We are going to be seeing more
of Mike Brown as he is currently in production to have a televison show about,
you guessed it motorcycles
When Joe as asked if he had any last comments for
this interview all he could say was, No, just that I wish it was mine. Me too
for that matter!
We would like to thank Joe for setting up the
photoshoot, his staff, and the beautiful ladies who participated including Ms.
Cynthia, Ms. Terri, and Ms. Jamie.
NOW A LITTLE BIT ON AMEN MOTORCYCLES OF SOUTH
TEXAS
Joe Gordin is the owner of Amen Motorcycles of South Texas, 16195 S. Hwy 288B, in Angleton, Texas, 77515, about 45 minutes south of Houston. While Joe has been riding since the age of 16, when he first got his motorcycle diving license, it was about a year ago that he started building custom bikes out of his garage.
After
outgrowing the garage, Joe built the building that is the home to Amen
Motorcycles of South Texas and even had to expand the build to hold a line of
clothing and biker apparel that his wife acquired. Amen is now a full service
motorcycle shop providing parts and services, but according to Joe, we like to
build custom motorcycles, and that they do. Take a look at Joe's
bike.
When asked
where the shop's name came from, Joe responded, When I told Mike that I was
going to open up a shop he said why not just use his Amen Motorcycles name. We
just added the South Texas. Now thats good friends folks.
As good
friends do, Mike Brown helped built this beautiful custom chopper that belongs
to Joe starting with the frame. Since then, Joe has built three more custom
bikes kind of as a hobby as Joe's main source of income is his plumbing
business. If you look closely at the wheels you can see the pipe wrenches that
are customary with plumbers. With 19 employees Joe has a great deal on his
shoulders trying to keep his employees and their families
fed.
If you are ever in the area, drop in on Joe and say hi for us. You can
also check them out on the world wide web at www.amenmotorcyclestexas.com or
call 979-848-0600
We like to thank Joe for his gracious time in providing the Hubless Monster, his staff particularly Patrick, and for the gracious and beautiful girls that participated in the photoshoot.