Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa has had a busy 12 months. Scorching on the heels of a collaboration with Indian Motorbike and Sideburn Journal that debuted on the Bike Shed Present, he already had one other deadline looming; Born Free 14. Osawa-san was on the distinguished invited builders checklist for the fourth time, and wished to convey a motorcycle worthy of the accolade.
Regardless that he’s a daily on the present circuit, Cheetah’s bikes aren’t trailer queens. With a background in flat monitor racing, he builds {custom} bikes which might be enjoyable to experience and look good overwhelmed up. For Born Free 14, he delivered a classic Harley-Davidson WL flat tracker with a hand-crafted chassis and a plethora of tasty particulars, dubbed ‘Meteor.’
Cheetah began with a 1946 Harley-Davidson WL engine, then went to city modifying it. The inventory 740 cc displacement hasn’t modified, however the rear cylinder’s been flipped round as a nod to the enduring Harley XR750 flat tracker. There’s a H-D KR750 cam inside too, with a pair of Lectron carbs sucking air by way of Okay&N filters.
Different additions embrace a Norton Commando transmission and a delightfully dangerous-looking open major. For sure, none of those mods had been easy.
The chromoly body is completely Cheetah’s handiwork—proper right down to the jaw-dropping bronze-brazed joints. “This conventional British approach will not be broadly identified in Japan,” he tells us, “so I researched, realized, and gathered all of the supplies and tools I wanted from England. It took me nearly 5 years to develop into proficient at it.”
Cheetah constructed the {custom} girder entrance finish utilizing the identical strategies. And since he wasn’t about to cover all that ability away underneath powder-coating, the body and forks merely put on a transparent coat to guard them.
Since Cheetah legitimately plans to race the classic Harley WL, he baked some adjustability into the bike’s structure. The underside of the girder fork sports activities an eccentric wheel axle mount, providing a variety of fast peak and path changes. Out again, a set of {custom} mounting plates presents six completely different peak changes for the rear wheel.
As per flat monitor norms, the WL rolls on 19” laced wheels wrapped in Hoosier filth monitor rubber. There’s only one brake; a classic Gerling unit on the again.
Perched on high of this magnificent machine is a monocoque physique, hand-shaped out of aluminum. Cheetah tasked S-Paint Works and Tomomi Shimizu at Shake Indicators with the paint and pin-striping work, respectively. However the geometric patterns which have been become the metallic are all Cheetah’s work.
The bodywork hides separate custom-made gas and oil tanks. A pair of struts on the again serves to help the oil tank and seat association, and the gas filler cap is tucked away simply behind the body’s steering neck. A beneficiant leather-based seat runs alongside the highest of all the pieces, designed to supply the rider oodles of maneuverability.
Cheetah’s Meteor is stacked with radical particulars. The sculpted handlebar risers and headlight ‘hood,’ and the engraved rear wheel mounting plates, are pure mechanical artwork. A touch of white on the handlebars presents some distinction, whereas traditional Bates foot peg rubbers recall the previous.
Granted, a few of these particulars are laborious to identify when the bike’s lined in mud—however Cheetah prefers it that approach. “The idea of Meteor is that it’s a {custom} bike, however it’s additionally an actual racing machine with a classic motor that’s able to race,” he says.
Dashing in the direction of the Born Free deadline at breakneck pace, Cheetah buttoned the bike up simply in time to ship it from Tokyo to California. However one factor he didn’t get round to, was a correct shakedown. “I flew over to California simply three days earlier than the present, picked up the bike, sneaked into Shinya Kimura’s workshop, and one way or the other was in a position to begin the engine,” he says.
“I genuinely admire Shinya for letting me use his store on such quick discover, as ordinary. The day after the Born Free present, I took the bike to El Mirage and rode it for the primary time. The tuning wasn’t good but—however using the bike that I constructed from scratch was very particular, and nothing might substitute that happiness.”
“This bike is coming again to Japan quickly, so I’ll tune it by using it on my native oval monitor to make it go sooner. When it will get many scratches and chips on the bodywork from my knees and flying pebbles, and worn-out tires (however solely on the left aspect), my Meteor will lastly be full!”
Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa Instagram | Photos by, and with honest due to, Kazuo Matsumoto
