Cyril Huze Blog – World's Number One Source For Custom Motorcycle News

Two weekends ago, with this boardtracker style custom bike, Kundratic Kustoms was proudly named the inaugural Sturgis Road Show Champion during the second leg of the Custom Chrome Chrome International Bike Show Series. With this win Brian Kundratic strengthens his position as a respected builder proving again that intensive labor, more than buying expensive catalog parts,  is the only way to achieve greatness in a custom motorcycle. As simple as it may look, this bike required over 1200 hours of custom machining, stretching, rolling and welding to arrive at the result you see here…

Brian is the youngest of 5 boys who grew up around his older brothers heavily involved in cars and motorcycles. While working full-time at his fathers’ cabinet shop, Brian started tinkering on his friends bikes in his spare time in the basement of his home, the same place his father started his cabinet business decades ago. After running out of room, he moved the workshop to an empty space next door to his dad’s business. The shop was tucked away in the corner of an industrial park where there wasn’t any street presence, so business was all word-of-mouth.  As word got around & the business kept growing, Brian had no choice but to leave his father’s shop for good and work full time on bikes. Far from being a beginner on the custom scene, Brian is in business since 1994 servicing, fabricating & building custom motorcycles and parts, offering in-house  extensive fabricating & machine work, engine & tranny work, mig & tig welding.

Brian Kundratic started this project for his life-long friend Nick Klosteridis whose wish list was contained in a few words: a low and very simple Bobber with a Knuckle engine and a foot note stating “Nothing Crazy.” Well, you know how things often go from there. Days passing by, conversations between builder and client/friend revolved around the good ol’ time and times of early racing, and what was supposed to be a Bobber got some aging and turned into a bike with genes from the Boardtracking era.

Brian heavily modified a Kraftech rigid frame, installed a new 93″ Flathead Power Knuckle breathing deep through 2 velocity stacks bolted on a Dual S & S Super B carburetor, coupled it with a 5-speed Primo belt drive, a Springer front end (why not leaf spring forks?), modified a Fat Katz tank to be both gas and oil, used a West Eagle ribbed rear fender, welded perimeter rotors from Hank Young on a set of spoke wheels (both 21″ x 1.85″) dressed in Avon Vemom tires, fabled his own exhaust, bars and taillight, and ordered a solo seat at Victory custom Interiors. All finish being a mix of polished and brushed parts. looks very simple? Do it. Kundratic Kustom Motorcycles. (photography copyright H. Roesler for Cyril Huze)