Rage with the machine

Road Rage S&S Anniversary Special is a two-wheeled work of art. Photo / Supplied

Forget reality custom bike building shows - New Zealand has its very own custom kings, the boys from Road Rage motorcycles.

Based at Auckland Motorcycles and Powersports, Ray Pratt and his team build one-off bikes to rival the best. Hence an invitation by S&S performance engines to take part in its 50th anniversary show for the world's top 50 bike builders.

Road Rage took up the challenge, basing its unique machine on an S&S X-Wedge engine.

The result is the menacing Road Rage S&S Anniversary Special, a custom cafe racer that's all motor, and deceptive in its apparent simplicity. But peer closer, and you'll appreciate the detail in this machine.

That almost velvety-looking paint is not one colour, but a complex brush-weave of silver and charcoal. Chunks of billet alloy have been milled for its one-of-a-kind parts; Road Rage even designed and built the frame, those gorgeous wheels, their brake callipers and massive discs - the 432mm front bigger than most cars' wheels.

This is a rolling artwork, but it's far more than that. It's actually rideable. "The rules said the bike had to ride 100km," says Pratt's son, Greg.

"But a lot of the US bikes couldn't have done that, and they cancelled the run. One builder over there said his machine couldn't go over 50kph without getting speed wobbles!"

Road Rage won't build a bike just for looks. Its spanner-man, Mark Steegstra, is sick of altering imported customs to make them roadworthy. Hence a seat-bars-pegs relationship that works in the real world. A wheelbase that's short by custom bike standards, and obtained by rearranging the drivetrain to fit the purpose.

For example: "We took a stock Harley gearbox and turned it on its side to make the set-up more compact." How did they know it would work? They built a wooden buck - and not just the outer shape, says Pratt, but a fully working transmission completely fabricated from wood.

This stuff takes dedication - and time. Steegstra reckons about 400 hours went into this machine.

When these guys do a job, they do it properly, and they say that's what attracts those who commission their fantastic machines. But they have to be prepared to pay. Each Road Rage takes over 300 hours from design to finish. To buy this one? "$135,000 would own it - but it owes us more than that."