Source: American Rider –
[[{“value”:”In eastern Poland, not far from the Ukrainian border, there is a custom bike builder turning visions into machines. Stanislaw Myszkowski of Game Over Cycles thinks big. His previous bikes have pushed the boundaries. From “Behemoth,” a custom motorcycle expressing heavy metal music, to “The Recidivist,” the world’s first tattooed motorcycle, Myszkowski enjoys breaking new ground.
Elegant Art Deco lines and accents are the hallmarks of “Slow Burn Bike,” which got its inspiration from a custom hot rod built for Metallica’s James Hetfield. (Photos by Pawel Olearka)
“Slow Burn Bike” is GOC’s latest build, and it came away from Daytona Bike Week with a pair of Best of Show awards for its curvaceous design inspired by an American rock star’s custom hot rod.
Some 7,000 hours of work went into creating “Slow Burn Bike” at Game Over Cycles.
“Slow Burn,” a custom roadster built for James Hetfield of Metallica, was the catalyst for Myszkowski’s latest creation. Designed by custom car builder Rick Dore, the 1936 Auburn 852 Boattail Speedster is a masterpiece of Art Deco automotive design.
The voluptuous lines of Hetfield’s Auburn were inspiration for “Slow Burn Bike.” (Photo courtesty Rick Dore)
The car’s sultry lines and flared fenders convey speed while stationary, garnering a featured spot at the wonderful Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The hot rod’s essence was captured in GOC’s “Slow Burn Bike.”
When James Hetfield wanted a custom car unlike any other, he contracted Rick Dore to build this from a 1936 Auburn 852 Boattail Speedster. (Photo courtesty Rick Dore)
“Metallica has always been a huge artistic inspiration for me,” Myszkowski said. “I am a fan of the band’s music and the visuals that accompany their art. James Hetfield is a huge automotive fan – he collects and restores vintage cars – so we decided to combine these two worlds and build a motorcycle inspired by James’ vehicle.”
The big-wheel bagger theme is getting played out, but we don’t mind when they look as sensational as this. Its deep root-beer candy paint is identical to the bike’s automotive twin.
To find out more about this award-winning build, we spoke to Christopher Bienkiewicz of Game Over Cycles. He said Myszkowski’s ability to create such unique designs comes from applying his lens and life experience to classic Americana. With that fresh perspective comes innovation.
Our favorite angle of “Slow Burn Bike” displays its bodacious curves. Stretching 10.8 feet in length, the 880-lb bagger has a commanding presence.
“Any creative improvement comes from mixing and combining things,” Bienkiewicz told us. “We come from a different environment with different aesthetics. We come from Poland ‘B,’ as we call it. It’s not Poland ‘A’ like Warsaw, and we definitely aren’t in the front row of the European arena – we sit in the back,” he chuckled.
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Bienkiewicz said the biggest challenge to recreating the shapes and fluidity of “Slow Burn” was achieving an accurate scale. The bike needed to be large enough to accurately reflect the profile and proportions of Hetfield’s car, so it measures 10.8-feet long and is constructed of steel with no visible screws. The beauty lies in the vehicle’s simplicity – its character comes from what is not present as much as what is present.
The bike’s nose was crafted to mimic the Auburn’s radiator grille.
The bike’s details – including the chrome grille, levers, and headlamps – are all designed to imitate the features of its automotive big sister. Even the angles and proportions of the bars mimic the car’s Duvall-style windshield frame. The prominent 30-inch front wheel was CNC-machined to match the classic pattern on the Auburn, accenting the bike’s sinuous profile and balancing the voluminous rear fender and its integrated bags.
A 30-inch front wheel tucked under the front fender sets off the bike’s sloping profile. The craftsmanship is impeccable.
Duplicating the Auburn’s qualities in a fully dressed bagger necessitated a keen eye and experienced fabrication team. Bienkiewicz said the build required 7,000 hours of labor from start to finish.
Set within the frame like a diamond pendant is a 115ci RevTech motor with forged internals and mated to a RevTech 5-speed transmission. The exhaust exit is integrated into the chrome fender cover so that no surface is disrupted.
“Slow Burn Bike” casts a lusty silhouette appropriate for mature audiences only. Game Over Cycles enlisted model Adrianna Czorniak to decorate its bike, and we couldn’t resist.
The resulting silky aesthetics of “Slow Burn Bike” impressed the creator of Hetfield’s “Slow Burn” car.
“When we saw the pictures of the motorcycle, we were knocked out,” Rick Dore commented. “It’s an incredible vehicle, especially when you compare it to James’ car. The body, the wheels, the color, even the levers – everything was right on with the ‘Slow Burn.’ My hats off to Game Over – they did a great job, and the craftsmanship is out of this world.”
The RevTech motor is capped by this finely crafted air-cleaner housing.
And it wasn’t just Dore who was impressed. “Slow Burn Bike” came away from Daytona with awards from two of Bike Week’s most competitive shows. It nabbed Best of Show at the prestigious Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show, as well as first place in the Extreme Bagger category.
The finish detailing didn’t stop at the bodywork.
Additional awards for “Slow Burn Bike” were handed out at the Boardwalk Bike Show, billed as the “biggest and best bike show in all of Daytona Beach for Bike Week 2024.” Out of 136 entrees, Game Over Cycles walked away with Best of Show honors and first place in the Extreme Bagger category.
No unsightly muffler here – the exhaust exit is neatly integrated into the chrome fender structure.
“The reaction from other builders was extremely positive,” said Bienkiewicz about GOC’s experience in Daytona. “With all art, you have to expose yourself to judgment to see if your work is good. Unless you are confronted by judgment, you never know.”
Game Over Cycles landed in Daytona and showed us a thing or two by re-imagining a proven concept, a process Bienkiewicz referred to as “creative improvement.” The vision was to make a bagger version of the “Slow Burn” hot rod, but what Game Over Cycles accomplished stands on its own.
Tomasz Rzeszut (GOC workshop manager) and Stanislaw Myszkowski celebrate their awards from the Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show in Daytona.
“We don’t always share the same confidence in our work as Americans do in theirs,” Bienkiewicz summarized, “but this time we knew we created something special.”
Ultimately, bikes are not created by themselves. The real story of “Slow Burn Bike” is the people: Myszkowski, Dore, Hetfield, and all the others who supported the project. Well done, Myszkowski, and congrats on the wins. Game over.
The post Slow Burn Bike, Creation of Game Over Cycles appeared first on American Rider.”}]]
