ICE BLUE RACER

アイスブルーレーサー Ice Blue Racer Words: Inuchopper Kei Photos: Kentaro Yamada

(clockwise from above left) Things got so skinny the fuel pump became shrinkwrapped in alloy; Early sketches explore options; You want swooping bodywork? If you’re Cheetah you form it by hand from aluminium sheet; Temporary overflow bottle shows the bike runs; Shakin’s ice blue paint gives the bike its name; Ducktail’s exhaust – more pie cuts than an apple pie contest in Pie Town, New Mexico; Made by hammer, welder and hand. Dings and dents need not apply

IF YOU’VE BEEN following Sideburn for the last year or so, you’ll be aware of the Have Fun Flat Track gang from Japan. A group of friends, many of them talented fabricators and mechanics, who made a name for themselves first by building their own 150cc flat track framers to race for kicks at Japan’s only short track oval, then by organising practice days and races to kickstart the sport in Japan after a recent lull. They were approached to build a custom version of the current Fantic Caballero to promote the Japanese launch of the bike. One of the crew, Kei, shares the details...

Many of the Have Fun friends took on a different task and the Ice Blue Racer combines Cheetah CC’s free design and Ducktail Watanabe’s solid work. Cheetah formed the bodywork and fuel tank by hand from aluminium sheet. The tank and integrated seat and radiator shrouds give the bike’s silhouette a traditional flat tracker style. Then the bike was sent to Ducktail

パブファンカスタム Have Fun Custom

Watanabe, who was in charge of producing the front number plate and pipe. The exhaust and silencer are stunning examples of Watanabe’s art. The exhaust pipe is created from stainless-steel straight pipe that has been expertly piecut in more than 30 sections to get a smooth curve. It’s a masterpiece. The muffler is also one-off, with a certain volume and a flat track racer feeling, with good sound and performance. While the Italian street tracker was at Ducktail’s he also lowered the front and rear suspension. Next, Skunk Kubota took charge of the shape and cover of the wild, extended seat and Shakin’, the painter, laid on the ice blue metallic – that gives the bike its name – the lettered inserts and graphics. The paint was designed to make the one-off aluminium skin stand out in a crowd. The bike was built in a hurry, even though Cheetah and Watanabe live 350km (220 miles) from each other. Shakin’ made two round trips between Ibaraki and Miyagi. Watanabe also made two round trips between Tokyo and Miyagi. This bike travelled 2400km (1500 miles) in vans before it put a tyre on the dirt. The friends got it finished just in time for Mooneyes’ world famous Hot Rod Custom Show in Yokohama, then, as all the best bikes do, it hit the track two days later, at the Have Fun Flat Track Party. The result is a custom flat track racer that brings out the Caballero’s true character.