25/01/2014—News

Custombike 2013

The CUSTOMBIKE in Bad Salzuflen is a must in our event calendar. We have been there for several times and are always in the best mood if we are there. We are there to meet partners, friends and other builders from all over the world. We picked some pictures to get an impression. Have fun. We will be also at CUSTOMBIKE 2014.

09/09/2013—News

A town gone Chopper crazy.

Once a year, the normally tranquil town of Kaldenkirchen near the Dutch border close to Venlo turns into a bubbling cauldron: it’s Choppertown-time! Anything with two or four wheels that has been worked on with love is allowed to roll on in.
We were also invited and turned up with the Snowracer, the 1948 Pan-Grashopper and the 1940 Big Flathead. Although the big crowds were one street further, it didn’t take long until we were approached by enthusiastic passers-by and expert questioners.
Custom parts, pinstriping, live music, zombies and last but not least: cool Choppers (even with four wheels!) –Kaldenkirchen truly offered everything needed for a perfect Choppertown day.
We wouldn’t be surprised if we were suddenly gripped by the urge to go there again next year.

30/08/2013—News

Heading to the bookstore by bike.

We’re guessing that the large number of motorbikes – including our Snowracer and the Grasshopper – in the yard and on display in the offices of the Gestalten Verlag at the launch of the book “The Ride” was somewhat unusual. In addition to many of the bikes featured in “The Ride”, a few of the illustrious group of builders, mechanics and customizers presented in the book also attended the event:
Bernhard, the leader of “Herzbube”, 2 guys from the “Wrenchmonkeys”, El Solitario, JvB Moto and the man from “Kaffeemaschine” (Coffee Machine) from Hamburg. Apart from the bikes, you could also admire some real gems by Corpses From Hell and Death Spray Customs.
The fact that Gestalten Verlag normally publishes books about art, architecture and design with a corresponding guest list at their book launches ensured a mixed crowd of bike buffs and art lovers that led to a highly amusing and interesting evening with lots to talk about.
Photographs by Kristina Fender and Uwe Ehinger.

27/08/2013—News

Parked for all eternity.

Our Snowracer has pretty much travelled the world of custom bikes in its time, but the place where it is parked now might just mean that it is well on its way to becoming a true classic. The publishing house “Gestalten Verlag” from Berlin is renowned for its elaborate books. Books about design, architecture, art. The latest edition is all about a highly contemporary and extremely specialized form of culture maintained around the world: the artistic remodeling of brand new, classic as well as historic motorbikes.

Under the title “THE RIDE”, Gestalten Verlag has compiled the best custom bikes from the past couple of years – in collaboration with Chris Hunter, who lives up to his last name by hunting down new pearls of wisdom from the art of customization and bringing them to light in his custom bike blog “BIKE EXIF“ on a weekly basis.

“THE RIDE” is also a collection of the best custom bikes in the world and their makers – so of course we feel really honored that our Snowracer has been eternalized there in words and pictures.

29/07/2013—News

The Snowracer, an oven and a toaster…

… in addition of the obvious puns with a references to temperature, these three products have something great in common: the iF design award 2013. Now we all know that the snow racer has already made its way onto various winners’ podiums, but it has never reached before such heights: the International Forum Design has been one of the most respected institutions in the evaluation of design excellence since 1953. The group of high-profile judges is newly appointed every year. They evaluate products in many different categories such as household, industrial and also means of transport. It goes without saying that the largest number of iF awards go to companies that can afford huge design departments. For Ehinger Kraftrad, this makes it even more special to have been awarded the world-famous red label for its in-house-designed of a fully roadworthy motorcycle with a vehicle concept from the depths of the last century combined with state-of-the-art technology. Let’s drink a toast to that! No pun intended. The complete exhibition: http://exhibition.ifdesign.de/awards_product_beitragsgalerie_d The snowracer: http://exhibition.ifdesign.de/entrydetails_de.html?mode=madr&offset=0

28/06/2013—News

Yesterday on show, today on the road.

Don’t worry, ‘Flatties’ and ‘Knuckles’ are still right at the top of our list, but from time to time it is quite refreshing to test just how much Ehinger Kraftrad can be found in a modern motorbike. Of course, you don’t have to make life unnecessarily difficult you can never fully escape from your own shadow. In short, we decided to opt for a 2012 Triumph Bonneville. After all, it still breathes a lot of tradition and is at least visually reminiscent of the old-school ‘cafe racer’ style. But it also offers ample opportunities to turn it into a true Ehinger Kraftrad motorcycle. The Triumph premiered at the Custom Chrome Europe Dealer Show in Mainz, where many of the above details only became obvious to the interested observers when the took a closer look – resulting in lively expert discussions. If you missed the Ehinger Triumph in Mainz, you should consider a trip to Hamburg. Like all our bikes, the Triumph is also street legal – and it really is out there on the streets: Uwe Ehinger has appointed it as his city ride.

26/06/2013—News

If time is immovably welded tight somewhere…

then it is at Elco Welding in Venice. What at first glance looks like a mix between a props store and a junk dealer, for us turns out to be the chance discovery of the classic all-round shop for everything that has wheels. The kind of shop that you used to find on every block. Here, bicycles are repaired, motorbikes are tinkered with and classic four-wheelers get the care they deserve – even metalwork on a fighter jet seems to be no problem for Elco. Anyhow, among all the vintage pieces, we have the pleasure of admiring a classic BMW CSI – with electric motor.
And when Elco boss Bob Libow proudly passes around a few faded photographs in which the facade of his shop looks more or less exactly like today, you get the feeling that time has no effect on Elco Welding.

29/04/2013—News

The bikes are back in Mainz.

After a short interruption last year, normal service was resumed as Custom Chrome 2013 handed out third, second and first prizes in various builder categories at the Bike Show in Mainz.
And, as is always the case in such a prestigious competition, there were some great motorcycles – and some creations that, let’s say, ‘invited discussion’: what’s the decisive point when building a custom bike? Originality? (Which does not mean remixing various alteration ideas that have been seen before). Where does originality end and absurdity begin? Is technical perfection in and of itself enough to earn a prize?
Well, the juries have made their decisions, and, for the most part, they were understandable.
A unique jury was created with the use of touch screens that allowed Bike Show visitors to vote on what they thought the trend would be in the coming years – and the decision was clear: baggers, choppers and dragsters were rejected in favour of old-school bikes and cafe racers, which received about 30% of the vote each.
Our newest work, which we presented on-site more or less as a world premiere, fits very nicely with that decision: the Ehinger Triumph. More on that topic here soon.