Sideburn and Indian Motorcycle UK are collaborating to build a wild Indian FTR street tracker. We have partnered with world-renowned customiser, Toshiyuki "CHEETAH" Osawa to make it a show-stopper.
Claire D’auria from Indian Motorcycle UK says, ‘We’ve always had a great relationship with Sideburn and when the idea for this FTR build was first discussed, we all knew it would be a very special project. It’s also very exciting to have Cheetah involved in the project bringing his highly creative design and fabrication skills to the FTR.’
Sideburn grew out of a love of flat track racing and the aesthetics of the sport, so our relationship with Indian Motorcycle, who have dominated the sport in recent years, make them a superb fit. Being able to collaborate with Indian Motorcycle and our favourite custom builder is a real high point in Sideburn’s 15-year history and we can’t wait to bring Cheetah’s sketches to life.
Based out of his Tokyo workshop, Cheetah Custom Cycles, is one of the most respected custom builders anywhere in the world. He creates stripped down customs often featuring his own flawless, hand-formed alloy bodywork. While never limiting himself to one brand or style of motorcycle, Cheetah has created a number of custom Indian Motorcycle’s using both vintage and modern models as his starting point. Cheetah is also one of the driving forces behind the grassroots resurgence of dirt track in Japan, so the tie-in with the FTR and Sideburn is perfect. He is a regular contributor to Sideburn magazine, too.
Our custom FTR will be unveiled at the Bike Shed Show, London, in May, but before we started on the customisation, we wanted to have some fun with the stock bike, and so did top UK dirt tracker and Indian Motorcycle hooligan racing queen, Leak Tokelove. See the results in the video.
We will produce a total of four films and four magazine features throughout 2023, all focussed on our FTR project.
Read the first instalment in Sideburn 52.
For more information on Indian Motorcycle visit IndianMotorcycle.eu and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.