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J Moto Gallery’s Post-Apocalyptic Ninja Draws Crowds at the Chicago IMS
J Moto Gallery’s Post-Apocalyptic Ninja Draws Crowds at the Chicago IMS
24 févr. 2017
"Aftermath" is protected from the ravages of the road by a custom rebar crash cage
The custom bike world can sometimes seem like a festival of glossy paint jobs, intricate billet aluminum work, and bolt on accessories. The cure for that perception is the work of J Moto Gallery.
Joe Morris of J Moto Gallery brought two fantastic Kawasakis to the Windy City's staging of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS). The Ninja that Morris put on display in Chicago was a decidedly different kind of custom build. J Moto’s 1992 Kawasaki Ninja ZX 750 J is a departure from any other custom bike in this year’s IMS series.
One of the bike’s builders, Mike Hoj may have put it best in an IMS video interview when he called the Kawi, “completely freaktified and remodified … the list goes on and on about the custom work we did to this.”
Notice the crossbow at the ready for quick urban defense
So let’s get into some of the "freaktifications" of the Ninja that is fittingly named Aftermath. One of the cool elements of the ZX build is the custom crash cage that is fabricated out of transmission gears and rebar. No polished stainless here – just a work of utilitarian, rusting art that is reminiscent of something off the set of the original Mad Max film.
In keeping with that post-apocalyptic vibe of the bike, there is another intimidatingly unique element. “We have a fully functional crossbow attached to the side with a custom made holster in case it gets real squirrelly in the street for you,” Hoj says.
Of course, no urban assault bike would be complete without full knobby tires. That aggressive rubber spins on both ends of a stretched Ninja box aluminum frame. Up front there are caged dual round headlights to illuminate the chaos that the Kawi will have to carve through.
The intricacy of the artwork comes into view on a close look
The paint-job is a fascinating dichotomy. On a quick glance from a distance, the build looks like a weathered, rusted, faded, relic. However, closer inspection reveals a highly intricate and carefully themed work of art. Joe Morris has created a unified aesthetic out of chaotic individual elements.
One can almost see the ZX being the only thing to survive the nuclear winter alongside the cockroaches! Are those burnt orange highlights the radiation glow of the post-apocalypse?
K&N congratulates Joe Morris, Mike Hoj, air-brush artist Flex, and Josh D. Plath on a work of moto art that is a welcome departure from the often over-sanitized world of custom bike building.