The Ivory Comet

When building the Ivory Comet, I want to stay with the traditional look of a cafe racer and introduce modern elements for what I call “Modern Retro”. In designing this motorcycle, I followed three basic rules of a cafe racer. One is to have the front fairing, gas tank, and rear cowl lined up in a horizontal line parallel to the ground. Another is to have the rear axle aligned with the tail, and of course the duck tailed rear cowl.

At the beginning, there where several fairing designs that where considered. Since I want to use a Harley Davidson engine I believe it will be a shame to cover it, so for the final version of the fairing design I have it completely exposed.

For the fabrication of the bodywork of this motorcycle, I insisted on using traditional methods by having the front cowl, gas tank, and rear section all hand made out of metal. To do this I used a 1960's method by using wood for the mold and then have a metal fabricator to make it for me.

With my vision for a modern retro cafe racer, I also wanted a suspension that was unique yet stable for this motorcycle. I decided to transplant the front shock absorbers, rear single sided swingarm, and the brakes from the Ducati 916. Then use wire rims making the bike a “Singlesided swingarm with wire rims”. Searching for someone to make the rims to my specifications was a daunting task. Many engineers did not make a wire rim to my specifications or afraid too easy to break. But after spending several months, I located a company in Europe that met my requirements with warranty to boost.

The origin of the name “Ivory Comet” includes “Ivory” for the pursuit of elegance, and “comet” for the feeling of overwhelming power and grace that comes from a speeding comet. To represent these feeling together, I chose the colors: red, white, black, and gold. Using white as the main color to tone down the louder colors and to fulfill the feeling of elegance .

This motorcycle has taken me over a year and finally complete, overcoming many financial, mental, and physical obstacles to the point where many think I am crazy to continue pursuing my dream. There are so many things I can say about the project but it will take me too much time to explain properly. If you see me or just curious to know my story, please don't be afraid to ask us.