Naked Speed

Dustin Kott of Newall, Calif. is a builder on the rise who specializes in mid-1970s Hondas. A lone wolf, he will be challenged to build out a junk yard find and impress an Alpha pack that includes Champion road racers, Ben and Eric Bostrom and former professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong. Kevin Dunworth of Loaded Gun Cycles is a Delaware is a motorcylce builder who may just have met his match when it comes to going fast. His client, Kaillie Humphries, is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and current world champion bobsledder for Canada. She's demanded Kevin build a bike that feeds her insatiable appetite for speed.

Dave Austin of British Barn Finds scours the upstate New York countryside for unwanted and forgotten British cars. On a recent pick he came across three rotted out school buses, filled with old MGs, and negotiated a price for the lot, and a Norton Commando was "thrown in for good measure." They're turning to NYC/Norton's Kenny Cummings in Jersey City to help get their Norton Commando in racing shape. The fun begins as Kenny has strong opinions and ideas on what a stripped down, go fast bike should be. Custom motorcycle builders work to fit an aging Ducati 1198 with an Aerodyne Turbo, custom frame, manx-style tank, exhaust, swing arm and other hand-built pieces to create 240hp - just enough to do the ton x 2 at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Boxer Metal's Chris Canterbury of Chico, Calif. is North America's premier BMW builder. But building a barn-find into a 1970s Isle of Man racing tribute bike, and bringing in three-time, BMW mounted, AMA Champion Reg Pridmore to test it, is a whole different ballgame. Chris Boy, owner of Mote Corse, develops customized wire harnesses and traction control, and specializes in carbon fiber fabrication. He has built for clients worldwide, but now this local "fast guy" is ready to build a six-figure, budget busting, canyon carving beast of a bike for himself.

Rickey Gadson is a 9-time drag racing champion with a compelling story. The bike his father rode and was killed on, and the bike that nearly took his brother's life has come back to him in pieces, and Rickey has vowed to bring back the bike, in his father's memory, to race again. Kurt Walter, founder of Icon, builds bikes in order to set and stay ahead of fashion trends. The Portland Company is passionate about early-to-mid-1980s Japanese sport bikes, especially Suzuki Katanas. Kurt loves their ugliness and has made it his goal to redesign them into how, he feels, they should have been designed in the first place. He is confident in his abilities but is gambling the brand and his company on this ugly duckling.

In Suffolk, England, Neil Adams turns classics British bikes into modern café racers. When a wealthy collector has commissioned Neil to transform a valuable BSA into a classic café racer he tests it at the fabled Brighton Speed Trials. In Texas, shop owners Stetson and Allen build a Ducati l63 for a high profile businessman with a set price.

Tampa's Dime City Cycles are charismatic, progressive and talented builders that are approaching a new Triumph build with a nod to the past. Builder Herm Narciso and designer Jason Michaels are traveling across the pond to gain a better understanding of the craft by learning from legendary builders. They will seek out old-time Rockers at events like The Ace Reunion, to gain a better understanding of the lifestyle and design. Don't mess with Texas resident Zeke Dezeeu. At only 12 years old he is the real deal when it comes to building lighter and faster bikes. Zeke has learned the art of welding, engine work and fabrication enough to put it to work building his own café racer in between school and soccer, of course!