Indian Motorcycle and Wheels & Waves

Photo: Indian Motorcycles

The public and "Super Voters" experts will decide which design will be implemented. Votes cast will take part in the raffle for the completed conversion.

Indian Motorcycle, in collaboration with Wheels & Waves, has commissioned four European customizers to design their vision for an Indian Chief. Inspired by the past, anchored in the present and looking to the future. Only one of these unique designs will be realized on the basis of a public vote and a panel of "Super Votern". This bike will be taken home by one of the participants who voted for a favorite design as a lucky winner. The bike will be handed over at Wheels & Waves in the south of France. A VIP trip to the event is also part of the prize.

The new Indian Chief is the perfect blend of old and new, complemented with modern technology, performance and without compromise. With its classic, compact shape and simple steel frame, the Chief's design team consistently had the wishes of customizers in mind. This makes them the perfect basis for creating individual bikes.

To highlight these qualities and celebrate their long-standing partnership, Indian Motorcycle and Wheels & Waves have teamed up once again to drum up scene greats who will create a unique Indian Chief for the lucky winner.

The winning design will be determined by the sum of the points awarded in the vote.

For each design, points are awarded based on the results of the public vote and the ranking of the Super Voters. The winner was the design with the highest overall score.

Voting will take place online between 17 December and 18 February. Those who cast their vote will take part in a raffle and thus have the chance to win the Indian Chief in the winning design.

Further information and all conditions of participation can be found at:

imc-x-ww.indianmotorcycle.media

The Customizers

BAAK - After working as an optician for a long time, Rémi focused on his passion in 2012 and became a trendsetter with the creation of BAAK Motocyclettes. As an autodidact, he manages BAAK and every conversion project. Today, the company offers parts for cars and motorcycles, tailor-made solutions, adventures and a clothing collection.

LUCKY CAT GARAGE - Lucky Cat Garage is above all the love story of Laurence and Sébastien, who share the same passion for motorcycles, crafts and decorative arts. They are always creative and never hesitate to implement innovative projects with a pinch of humor and great attention to detail. The two love the competition, as part of the Sultans of Sprint Challenge they organize, they compete with others on their sprint bikes.

MYSTIC MECHANIC - François Crèche, a graduate of the Brassart school, began his career in Paris, where he worked in an advertising agency. In 2001, he founded his own design workshop, specializing in merchandising, publishing and packaging, and expanded it in 2009 to devote himself to brand design. At the same time, François discovered the world of American motorcycles, including Indian Motorcycle. In 2018, he decided to set up a workshop in the South of France. Mystic Mechanic is dedicated exclusively to its two passions: design and motorcycles.

TANK MACHINE - Tank Machine is a workshop in the Paris area, founded in 2015 by Clément Molina, specializing in motorcycle design, customization and the development of plug & play kits. The workshop has always had a special connection to the Indian Motorcycle brand and Wheels & Waves, which is why the Tank Machine team is now teaming up with Antonin Bazin from the agency "RiseDesign.fr" to bring together their "Board Culture".

The "Super Voter" Panel

Ola Stenegärd – On the family farm in Sweden, Ola was surrounded by choppers and hot rods from an early age. Quickly part of the established Swedish chopper and custom scene, he has already created many world-famous customs. Initially, he converted his own bicycles and those of the children from the area, then at the age of 15 the first chopper moped, with which he won a bike show. At the age of 20, he set off on a road trip through America to delve deeper into the scene and collect parts. Ola has honed his innate sense of lines and proportions through intensive studies and appreciation for all the constructors and designers around the world. With a master's degree in applied arts (industrial design), he began his working life as a designer in the automotive sector. But Ola's destiny is motorcycles and so he joined Indian Motorcycle in 2001 during the Gilroy years. After moving on to gain experience in the industry, Ola returned to Indian Motorcycle in 2018 as Director Industrial Design. He was honoured to lead the team that was to reshape the iconic Indian Chief for its 100th anniversary.

Roland Sands - from Long Beach, California, received his first dirt bike at age 5.

His love of fast riding on two wheels led him to spend 10 years in professional racing, setting several course records and becoming American Motorcyclist Association 250GP Champion in 1998. Roland traded his racing suit for hammer, pencil and computer design to build motorcycles and custom parts. In 2005 he founded Roland Sands Design. He played a crucial role in the trend towards high-performance custom bikes. His designs have won many awards over the years and have appeared in over 500 magazine articles worldwide and on over 100 magazine covers. Sands has starred in many television shows, including Nitro Circus, Chopper Nation, Biker Build-Off, American Thunder, and many others.

Paul d'Orleans - is a world-renowned expert on motorcycle history and culture. In October 2006, he founded The Vintagent as a blog because he was looking for a new way to use images and ideas. The immediate popularity of The Vintagent led him to abandon a 25-year career as a decorative paint specialist in 2009 to pursue a new career as an author, photographer and filmmaker – focus on motorcycles. As a writer, Paul is the author of four books, editor of four more, and has written for dozens of magazines around the world, including Custom & Style editor at Cycle World magazine, editor-in-chief of At Large magazine, monthly columnist for Classic Bike Guide, and regular contributor to print media as diverse as Men's File and The Automobile. Paul is a regular judge/presenter at major events such as the Concorso di Villa d'Este, the Quail Motorcycle Gathering and the Las Vegas Antique Motorcycle Auctions, held every January for Mecum Auctions on NBCSN TV.

Michael Lichter - Michael is a commercial photographer based in Boulder, Colorado who specializes in motorcycle photography. Since he realized in 1977 that he was better as a photographer than as a drummer and left his BeBop band, he has captured the motorcycles, the people and the attitude to life. In 1979 his work was published by Easyriders, and in the following years his commissions took him around the globe several times. He has photographed the best in the business, his work has been published in more than a thousand magazines around the world and his name is on the cover of 11 coffee table books. Michael continues to photograph editorially and for commercial clients, exhibiting his limited edition archival prints in galleries in the U.S. and abroad.

Tadashi Kono - Tadashi has been freelancing motorcycles for over 20 years, both for magazines and digital media. More than 25 years ago, Tadashi joined the editorial staff of a motorcycle magazine focused on vintage cars and custom motorcycles. In an editorial office whose shelves were full of old motorcycle books and photographs and through experienced colleagues, Tadashi meticulously acquired over the years all the knowledge and skills that distinguish him today and are the foundation of his international reputation as a photographer, graphic designer and author. In 2015, Tadashi also began covering custom motorcycle events such as Wheels & Waves, Glemseck 101, Bike Shed London, Pure & Crafted, Auerberg Klassik, Throttle Roll and One Moto Show.

Katharina Weber - Katharina Weber entered the motorcycle world in 1996 as a trainee at a German publishing house. It was the heyday of customizing. Motorcycles had fat tires and black liveries, the first years she worked in the editorial office of Bikers News, a OnePercenter rocker magazine, hard times. In 2005 she moved to CUSTOMBIKE, one of the oldest European print magazines for custom bikes. It was love at first sight: the scene, the bikes and the people behind them. She immediately got her motorcycle license and still has a soft spot for vintage bikes. The current own project is a Seventies two-stroke. Katharina has been editor-in-chief of the magazine since 2013. Over fifteen years, she built up her own network of professional and private mechanics, photographers, authors and chroniclers of the custom motorcycle scene - always with the aim of bringing the best stories to the readers. And always with a passion for handmade motorcycles and print magazines. After the bankruptcy of the old publishing house in 2020, Katharina and a small team of enthusiasts began to publish CUSTOMBIKE and the partner magazine DREAM-MACHINES completely independently and without large companies or sponsors in the background. Katharina is the only woman in the world to self-publish print motorcycle magazines, and CUSTOMBIKE will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022.