The next part of the story concerns one of the greatest natural disasters to hit the United States-Hurricane Katrina. Destroying Confederate’s quarters, it forced the small company to relocate to Birmingham, Alabama. The reason for this move to the “Detroit of the South” was one Mr. Barber. As owner of the world’s most prestigious motorcycle collection located at the Barber Museum, and one of the finest race track’s right next door, it was a natural fit for the American motorcycle manufacturer. Company owner Matt Chambers vowed it would make Confederate stronger, and minus J.T Nesbitt, Matt and the staff moved east on Mr. Barber’s invitation.

Constructing a motorcycle of this nature is no easy task, and the trials and tribulations Confederate has endured are well documented at www.Confederate.com. So, when I got the call to ride the Wraith, it was a moment that will go down in my motorcycle all time greats. Knowing what level of adversity Matt Chambers, Brian Case, an Ed Jacobs have endured this past two Year: s since Katrina, the fact they would be in Daytona with not one, but two Wraiths, proved that Confederate has weathered the storm. Talking with Matt I learned Confederate has taken over 40 orders for the new machine. This was music to my ears, and it felt good to know that Confederate is heading into 2007 on such a strong footing.

Bike Week is a non-stop barrage of sensory overloads, and riding to meet Matt and the gang a little after dawn on the last Saturday, I enjoyed the eerie quiet as I made my way through the thick fog that was rolling in off the Atlantic. With the vast majority of Bike Week’s attendees sleeping off the previous evenings debauchery, I arrived to find the crew rolling out prototype number four and prototype number five.

For the first part of the day I would ride number four, and would switch out to number five later. Brian Case gave me a quick run down on the starting procedure and we hit the early morning Daytona streets. This starting procedure became one of the most engaging parts of my Confederate Wraith experience as I ran through my series of pre-flight checks: Compression release buttons depressed, ignition switch to the first position, fuel pump switched on, select neutral and then hit the starter button, making sure my left leg was no where near the exposed clutch.

Firing immediately to life, with a cool jet airplane-like whine, the 120 cubic inch V-twin quickly settled into a throaty idle. Called the B120, the counter-balanced Engine: produces around 125 horsepower, and a monster 131 foot-pounds of torque. Four and a half inch pistons thump up and down, but vibration is minimal, and pulling in the heavy hydraulic clutch I located first gear and hit Atlantic Avenue.

Ride position is something akin to a late ‘70s Laverda Jota. It puts you in the race crouch, but with more room that a smaller Japanese sport bike. The bars are wider, and the pegs, while rear set, are not unnaturally cramped. Sitting on top of an exposed Engine: is weird, as there is no gas tank between your legs – it is located under the Engine: . The slim carbon fiber composite spine Frame: doubles as the oil tank, doing nothing to dampen out the noise from the valve gear. The seat is equally weird with nothing behind, and adds to the sensation of being suspended in mid air when you ride.

As a prototype, there are issues to be addressed before the bike goes to final production, and I was flattered that Brian and Matt were eager to hear what I had to say. Trying to nitpick someone’s work of art is not an easy task, but likening it to an editor adding some commas, and deleting a few redundant words from an article, I made my suggestions. I personally think the metal grips need to go, in place of some softer, more compliant rubber items. The saddle needs to be a tad wider, thicker, and repositioned higher and further back. As tested, it was too flat and became a pain in the arse, literally, after a day of riding. Also, the shifting needs some work, as it was too stiff to be comfortable. And, while I was complaining about the seat, I thought it would be nice to raise the bars an equal amount to offset raising the rider’s rear end. The rear brake needed some attention, but in the broad scheme of things I think these are minor details when the rest of the bike works so well.

With a sporting wheelbase of 58.5 inches, and a claimed Weight: of 410 pounds, the bike maneuvered easily, and Brian and I were soon hacking through the traffic that was building up as we blasted from one adventure to the next. Attracting crowds at every stop, and more than their fair share of beautiful women, riding the Wraiths around Daytona was like having a large spotlight following us. Every time we parked, people just swarmed around the bikes, and from the amount of questions we fielded, I think the girder style carbon fiber front end was the most talked about. Followed by the lack of a gas tank, and then the “who makes it?” which actually seemed to punctuate every round of questioning.

Riding down Main Street, the number of camera lenses pointing our way was phenomenal. Adding to the mystic Brian and I kept our tinted shields closed, which added to the slack jawed look that we saw so many times during out ride in Daytona. With Confederate having such high profile customers as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise regularly seen riding their machines, it certainly felt like we were celebrities for the day.

Ending our day out at the Daytona International Speedway for a photo session with www.Speedtv.com’s Joe Tripp, I switched to the newest version of the Wraith and within seconds let out a loud cry of delight. As a more refined version of number four, the steering was immediately quicker, the brakes sharper, and the way the Engine: pulled up through the rpm range was sharper and stronger. It was the perfect end to the test. I had concrete proof of the positive direction the Wraith is moving in, and got to lay it into some turns at last. Rolling on top shelf suspension and Marchesini wheels it wasn’t really a surprise and I am looking forward to a ride in the twisting hill country around Confederates Alabama headquarters on of these days soon. As something of a retroactive time traveler, the Confederate Wraith is like nothing else on two wheels. Raw, visceral, with more than enough sporting abilities for the regular rider, these things pall into insignificance when compared to the feeling and sensation of roaring down the road on one of the most visually stimulating piece of motorcycle artwork in the world today. An amalgamation of American iron, modern components, wild imagination, and thinking not rooted in the traditional, the Confederate Wraith, priced at $62,500, is most certainly not for the masses, or was it ever intended to be.

Title

Confederate B120 Wraith

Runtime

2:38

Keywords

Confederate B120 Wraith motor motorcycle usa States Matt Chambers Louisiana design style moto moda Bike skpower Company truck racing offroad artigianale duemila

Category

Autos & Vehicles

Ratings

4

Rating

4.25

Views

1,212

Description

Confederate B120 Wraith: 2.000 cc, 18 Kgm per 176 Kg e 125 cavalli! website: www...

If so, step right up to the Confederate F-131 Hellcat, $69,000 worth of all four. If eardrum-rupturing loud also is on your list of must-haves, the Hellcat’s got a ton of that, too. Built in Birmingham, Alabama, the 131-cubic-inch V-Twin is part Harley-Davidson clone, part sporty standard and part…well, weird. Like in exhaust-that-exits-through-the-swingarm weird. No kidding.

Burns had more than his share of problems with the bike, the first one to be built in ‘Bama following the New Orleans factory’s thumping at the hands of Hurricane Katrina.

Title

2006 Confederate Hellcat Comes To Life

Runtime

6:03

Keywords

Confederate Hellcat Motorcycle Luxury Supercar New Orleans Harley chopper sportbike custom racer bike burnout

Category

Autos & Vehicles

Ratings

29

Rating

4.28

Views

51,263

Description

First Hellcat made in Confederate's new Birmingham facility.

Title

Confederate Motorcycles: 4 clips in 1. The ultimate video.

Runtime

8:33

Keywords

Misterhelmet Confederate Motorbike B120 Wraith F131 Hellcat combat Renovatio Project Mat Chambers Daytona

Category

Autos & Vehicles

Ratings

75

Rating

4.83

Views

60,289

Description

Misterhelmet puts together 4 miniclips in one video. One cut and paste and no mo...

The bike is built from a combination of components crafted from aircraft billet aluminum, carbon fiber, and high grade titanium which wraps around a 45 degree radial twin that can hit a top speed of 190 miles per hour. Limited-Edition Fighter Motorcycle There’s the startling, dare we say sexy, design that fuses raw power with crisp simplicity. It’s an evolution of the machine, at once taken back down to its core elements while being reinvented and re-Engine: ered for optimal performance. It’s our street-legal sci-fi dream come to life, in the form of the limited-edition Fighter Motorcycle.

Ours exclusively courtesy of Confederate Motor Company®, the first ever Fighter packs 190 mph of performance into its cutting edge carbon fiber, titanium, and aluminum chassis. There’s the 64″ wheelbase, 27″H seat, integrated braking system, lots of high-tech bells and whistles, and custom NM edition features. But, honestly, ride it once and you’ll be too jacked up on adrenaline to remember all the details.
Specifications from Confederate Motor Company:

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