CONFEDERATE MOTORCYCLE DESIGNER ED JACOBS DESIGNS THE MEANEST BIKE IN THE WORLD

08/12/2011

CONFEDERATE MOTORCYCLE DESIGNER ED JACOBS DESIGNS THE MEANEST BIKE IN THE WORLD

How Confederate Motorcycles' head of design creates "heirloom" bikes that look like nothing else on the road.

What kind of motorcycles do you get when the head of design at your company used to design furniture at an architecture firm and spent a year living off the grid in India?

If you're Confederate Motorcycles, and that designer is Ed Jacobs, you get the X132 Hellcat -- a street bike stripped down to its pure functional essence. Jacobs tells Co.Design about his design philosophy.

"We don't cover anything. That structure is real, it's not wallpaper. You really see the truth of what's going on, not a candy coating. I have a universal design philosophy that I've believed in for years: to listen to what the product wants to be. Don't force your aesthetic on it. Allow the intent of the structure to be the aesthetic."

Ed Jacobs | Design Process from Confederate Motors, Inc. on Vimeo.

That philosophy informs the Hellcat's design, which is built around a solid aluminum engine case with elements of the frame bolted directly onto it. Jacobs explains.

"Usually the frame is a cradle for the engine. Here you bolt the frame to the front and rear of the engine and the whole thing is a working structure."

The result looks like something out of The Dark Knight, all black and gray and pure, fearsome function, but Jacobs ads.

"It's not meant to look 'techno' or futuristic. It's meant for the parts to speak to each other -- that's what makes it look that way."

The Hellcat grew out of a Confederate R&D project called Renovatio, which reimagined the motorcycle engine case as a "utilitarian structural foundation, a superstrong base that you could bolt anything onto it you wanted -- create any bike you wanted. Jacobs adds.

"With the Hellcat, that experiment became a reality. It allows you to come up with new bikes that are different from each other, but with the same heart."

The same philosophy might also be a metaphor for Jacobs' path as a designer himself. A longtime motorcycle enthusiast, he studied architecture and industrial design at Pratt, which led him to work at an architecture firm designing furniture and fixtures. He also spent 11 months traveling in India. He says.

"I had my first motorcycle there. I lived in a mud and stone house on the side of a mountain, and relied on my bike for everything."

When an opportunity arose to join Confederate, he jumped at it. He says.

"My philosophy is that I can adapt to work anywhere, but I appreciated that the thing I felt so strongly about in the field of design, the longevity and quality of a product, was shared at Confederate and that really drew me to the company."

Jacobs joined Confederate six months before Hurricane Katrina "crushed the factory to the ground"; the company relocated to Alabama, and Jacobs with it. The company's philosophy of "heirloom" design -- parts and bikes that are created to last as long as their owners, if not longer -- is not surprising given that history. Jacobs talks about production.

"We don't cast parts, we machine them out of solid aluminum. The molecular structure of cast parts is much more brittle. Ours are much tougher."

But tough doesn't mean uncomfortable -- or (hopefully) unaffordable. The Hellcat won't be anywhere as inexpensive as an off-the-rack Honda, but Jacobs says that Confederate plans to expand production beyond its usual "small batch" runs to reduce cost and make the Hellcat more accessible. (For now, the custom bikes run upwards of $80,000.) He says.

"It's a street bike, it's very light and very fast. The seating position is very comfortable, the geometry is very functional -- it's not arbitrary to the motorcycle's needs. That erases the whole chopper genre, which has nothing to do with ergonomics. Here, the mechanics are the aesthetics. You engage with it physically and mentally and even spiritually."

When I asked him about influences, he didn't rattle off a laundry list of other designers and motorheads, but instead cited Lao Tzu and remarks.

"Inspiration is a matter of lifestyle. It's about trying not to be a hypocrite. If you walk the walk, that'll translate into your work. I'm just a child with so much to learn."

COMMENTARY: That's what I call one badass motorcycle. It's celebrity bike. Brad Pitt rides one.

Here's a shot of actor Tom Cruise riding an earlier generation Confederate Hellcat motorcyel.

Soccer star David Beckham is seen here riding a Confederate Hellcat.

Courtesy of an article dated August 11, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

Posted at 11:27 AM in Motorcycles and Scooters, Transportation | Permalink

Tags: confederate motorcycles, hellcat, motorcycles, x132 hellcat

Comments

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Claudio,

Thank you for your comments about the Confederate. Yes, I agree, the bike is a work of art. But, for a custom-built $70,000 bike, it better be extra special. Obviously few individuals have that kind of money, which is why bike riders like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt own them. Hope you will continue to visit my blog regularly. Tommy

Posted by: Tommy | 09/14/2012 at 10:48 AM

Awesome design! I like the pure black and gray color. It gives the bike a versatile and sophisticated look. And you’ve got to love the raw, purely function-centric design of the motorcycle. It’s a mix of the present, the future, and the past, all rolled into one mean and aggressive bulk of machinery. Now that’s a two-wheeler you’d love to ride on the highway!

Posted by: Claudio Mccarty | 09/14/2012 at 07:02 AM