Your Shop: Bedlam Werks
From Travis Christopher, the owner of Bedlam Werks in Athens, GA:
“Three years ago I started my company, Bedlam Werks,” Christopher said. “We are a custom motorcycle parts manufacturer that operates out of Athens, Georgia. Our primary medium for construction is aluminum. My passion for custom design began as a young kid. I grew up working on old cars and motorcycles with my grandfather, who worked his entire life as a machinist. Eventually my affinity for working with my hands developed into my pursuit of a BFA in sculpture at the University of Georgia where I worked extensively with metals. This is also where I met the rest of the talented team of artists and bikers that now make up the Bedlam Werks crew. Our main goal as a business is to help others in their artistic pursuits and we enjoy seeing how our parts are applied to their projects. We came together on the belief that motorcycle culture and art are intertwined in a way that is rooted in craft, tradition, and the human experience. Plus, we all really like fast, cool looking bikes.
Christopher and his crew built “Rocket” a 1976 Honda CB550. This bike is actually on its third life as it was rebuilt once before and then stolen from Bedlam’s storage.
“It was a huge loss,” Christopher said. “Lucky for us, our one-of-a-kind custom motorcycle with its conspicuous Richard Petty red and blue color scheme was discovered at a flea market and returned, although it had suffered some body and electrical damage. We debated restoring it to its original condition, but eventually we decided to re-rebuild it as a new project. This time we wanted to expand on our design and implement a retro-futuristic style. I took inspiration from the “new” technology of the 1950s and 60s. The sleek curves and polished finish lend well to aluminum and I like the idea of modern day cafe racers as being a preview for the future of innovation in motorcycle design. Thus, Rocket was born. We built a new tank and seat which we left unpainted to give it a sci-fi kinda vibe. All other modifications were made with the purpose of making it a lighter, faster bike with a clean, minimalistic aesthetic.”
ROCKET SPECS: The rear section of the frame was removed and rebuilt with 1/8″ steel tubing for added strength. The airbox, handle bar controls, and indicators were all removed. The new tank and seat pan are both Custom built by Bedlam Werks out of .090″ 3003 aluminum, with a satin finish and a high polish to the raised center stripe. The upholstery is charcoal gray vinyl to accent the raw metal surface of the bike.
More features:
- Lightened brake disc and drum
- Custom 4 into 1 exhaust with thermal exhaust wrap
- Custom aluminium fuel tank
- Custom aluminum seat pan
- Custom upholstery
- Rebuilt CB550 engine with forged Wiseco pistons which increases the displacement from 544cc to 553.5cc
- New front sprocket for increased low end torque
- Gazi Sport Lite rear suspension
- Front forks rebuilt with RaceTech performance springs and Gold Valve Cartridge Emulators
- Loaded Gun Rear sets with custom mounting plate
- Custom dash and controls
- Shorai lithium iron battery
- Dynatech Dyna S ignition and 3ohm Dyna ignition coils
- Halogen Headlight
- X-Arc LED signals and brake lights
- Modern rectifier/regulator combo
- New wiring harness
- Motogadget electronic control box M Unit
