Friday, December 25, 2009

BUILDING COCO'S CUSTOM

THE CP PROJECT ONE: by Vincent Prat and Frank Charriaut

"What can a featherbed, a Tyrannosaurus Rex & Batman have in common?

Since visiting the Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours d’Elegance in June 2008, French designers Frank Charriaut and Vincent Prat had a dream to built their own Motorcycle. There, they met with the Crème of Motorcycling experts & enthusiasts.

As English Motorcycles fans, Charriaut & Prat chose a Norton Featherbed frame and Triumph 750 unit-construction engine. Of course with this starting point, the only possible goal is to build a Triton.

But they did not want to make just another Café racer or name it Triton; they wanted to make something more personal which could match their cultural backgrounds. That led them to forget all about British bike conventions, and follow their own destiny.

Charriaut & Prat started sketching and quickly discovered what would become the final shape of their bike: a mix of Batman’s motorcycle, a T.Rex fastback, and the overwhelming feeling of Cat Woman’s dreamful body [Julie Newmar - 'dreamful' indeed]. Inspiration came directly from Comics Culture.

The path from designing to manufacturing can be hazardous. The duo was lucky enough to be joined on their project by esteemed motorcycle builder Daniel Delfour, who knew how to read into their CAD drawings, and realize the dream in metal.

Inch by inch, meeting after meeting, working together as a trio, the project gradually became a reality, and the bike was born. A mix of classic, custom, vintage and dirt track style. Some “purists” could say that is a sacrilege, but this project is about Great Fun. The length of the fork tubes! A front wheel without a brake! Big deal: these were just options for more fun!

Frank Charriaut and Vincent Prat want to thank Daniel Delfour for his achievement, Momo from Momo Bikes Service, for the greatest paint job and the exhaust pipes. Finally, the duo wants to send their very special and great thanks to Benoit Gerry from Studio Ze for his outstanding pictures and longtime support"