Bike Exif

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Scott Colosimo runs Cleveland CycleWerks, a company making cool, affordable custom-style bikes that cost as little as $3195. This bike isn’t on a CCW dealer floor though: it’s Scott’s personal ride, a 1954 BSA M21 that he built himself.

Scott wanted a hardtail, cut down to the essential elements that make a bike stop and go. “A modern take on a British classic,” he says. So he bought this bike sight unseen from eBay, assured by the owner that it was a “real rider”. In reality, it was worn out and unsafe. 

Scott stripped the bike down and sketched out his vision. Then he went to work to fix the 60 years of bad craftsmanship and chopping that had been inflicted on the frame. Then the mechanicals were overhauled: the gears were dog-eared so the teeth engage easier, the motor was disassembled, inspected, cleaned and re-assembled, and the exhaust was massaged into a better sweep and position.

Scott tried fitting 21” wheels front and rear, but “it just looked like some sort of horrible joke”. So he opted for two XS650 19” front wheels, fabricating components so that the drive gear would work for the rear wheel.

The forks are from a GSX-R1000: Scott wanted a beefy front end to go with the beefy stock frame. That meant lathing some bearing cups, making a left/right steering stop, and fitting a steering stabilizer. The rotors are GSX-R600 at the front and GSX-R750 at the back. Brake lines are custom, with a custom distribution block made to split the lines at the triple trees.

The look Scott was going for was “contradiction”. (The BSA’s 600cc single is not renowned for its power.) “The big brake look is meant to give the bike a modern feel, while making you do a double-take to see what kind of bike sits behind the massive rotors. Let’s just say it only takes one finger to stop this bike!”

The mid-controls are modified versions of CCW’s production forward controls, and the taillight is a modified CCW LED item. The only real “new” component is an Elswick Cycles oil can; the rear fender and headlight were spare parts that Scott had lying around the shop.

“This bike was built to ride,” says Scott. “It’s raw, it has dings, it’s been dumped and ridden hard.” All the fabricated parts were left raw, with the exception of the paint on the wheels.

However, there’s none of that attitude on the production bikes Cleveland CycleWerks sells throughout North America (and Europe and Japan). Even if a raw, grungy BSA is not to your taste, take a look at the CCW range, and the Misfit in particular—229cc of stylish, retro-inspired fun. It’s the kind of bike to get new riders enthused about motorcycling, and that anyone can use to zip around town.

LeatherUp.com

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CLEVELAND CYCLEWERKS BUILDS COOL AND AFFORDABLE MOTORCYCLES THAT DON’T BREAK THE BANK

I read the story of Cleveland CycleWerks (CCW) in several motorcycle blogs and I think the story deserves more attention not only from motorcycle enthusiasts but from American politicians and society as a whole.

Cleveland CycleWerks (CCW), based in Cleveland, Ohio, makes low-cost American-style motorcycles and sells them in the United States, Europe, and many other countries. Scott Colosimo, the owner of Cleveland CycleWerks, had a vision: He wanted to build “cool motorcycles people can actually afford.” Scott has never tried to hide the fact that CCW bikes are made in China. But he also made it clear that he tried to manufacture them in the United States.

Hell For Leather Misfit Review

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE HERE:

“Cool is being able to afford a bike that looks good and makes the owner feel good, but does not break the bank,” said the guy who designed this bike back when he first showed it to us in 2010. Finally, the Cleveland CycleWerks Misfit is available in the US. It’s not hard to define its USP —  the $3,200 price tag — but, for that price do you still get a real motorcycle? HFL is the first publication to in the world to ride the Misfit and, we’re extremely pleased to report that yes, the Misfit is fun, well-made and would make pretty much anyone feel good. It’s as real as any motorcycle gets, but we’d go further than that. The Misfit achieves something virtually no other motorcycle does. At any price.

Photos: Grant Ray

What’s wrong with the modern motorcycle?

Motorcycles today are wonderful things by any objective standard. Take the Honda CBR250R for example. Possibly the most significant bike of 2011, it packages all the traits Honda motorcycles are known for — performance, user-friendliness, quality, economy and a general cohesiveness no other brand really manages — into a $4,000 product that’s light, extraordinarily easy to ride and pretty much perfect for any new rider or heck, anyone on a budget or just looking for a fun little economical commuter.

The CBR250R’s problem isn’t the objective, it’s the subjective. Particularly in the styling department. A worldwide product, it was styled to appeal to the massive motorcycle markets in Asia first, European tiered licensing second and the US about a distant 20th. Honda sells more than 19 million motorcycles a year worldwide, but less than 100,000 street bikes a year in the US. It’s no wonder the company doesn’t choose to chase trends in the US, which creates a viable niche a company like Cleveland CycleWerks can fill.

Aside from styling, there’s also the question of involvement and character. A modern performance bike is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Even a 600 is faster than a GP bike from 25 years ago. For around $10k, you can get a vehicle that’d give any race car in the world a run for its money not just in performance, but in technology too. Ferrari got its five-valve head from Yamaha, a technology you can now find on the used market for around the price of this new Misfit. But, to fully appreciate even a 10-year old 600, you’re going to have to have nearly the talent of a GP rider, be willing to possibly put your life at risk and definitely your license. To enjoy riding a modern performance bike, you have to travel at least warp speed. Should riding a motorcycle really be about speed for speed’s sake?

Boom, bust and doing the ton

So the trend that Honda doesn’t want to chase is this whole cafe racer thing. Sure, cafe racers are bullshit bikes more about mimicking a trendy look than they are about achieving any mechanical function. And, as trends tend to do, they’ve reached their peak and are now on the decline. But, there’s no denying that they are popular, and popular amongst a subset of people who aren’t otherwise riding motorcycles — people under the age of 49.

The term cafe racer comes from 1960s England, where skint, spotty bikers would huddle around a cup of tea while wearing unfortunate white socks, attempt to emulate American culture, then tear all the unnecessary stuff off their bikes and tell tall tales about riding them fast. Back then, it was supposed to mostly be about breaking laws on fast bikes, but now it’s more of an excuse to dress up in questionable clothes and be all high and mighty about simplicity of purpose while being a slave to fashion.

Chasing young people buying their very first motorcycle, the cafe racer look is killer though. It’s hard enough to convince a member of a risk averse society, raised by their mother, to spend money on a motorcycle instead of an iPad anyways, so giving them something that looks like what they see in fashion magazines and in cheesy movies is just one less hurdle to clear on the path to bikerdom. Can you do the ton on a Misfit? Just about.

Classic looks, classic performance.

So the Misfit looks like an old motorcycle. And, it performs like one too. That it’s slow should come as no surprise. People complain that the 26bhp CBR250R isn’t as powerful as the 31bhp Ninja 250. So 14bhp is going to be even slower. That’s right, 14bhp, 12lb/ft and 296lbs (dry), none of which is impressive and all of which is only good for about 75mph.

But, the Misfit doesn’t feel slow. At least once it’s warmed up. Spoiled by all the fancy new motorcycles we get to ride, I haven’t had to operate a choke in over a year. So, when the Misfit was cutting out at every stop sign, just minutes into my test ride, I was initially pretty crestfallen. Well, until I realized that the petcock was off and there was a big |∅| symbol on the left bar. Fuel on, choke out and things were good to go. I could have made life easier by using the electric start, but I was trying to recapture a classic experience by using the kickstarter every time. Probably not the best idea stalled in the middle of a busy LA intersection. At least the Misfit starts easy.

Up onto the 405 and top speed was the least of my concerns. Heading up the on-ramp, every full-throttle, clutchless upshift had the bars wagging as the power kicked back in. Onto the concrete rain grooves and the skinny 90/90-18 front tire was tracking and wandering like it was possessed. In between bumper-to-bumper traffic, the tiny dimensions and low seat had me fearing people couldn’t see me. It’s as white knuckles as I’ve been since the last time I rode an RSV4 flat out at over 150mph. If riding a motorcycle is supposed to be about expending your brain’s capacity on nothing but riding, then just a simple A to B trip through west LA was really riding a motorcycle.

What you see isn’t necessarily what you get.

Part of the reason that first ride was so involving and so much fun was because I wasn’t going 75mph, I was going 95mph. That’s because our tester wasn’t exactly stock. CCW has two bikes in LA this week and, suckers for fast motorcycles that we are, we asked for the modified one first.

The two big add-ons, performance wise, are the tidy megaphone full exhaust system ($406) and its accompanying alterations to fueling (a 105 jet and a little labor). There’s also a Clubman bars ($120, but they’re really nice) and a little porting and polishing was done to the head as well. So equipped, this cafe racer will do the ton. Invest a little more and Scott Colosimo, who runs Cleveland, reports a GPS-verified 112mph top speed is possible. I wouldn’t want to do that on the 405. Not on the stock Duro tires.

The unique 250cc engine is based on Honda CG architecture, but modified to CCW’s specs with a unique head design and counter balancer. The cam is allegedly profiled for “performance,” a word you use loosely when 14bhp is being discussed. In modified guise, the power band is wide, with a decent rush at the top end. It’s also smooth, but characterful, feeling much more like the engine of a 1960s Brit bike than anything currently being churned out by a major manufacturer. Despite its lack of power, it’s extremely fun to use and you quickly try and see how long you can keep it on WOT without lifting, trying to carry as much speed as possible because regaining it takes so long.

The company plans a full catalog of accessory and upgrade components, all of which will be made in the USA. Eventually, motorcycle assembly could take place here. Remember that Scott’s original plan was to make the motorcycles domestically, only going to China when every American factory was so afraid of the liability, they refused to make motorcycle parts.

Speed is as speed does.

I tweeted a picture of the Misfit on Sunday, to which someone promptly replied, “My Thruxton doesn’t even have remote reservoir shocks!” This is where the Misfit starts to get really exciting. Those remote reservoirs aren’t just there for looks either, they really work. The spring rates are a bit heavy, but there’s good damping, so the ride is firm and responsive. The USD (yes, upside down forks on a $3,200 bike) are much the same. Bounce your body weight on them and they compress, then extend in a controlled, well-damped manner. It’s not quite Ohlins, but it’s better action than, say, a Gladius or Ninja 650.

The quality of that suspension is mirrored on virtually all the other components too. The dark chrome finish on the motor is deep and lustrous, the plastic parts are thick and sturdy, the switchgear moves with reassuringly solid feel. The foot pegs and levers — made from el cheapo pressed steel on the CBR250 — are here reassuringly thick and sturdy. The only sources of disappointment are if you look very closely at the paint, there is a little bit of orange peel; the CCW tank logos are stickers, not lacquered in; and there’s one or two bolts that are slightly longer than necessary, protruding a bit beyond their threads. I was not expecting anything like this quality of finish. It looks and feels like a decent European motorcycle.

Making every stock Japanese motorcycle look silly, the brake lines are stainless instead of rubber. When we got the bike, it had 22 miles on it and the pads weren’t bedded in yet, requiring a big handful of front lever to stop it. But by the 10th mile, they were mated to the wavy 290mm disc and you could trail them through a corner with two fingers and plenty of feel. There’s more than enough power too.

Get over the pint-sized dimensions and scrawny tires and the Misfit becomes a surprisingly able companion. It changes direction incredibly quickly and holds a line with confidence and without wobble. CCW is planning accessory rearsets, these stock mid-mount foot pegs do limit ground clearance a little.

A classic motorcycle for the modern world.

The most surprising thing about the Misfit? I never once found myself qualifying something with “for the price” or “for a first effort.” This is a genuinely good motorcycle, one with unique character, that just happens to be surprisingly cheap. In a world of monthly payments, it might be hard to get your mind around how cheap $3,200 is, so maybe this will help — CCW, a tiny company, is offering finance at $85 a month with $0 down. I don’t need to apply an adjectives to that.

The Misfit isn’t going to be for everyone. It is slow, it is small and it is made in China. But if you’re looking for a bike to learn how to ride on, one to provide impossibly cheap transportation or a fun little basis for a project, then it’s going to give you all the benefits of a modern bike — real brakes, reliability, a warranty and monthly payments — combined with the character, involvement and looks of a classic.

But yeah, for the price and as a first real bike (or a first with rear suspension anyways), the Misfit is simply stunning. As a sign of things to come, it couldn’t be any more positive, but it’s also a realistic, appealing product right now. You’re right Scott, this is cool.

Knee Slider Followup

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Cleveland CycleWerks Misfit

The Cleveland stop on the IMS tour was this past weekend and I had the chance to talk at some length to Scott Colisimo about his company, Cleveland CycleWerks. It was also the first time I had the opportunity to see the bikes up close, and my impression is they look pretty good. The Heist and Misfit are the models available in the USA right now, while the Ace, already available in many other countries around the world, will be coming to our shores later this year.

The Heist and Misfit are on opposite ends of the spectrum, though both run the same 250ccengine, the low riding cruiser style of the Heist is in complete contrast to the upright, semi cafe style of the Misfit. With prices in the low three thousand dollar range, you’re looking at a fun, entry level bike.

Cleveland CycleWerks Heist

We told you the story before about Scott’s attempt to build the bikes in the US and all of the troubles he encountered along the way and his eventual move to manufacturing and final assembly in China, a move we’ve seen far too often made by too many companies, but Scott told me something I was very happy to hear. Just days before the show, they closed on the purchase of a building in Ohio and final assembly of the motorcycles will be set up right here the USA. That’s great news for a lot of reasons, but seeing them moving more of the process back here to the US, employing more of the same people they hope will be able to buy the bikes, is a step we would like to see made more often by more companies that have taken their manufacturing elsewhere. A big thumbs up on the move!

While the Cleveland Cyclewerks offerings might not fit everyone’s needs, if you’re looking for for a fun, inexpensive, entry level machine, you should check them out.

CIA on CCW

CCW IN GQ

The article was just posted online as of 10-20-11, click here to check it out.  

South Africa Trend Spotting

Link To Article Here

I recently had a chance to spend some time with the Scott Colisimo’s creation ‘Tha Heist’, courtesy of Dale from Loxton Suzuki Randburg. When I first bumped into this bike online it immediately sparked my interest, so I did a little hunting and found out that they are available right here in good ol’ South Africa. I gave Dale a call and he was kind enough to set up some time with the bike for me.

Before I get rambling on about the bike, I’d like to chat a bit about Cleveland Cyclewerks. They work on a simple philosophy of quality, passion and affordability. Out of seemingly nowhere, CCW has started selling their products in the EU, Australia, the USA, South Africa and many other countries as well. Under the direction of Scott Colisimo, the company is making really pretty bikes for a price that is making the shitty, cheapy, troll-ugly bikes in this country quake in their boots. I think that CCW that now put their foot the door of the SA biking community and they aren’t going to be leaving any time soon.

Now, on to the bike itself. The Heist is a 250cc bobber. That’s right my friends, no rear suspension. Just two springs under your bum that absorb the jolts, potholes and other hazards. The bike just screams old school cool and to be honest is just about the most fun I have had on an on-road bike of this capacity before. Tha Heist is not about going fast, but about how you get to your destination. The 250cc motor had enough grunt to carry a big guy around in the traffic and to pretty much wherever you want to go. The example I road had an optional exhaust system on it which makes it sound like an evil little beastie. The ride is very forgiving (style, not on your bum) making easy on beginners or people coming back to biking. All in all, pretty cool.

Customization by owners seems to have become a standard from what I have seen on online forums, and what some of the guys are doing is pretty radical, with almost a cult following. The standard trim and fittings on the bike aren’t bad at all, but I think there is so much room to improvise on these bikes that the owners just can’t help themselves. The riding position takes getting used to if you’re a crotch-rocket jockey, but after a couple of kilometres it feels just fine.

What I can’t get around is how a talented bunch of people put their heads together to come up with something that looks cool, is reliable and is so inexpensive. What? That doesn’t happen anymore? A company doing something for the common good, that is cool and inexpensive? I don’t think that there is anything in this price bracket that can compete. I think a lot of manufacturers can take a long hard look at CCW, and then crap themselves. I think they are making some awesome products and I can’t wait for the launch of Tha Misfit in a month or two here in SA.

An awesome bike with very little to complain about for this price. For more info, check out:

http://www.clevelandcyclewerks.com or www.deucebobbers.co.za

More from France:

Link to Website here:

Hoolister Bobber 125 l'arrivée d'un nouveau bobber 125 sur le marché confirme un certain interet pour ce genre de moto dépouillé à son maximum, Hoolister est tout simplement authentique avec une âme Old School a 101%. C est un travail commun entre "Cleveland CycleWerks" Américain et "Hoolister" Français qui a fait naître ce bobber.

Hoolister est une nouvelle marque déposée et de + Française

Elle est vraiment superbe avec son réservoir type Sporster "Harley Davidson", un superbe échappement noir mat du plus belle effet, ses commandes avancées chromées ainsi qu'un compartiment batterie et un bidon type "réservoir huile Harley Davidson" logeant la partie électrique ou l'on retrouve également le neiman.

Le moteur copie d'un modèle Honda "XR 125" correspond trés bien à la moto et lui donne un super look, celui çi permet quand mème avec un peu d'optimisme d'atteindre le 115 km/h "données constructeur".

Etant montée rigide, sa selle suspendue montée sur deux amortisseurs ainsi que sa fourche avant télescopique lui permettent seulement le minimum, "attention le dos". Le frein avant comme arrière est assuré par deux disques avec étrier double pistons largement suffisant pour arrêter la moto même en urgence.

Le réservoir de 8,4 L ne permettra pas de faire de très long parcours mais ce bobber vous emmènera faire de belles balades, sa vocation première.

France

CCW is finally rolling out our 125cc Heist in France.  Below is an excerpt from Moto Infos:

Link to website here:

CCW Heist 125 : l’anti Regal Raptor Bobber

Le bobber CCW Heist 125 cm3, fabriqué en Chine, vient se frotter aux Regal Raptor, diffusées notamment par l’espagnol Leonart. Ces machines sont nées de la même idée, qui a germé dans l’esprit de customiseurs américains. Concevoir un custom typiquement US, mais « raisonnable », entendez par là doté d’un moteur de petite cylindrée pour réduire les coûts. Fabriqué en Chine et équipé d’un moteur local, souvent du japonais retravaillé, un tel custom s’affiche entre 3000 et 5500 $ sur le marché US.

Facilement déclinable en 125 cm3, ce concept s’adapte avec bonheur aux marchés européens où les petites cylindrées sont d’usage courant, contrairement aux USA, même si la tendance s’inverse suite à la flambée des prix du carburant. En 2010, la Regal Raptor (Lifeng DD125E) Bobber s’est vendue à 472 exemplaires, tous revendeurs/distributeurs confondus, ce qui la place virtuellement en 15ième place des ventes de 125 en France.

Quand les préparateurs s'attaquent aux petites cylindrées  

Regal Raptor n’est donc plus seul sur ce segment très fermé des customs 125 à l’américaine, qui sont des motos avant d’être des 125. Les Heist ont été conçues et développées chez CCW, Cleveland CycleWerks, dans l’état américain de l’Ohio. CCW a été fondée a l’initiative de Scott Colosimo, avec ses associés Jarrod Streng et Curtis Ray. Colosimo, designer de formation, est diplômé du Cleveland Institute of Art (2004). Designer, consultant pour différentes compagnies, Scott fonda ensuite CCW en 2010, pour développer d’authentiques customs « démocratiques », et simples d’entretien.

La Heist est équipé d’un moteur Lifan, un des plus grands motoristes chinois. Dérivé du Honda CG, le monocylindre à air de 11 chevaux est ici équipé d’un balancier d’équilibrage destiné à réduire les vibrations, un plus pour l’agrément et l’endurance de la mécanique. À en juger par les photos, la finition est particulièrement soignée, comme en témoignent les commandes aux pieds montées sur roulements. La ligne se veut plus gracile et vintage que sur le Bobber concurrent, avec un pneu arrière de 140 de large. De même, on trouve un seul disque de frein avant, un kick, et des jantes à rayons.

Cependant, là où Johnny Pag, le père des Regal Raptor, a surtout misé sur le custom, Colosimo a aussi développé deux autres machines rétro, le roadster Ace, et le café-racer Misfit, équipées du même moteur. Si les USA ont droit à une version 250 cm3, seules les 125 sont actuellement importées en France. Deux revendeurs cohabitent actuellement sur notre marché : AJC Moto en Haute-Garonne, qui distribue les trois modèles sous la marque CCW, et Hoolister Motorcycles, qui se concentre sur la Heist, simplement rebaptisée Bobber.

Un créneau renaissant 

Le tarif est des plus étudiés, à 3550 € pour une Heist ou une Misfit, et 3350 pour l’Ace. Hoolister facture son Bobber 3590 €, avec de légères différences de présentation (coloris). À ce prix, les Regal Raptor ont désormais de sérieuses concurrentes. De plus, les deus roadsters rétro occupent un segment absolument désert, depuis l’arrêt de la Sym Wolf première du nom. Ces prix restent certes élevés pour des 125 cm3, mais pas tant que cela pour des machines passion. Les 125 de caractère présentes sur le marché ( KTM Duke, MH Gun’R, Derbi DRD, Yam YZF-R…) jouent la carte du sport et/où de la technologie. Alors que les néo-rétro sont bien présentes en grosse cylindrée, la catégorie 125 est toujours ignorée des constructeurs. La preuve, ce sont de petits préparateurs qui sont à l’origine de ces modèles.

On peut toujours rêver d’une Honda Dream 125 équipée du moteur de la CBF, ce qu'a fait Skyteam avec son Ace 125. Mais en attendant, le salut vient des US, via la Chine…

Motorcycle News (MCN)

Link to the website:

he 250 class continues to stretch in all directions, with the UK launch of ‘Tha Heist’, a lightweight bobber packing full-size attitude. Designed by Cleveland CycleWerks in the states, the Heist will cost around £3500, weighs just 115kg and is powered by a counter-balanced 250cc single. It’s able to run at up to 120mpg, with 80mpg a typical average.

Better Motorcycling Blog

Better Motorcycling Link:

We here at BM would like to digress momentarily to introduce you to a new motorcycle manufacturer worthy of attention which will assuredly appeal to many, including myself.

What attracted me immediately to the bike was the classic ‘bobber’ design. As I gazed at the photos, admiring the bike, a silently wished I could have one but for someone in my situation, the purchase of a new motorcycle was, well, just not currently affordable…until I heard the price!

What! A new bobber style motorcycle for about 3k, what gives? I started to think, “man, I could swing 3k, either buy it outright with no payments or put down enough where the payments would be very manageable.”

Get used to Clevelands because you are probably going to be hearing more of them. I would like to introduce you toCleveland Cyclewerks. I had an opportunity to chat with the owner, Scott Colosimo, his heart is definitely in the right place. An exciting innovator, bike builder, doing what others have said can’t be done. Here is a description of their company from their website:

TWO FIFTY MAGAZINE (CCW Article 2)

Click Here for full article

BORN FROM FIRE AND STEEL

And so the story of busted knuckles, sleepless nights and intense moments of insanity begin….

It was a warm night in Cleveland, mid summer 2008, when Scott Colosimo rode his custom build bobber to downtown Cleveland to meet up with some work colleagues at an outdoor patio of a downtown bar.  This is a regular ritual for any biker, anywhere in the world…….  This night was different though, a friend of mine (Chris Moore also a work colleague) just got done laying down some sick pin striping on the tank and fenders of my new build, and when I parked the bike, it drew a huge crowd.  This was also the 1^st time I had taken the bike out in full kit, as you know custom builders never finish their own bikes.

The question every asked was how much I spent on the bike, expecting some astronomical number like $30,000, but when I told them I had built this bare bones bike for under $5000, people straight up called me a liar, thinking I did not really want to reveal the thousands I spent on parts and labor.  I told them we live in Cleveland, this is blue collar, do it yourself, can’t pay the mortgage land.  Everyone agreed, except the 20 or so older gentlemen who had in-deed spent over $25,000 modifying their bikes, and were now being upstaged by some young punk on a cheep cool bike.

Fast forward a few months it is now 2009, and imagine the exact same work colleagues sitting at the exact same bar, much colder as summer was over and in fact it was just about to snow, but with one slight difference.  We were all just LAID OFF…………….  So, doing what all eternal optimist do, we drank and bitched about how we were the hardest workers, the best people at the company, etc, etc, etc.

Now mind you I had the idea brewing for about 2 years of starting a motorcycle parts company, customizing and fabricating parts by hand to sell to custom shops and over the Internet.

So with nothing to loose, business plan ½ written up, and delusions of grandeur.  I pitched the idea of making bikes just like my custom bike available to the public for under $5000.   Not just parts but to make Cleveland CycleWerks a motorcycle Manufacturer for the people.   The idea was met with excitement but not much more.  Now mind you this was not my 1^st attempt at starting a company, so I was used to my crazy ideas being met with a blasé response, and rolled eyes.

So I go home with my dream well received but no concrete plans to move forward.  I am big thinker, but just about broke, unemployed, and depressed about being laid off for the 1^st time in my life.

The next day I get a call from the former Director of Marketing (Jarrod Streng) who I worked closely with at my former job.  Jarrod and I have always worked well together because of our grand visions and our ability to execute and add our own creative spin.   Jarrod tells me that he has been up all night going over and over this idea.  So Jarrod mentions that he will fund 30 bikes to be built.  At this point I am ecstatic because I now have the funding to start what I have wanted to do since I was 15.  Build bikes full time.

Add a few more months and we are now hand fabricating the prototype in a friends shop down in Ashland, Ohio.  The idea of building 30 bikes has turned into mass production of over 3000 bikes and the beginning of Cleveland CycleWerks as a true motorcycle brand, not just some guy building 1 off parts in his garage.

Here is where we take on another partner (Curtis Ray) and all three of us hop on a flight to China and start looking for manufacturers for our new-formed company.  Side note, We tried to start manufacturing for 6 months in Cleveland, Ohio, but we were told by every company I contacted, and every government agency, that I was either crazy, did not know what I was getting into, or that I looked like I was 16, and to kindly leave their office.  We do have American pride, and we are manufacturing more and more parts in the US.  CCW is truly an American enterprise, and more then 10 people are currently employed because of CCW products, not to mention all of the shipping, logistics and custom builders now building parts for our bikes.

So, now there are 3 Americans traveling to over 50 factories in China looking for the right manufacturer’s to produce various parts, and assemble our product.  We do not know the language, we can not legally drive in this country and I keep asking myself what the hell are we doing here.

Fast forward yet again another 4 months and we have our first batch of production samples on the floor of the factory, yes there were many hardships to overcome, yes I lived in rural China for over 4 months, yes I can now eat like I am Chinese, but we have a bike that is ready for production, and bikes are now being shipped to Texas for EPA testing.

Fast forward yet another 4 months and now it is February 13^th 2010.   Jarrod and I are standing at the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis with our 1^st bike “tha Heist”.  We are proud and excited that we had gone from idea to market in less then 14 months.  The bike is well received, and we have just started sales and distribution worldwide February 2010.

In August 2010, we sign our US Distributor and exclusive CCW brand distribution partner, PIT Motors Ltd.   September 2010, we establish our European Distribution arm, and that same month, Distribution starts in South Africa.

CCW was established with a vision, and that is to give customers, a quality, affordable bike that is beautiful.  A bike that gets more people riding again, and that people are proud to own.  Most of us just want a cool bike to ride that we can afford and be proud of, pretty simple concept.

Scott Colosimo

Cleveland CycleWerks

TWO FIFTY MAGAZINE » THA MISFIT BY CCW

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Tha Misfit is an affordable, lightweight and Modern Café Racer for the US Market.  Available in March 2011, and distributed by CCW’s distribution partner PIT Motors Ltd.

Tha Misfit is Cleveland CycleWerks latest motorcycle release.  Tha Misfit is powered by a 250cc single cylinder motor, and is 49 state legal, we are waiting for California approval, and have passed EVAP testing.  MSRP is set at $3195, and the bike is positioned as an affordable alternative to the overpriced and over motored commuters currently on the market.

Cleveland, Ohio – November 24th 2010 – Cleveland CycleWerks is a small motorcycle company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio USA.  CCW design’s and develops affordable motorcycles, and motorcycle parts.  Tha Misfit extends CCW’s product range with a beautiful, and affordable Café style motorcycle.  Set for release in the USA in March 2011, and distributed to dealers by PIT Motors LTD.  Tha Misfit is the answer to everyone out there that thought they could not afford a quality, beautiful and fun motorcycle, affordable priced with a MSRP of $3195.

Scott Colosimo, from CCW remarks,

“Ths Misfit is really the sort of Café bike that everyone attempts to build in their home shop.  Chopping out all the bullshit tabs and brackets that you don’t want and putting on all the cool components that you do.”  We think Scott is trying to say that CCW, being a small company can afford to build bikes in a more custom manner, with more control over the design and quality of the final product.  Scott adds “Being a small company, we build bikes that as enthusiasts, we want to ride, and this directly translates to the types of bikes that other enthusiasts and beginners can appreciate.”

Tha Misfit’s EVAP and EPA system was designed and has passed 50 state testing; we are just awaiting documentation from CARB.  Features include inverted forks, weighted bar-ends, dual-piston calipers front and rear, wave rotors front and rear, Progressive rate remote reservoir rear shocks, and many more details.  The rear seat is covered by a plastic cowl, (for a true café racer look) that can be removed to reveal a passengers seat, for two up riding.

CycleWorld Magazine

CycleWorld Magazine full Article March 2011 online and in Print

The full Article is 3 pages, so I will not post the whole thing here, click the link to read please.

Hell For Leather

250cc Goodness Click Here for entire article

A shipment of Cleveland CycleWerks first model, the 250cc Heist bobber, awaits shipping to the US. Scott Colosimo tells us these are intended to boost dealer inventories here as model development of new models like the CCW Misfit cafe racer and Hooligun supermoto ramps up.

“We are building up parts and motorcycle inventory in the USA,” Scott told us in an email last night. “PIT (CCW’s Exclusive Distributor in the USA) ordered a few hundred bikes, they will be warehouses on the west coast and the east coast.  I just got back from almost 3 weeks in China overseeing quality control with my team.  We just hired 1 new quality control specialist who is American and got him setup at the factories.”

“Yes, those are all Heist models.  We are building a movement slowly for small displacement bikes.  We have found once people see, and then ride the bike, they really understand the 250′s “FUN” potential.”

“We now have 10 models in development, (I raised a little more capital for new product development), CCW is going to be a serious player in the motorcycle market in the next few years.  We finalized several of our new scooter models (I am launching a new Scooter brand next year Cultura Scooter Company), and drank plenty of Chinese Wine.”

CCW

CCW at Easy Rider show in Cali

 Link:  Easyriders Bike Show Report

 

Sold by Cleveland Cycle Works under the banner of Guido Veloce Inc., this American engineered 250cc single-cylinder chopper is about to create a storm of interest. Just certified CARB- and freeway-legal, the fit, finish and components are top knotch.

Its engine is an upgraded Honda design and comes with both electric and kick start, electronic ignition and a 5-speed tranny. Top speed is said to be 70 mph. Several options allow for customizing. Definitely serious bang for the buck and a lot of fun to boot. Steal this bike, called “The Heist,” for just 3195 bucks. A vintage café looking sportbike version is also about to debut. More info at http://www.guidovelocegroup.com/.

Motorcycle Market Watch

Link to website here:  MotorcycleMarketWatch.com

Last week, JD Power identified reaching customers in a new, younger demographic as one of the key challenges currently facing the motorcycle industry. As high-margin, high-capacity bikes like the BMW R1200GS became the major focus of the industry in the run up to 2008’s financial market collapse, the basic-but-appealing, utilitarian-but-exciting motorcycles that had brought about the initial success of many manufacturers were forgotten. Now that we suddenly need to rediscover them, motorcycles like that aren’t coming from the traditional players, they’re coming from relatively unknown companies using Far East manufacturing to deliver niche products at an affordable price.

JD Power reports that the average age of a motorcycle buyer in the US has increased to 49 years old, 12 years older than the median age of the US population. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, the western motorcycle industry chose to focus exclusively on high-disposable-income, older riders over the last several decades. Now, with those same riders aging out of riding over the next decade or, worse, unable to afford new motorcycles in the short term, we suddenly find ourselves needing to return to that young buyer. The thing is, those younger buyers have different needs and different tastes than the product mix currently on offer caters to. Enter ATK and Cleveland CycleWerks.

Both companies intend to combine western product ideals — high quality and high style — with the low cost manufacturing that’s available in countries like Korea and China. But, they’re pursuing that similar idea in very different ways. 

Utah-based ATK sees its major advantage as being access to a large proportion of Harley’s dealer network, something it plans to exploit with a range of entry-level motorcycles assembled in America from components made by S&T motors (formerly Hyosung) in Korea.

Cleveland CycleWerks’s business model couldn’t be more different. Its 30-year-old leader is designing bikes specifically to cater to the tastes of his peers, then relying on an existing network of alternative-brand dealers to reach the young customers he hopes are ready and waiting for an appealing, small-capacity product. CCW’s model looks like a mirror of Honda 30 or 40 years ago. Their 250-500cc products are a response to the excess of Boomer-oriented 1,200cc v-twins and 1,600cc, six-cylinder tourers. UJM could become UCM as CCW designs, then imports bikes that are appealing on their own, yet ripe for customization. CCW’s second product, the 250cc, sort-of-cafe-racer-style Misfit looks and feels like a quality western product, just one that, at $3,195, retails for $800 less than the CBR250R Honda is pinning its youth appeal push on. Ironically, it’s the CCW, not the Honda, which most feels like a product of our time, meeting American youth consumer expectation far more successfully than the fully-faired CBR. 

ATK suffers more from the burden of the negative image unsuccessful attempts to introduce Far East products to the American market have created. Currently offering re-badged bikes from Hyosung’s cut-price range, it’s hoping that a presence in major Harley dealers will be enough to move bikes in the short term. Still, ATK’s CEO, industry veteran Frank White, claims it’s the dealers’ desperate need for entry level products that’s motivated ATK’s push to sell them products. Where Harley is investing $60 million in a three year project to develop a new, entry-level learner bike intended to appeal to its Riders Edge program, new riders and women, the re-badged Hyosungs are giving dealers an immediate product to sell to those to whom 883cc or $8,000 is simply too much. Of course, the re-badged Hyosung Aquila is both more powerful and lighter than that Sportster 883, but there’s also an even lighter 250cc version that retails for just $4,000. The thinking is, that someone buying a 250cc Korean cruiser now, might come back to buy a Harley in the near future. Starting someone off in motorcycling creates new customers, even if the payback to the The Motor Company won’t come immediately. 

While ATK’s plan to build American-style bikes from Korean components won’t bear fruit until 2012, CCW is importing and selling bikes right now. In fact, it plans to bring no less than six models to the American market next year (it also sells in Europe, Africa and Asia), of which it hopes to sell around 3,000 bikes a year, for each model. CCW’s business is unique; the company only employs its designer and executives in the Cleveland, plus a handful of quality control people at its Chinese factories. Distribution is handled by New Jersey’s PIT Motors Ltd, a company that services over 100 dealers nationwide with Asian products. This leads to very low overheads and therefore unprecedentedly low prices.

But, unlike Kymco, QLink or Hyosung which have tried and, largely, failed to penetrate the American market with low-cost Chinese products, CCW hopes to become a significant player. Even at two-thirds its projected sales volume, CCW will likely eclipse BMW in overall sales in the North American market next year. The way they hope to do so isn’t just with products that tick the cheap and reliable boxes, but with a quality product that appeals to western sensibilities.

“We’ve investing in quality where other people only invest in making the cost as cheap as possible,” says Cleveland’s Scott Colosimo, the 30-year-old designer behind the company. “The consumer is the one pushing for cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. We push for better quality. Good companies only want to work with other good companies. If we find, say, a gas tank manufacturer that we’re happy with, we say, ‘Hey, do you have any other factories that you work with?’ And we go visit that factory. Are they ISO certified? What quality controls do they have in place? Can we see some samples? Can we talk to their customers? And we have our own quality control engineers over there monitoring everything too.”

It’s designing products to and for American tastes rather than hoping products intended for the Far East might find some fans here that will be the key to CCW’s success. The ability to leverage large-scale Chinese manufacturing in order to adapt quickly to trends will also help. Next year, Cleveland will have a bobber, cafe racer, supermoto, as well as a 500cc v-twin cafe racer and muscle bike at a time when a manufacturer like Honda is still churning out large-capacity adventure tourers and cruisers. CCW can afford to follow trends where Honda has to make major marketing pushes to sell bikes competing in the same classes as everyone else. 

“What we’ve found is that people in the US want to ride,” continues Scott. “It’s a purchase that people are willing to make some sacrifice for, but many can’t quite make the stretch to an $8,000 price tag. Dealers are left having to stock used bikes, there’s a huge hole in the market for this.”

Someone buying a $3,195 CCW today could become a lifelong rider and purchaser of new motorcycles tomorrow. Where there’s someone buying a CCW at 21 years old, there might be a someone buying a CBR five years later. Of course, they won’t be buying into an established brand, they’ll be buying into a new one. One that values them as a customer and caters specifically to them. With brand equity like that, will the next step be a Big Four product or will it be another CCW? You can bet Scott’s penning that next step up the ladder as we speak.

“That’s kind of our key, taking this person that wishes they could afford a motorcycle and showing them that they can,” concludes Scott. “You can afford a cool bike that makes you feel good, it doesn’t have to be a dream.”

HellForLeather.com #2

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Who the hell is Scott Colosimo?

The unassuming 29-year-old in this photo is Scott Colosimo. He doesn’t look like it, but he plans to sell something in excess of 12,000 motorcycles in the US next year. How? He’s pioneering a new wave of motorcycles designed in America for Americans, but made in China. His new cafe racer, the 250cc Cleveland CycleWerks Misfit, will go on sale early next year for just $3,195. A price that undercuts every single competitor, yet a product that looks more expensive, not less. We figured we’d start the interview off by asking Scott where he gets off sending jobs to China.

How dare you build bikes in China when Americans need jobs?

“I started looking to manufacture motorcycles when I was 27. I got nothing but resistance in my hometown of Cleveland. I had every intention to do everything there and just couldn’t get any traction. I love Cleveland, that’s why I named my company after my city. Given unlimited funds and time, I’m sure we would have manufactured our bikes there.

“There’s millions in grants we went after from the government and we were awarded none of them. Since we’re using small displacement engines, we’re getting close to 100mpg, but that’s not enough, it has to be some sort of ultra-green technology that no one’s heard of, some sort of wizardry.

“Then we started to go to manufacturers, hooked up with several, but all of a sudden their lawyers got involved and said, ‘Well, is this for motorcycles? We can’t do parts for motorcycles, it’s too risky.’ The same thing with getting parts like calipers cast. ‘Oh, well this is more of an automotive part.’ But, I’m like, ‘Well you guys have the ability to cast right here in Cleveland, why can’t we do it?’ Their insurance didn’t allow them to.

“We got that sort of thing over and over and over. We had a deal with a manufacturer to bend our frames, then they found out they were for motorcycles and bailed. We tried for six months to get going in Cleveland and we started to run out of money and hope.

“It didn’t help that I’m telling people in the the midwest that I’m going to start a motorcycle company and the first thing I always got was, ‘Well, you like like you’re 16.’ it pissed me off. I would go into meetings and people would be expecting some old dude, some 50-year-old guy, to walk in. But I kind of have a baby face and the first thing people would say was, ‘Well, where’s your dad?’ It pissed me off!

“It was six months of my partner and I banging our heads against the wall and wondering how we could make this happen. So we said, ‘Fuck it’ and decided to go on a short world trip and see where we could manufacture these things.

“People say, ‘How dare you?’ but I don’t think they really understand the manufacturing situation right now. What they also don’t understand is that Cleveland CycleWerks is responsible for employing over 100 people in the US.”

The secret to ensuring good quality from Chinese production.

“You get what you pay for. That’s about it.

“The consumer is the one pushing for cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. We push for better quality. Good companies only want to work with other good companies. If we find, say, a gas tank manufacturer that we’re happy with, we say, ‘Hey, do you have any other factories that you work with?’ And we go visit that factory. Are they ISO certified? What quality controls do they have in place? Can we see some samples? Can we talk to your customers? And we have our own quality control engineers over there monitoring everything too.

“We’ve investing in quality where other people only invest in making the cost as cheap as possible.”

On what defines Cleveland motorcycles.

“It’s a whole philosophy of less is more. We’ve got a 250 now, we’ve got a 500cc in development, we’ve got a 450cc liquid-cooled in development and we’re going to stick to the small to mid-displacement bikes because they make more sense. We’re an all-round motorcycle manufacturer and we’re we’ll have a well-rounded range of motorcycles.

“We’re riders. We ride bikes and this is our passion. I started looking at the market and I said, ‘I really like small-displacement, four-stroke supermotos, but I have a hard time spending eight, nine grand on a dirt bike.’ I love the KTMs, but for me to spend that on a dirt bike that has some flashy wheels, it loses its appeal. So we said, ‘Why don’t we do a 250, four-stroke motard and just make it a little hooligan bike?’ It’s going to be a bike to be hooned. Then we started looking at mopeds. No one’s really addressing the moped market, so we have a moped coming out.”

“My generation of riders is so different from my dad’s generation, or what I call the ‘billet-barge generation.’ Take the idea of buying an old CB350 and bolting on a couple parts. Most people our age are certainly capable of that and it’s appealing. All of our bikes have that same feeling. Stock sucks. I produce bikes knowing that they’re nice and simple and you can take them apart, you can understand them. I guess that’s what will link all the bikes in the range together, we’re going to be a fun, affordable bike manufacturer.”

The market Cleveland is shooting for.

“What we’ve found is that people in the US want to ride. It’s a purchase that people are willing to make some sacrifice for, but many can’t quite make the stretch to an $8,000 price tag. Dealers are left having to stock used bikes, there’s a huge hole in the market for this.

“Instead of dealers having to sell someone a mid-‘90s bike, what if we could sell them something that’s got a 12-month warranty and dealer support? I think we can convert the dreamer into a buyer.

“That’s kind of our key, taking this person that wishes they could afford a motorcycle and showing them that they can. You can afford a cool bike that makes you feel good, it doesn’t have to be a dream.

“It’s an opportunity for dealers to get people into motorcycles and all our bikes lend themselves to customization. So, the dealer can either sell the parts to the person or it can drive service. The dealer really has a product that can generate business in several ways; the sale, the aftermarket sales and the service.

“There’s two interesting markets we didn’t think about coming into this; the step-down market and the female market. The step-down is a guy that has a 650lbs bagger and he’s saying, ‘You know what? I just spent too much money on it, $15 grand on the bike and $30,000 in chrome. I’m afraid I’m going to scratch it.’ The idea that they’re going to cross the country has faded and they just want something they can ride to the bar without worrying about someone dinging it or scratching it. I’ve also had at least six women tell me their husbands bought them Sportsters, but it’s still too heavy, still too big.

“We’ve tried to nail a demographic so we can try and market to it, but there’s no nailing it. There’s guys in their 30s who have a Harley and use the Heist as their around-town bike. We’ve got a lot of young people buying them because they’re extremely affordable. We’ve had traditional Harley shops buy them and thrown a v-twin in ‘em. But right now, our biggest demo is youth.”

Sales now and in the future.

“For 2010 we’re on par for 600 up to 1,000 bikes depending on when shipments arrive. 2010 is a building year for us. We kept things small because the first year of any production run is essentially a prototype run and we didn’t want to have ridiculous orders that we couldn’t fill and we’ve occasionally needed to update a tool or change something. We set up distributors, we got all our parts in place, our bikes in place and really kind of concentrated on the product development and manufacturing aspect.

“We’ll be extremely happy with 3,000 sales for each bike, thats our goal. That’s US. We’re fairly confident that we’ll meet that. We hope to have six new models released in the USA for 2011.”

On flying-by-day.

“We’re essentially privately-funded and fully-funded for another three years. We thought we’d need like another $3 million just to do distribution, but the deal with PIT does that for us. It worked out so perfectly because the quality, integrity, the knowledge, everything about their organization was there. They were looking for some better product to deal with and some honest people. That’s not easy to find in this industry.

“This is the most unique industry I’ve had to deal with from a business standpoint. there’s $100 million businesses where the owner has no idea about motorcycles and then there’s the exact opposite. We’re not Honda, but we’re not going to be going out of business tomorrow.

“We’ve seen where other people have failed tremendously. All the dealer issues, having parts in stock, having a good warranty in place; a big part of it is not only making a good product, but having the support structure in place. All of that will support our projected sales. Without the support, we couldn’t have the sales.”

The burden Chinese production brings.

“We’re extremely realistic about the anti-Chinese sentiment and the aversion to Chinese products American motorcycle consumers have. I don’t lie to people. There’s other companies — I won’t mention names — where I’ve been to their factories in Taiwan, I’ve been to their factories in China, but they’re saying, ‘Oh, our electric bikes are made here in the US.” Well, bullshit. If you bolt tires to the bike and you bolt handlebars onto the bike, that’s not ‘Built in the USA.’ We could say, ‘Built in New Jersey,’ we could say ‘Made in the USA,” but that’d be bullshit. Just because we bolt a few parts on doesn’t make it true.

“It’s an uphill battle. We’re an unknown brand, there’s a lot of this anti-Chinese sentiment, but we’re kind of an oddball case. We’re doing small-displacement motorcycles for the US market. The key is, our bikes are extremely affordable.”

Why aren’t more people designing bikes in the US and manufacturing them in China already?

“I’ve said to myself repeatedly, ‘Either these people are aliens are we are aliens.’

“You can go to China, you can spend a week or two there, but you don’t really understand the culture. to really get into business in China, to deal with government officials, to deal with factory workers and understand Chinese life…China will either make you or break you.

“The Japanese don’t really like to make stuff in China because they take such great pride in their manufacturing. The Germans won’t touch it because they take such great pride in their engineering that they think it’s beneath them. The Americans kind of have such a fear of the Chinese that they don’t want to get into it. There’s so many social, economical and cultural reasons, then, on top of that is the language barrier.

“There’s at least 20 or 30 times when we could have given up. The difference between an entrepeneur and your average worker is where most people give up, you just have to say, ‘This is it, there is no fail.’”

On bringing production back to the US.

“We are trying to bring more manufacturing back to the US. All of our aftermarket parts are made in and around Cleveland. We’ve partnered with numerous small volume manufacturers and custom builders to produce parts for the Heist — everything from handlebars to suicide shifters, headlights, tailights, all that stuff — some are 20 pieces, some are 250. We’ve talked about setting up a final assembly plant here in Cleveland or in New Jersey or even California. It’s a shame we had to prove we could do it before people would work with us.”

On long-term goals.

“If we can continue to, every couple of years, produce a new bike that’s kind of cool, that meets market demand and stay a low-volume manufacturing business, then we’re certainly happy with that.”

On corporate identity.

“I tell people all the time that I own a small motorcycle manufacturer and they’re, ‘Oh, like OCC? You’re building bikes in your garage.’ No, absolutely nothing like OCC.”

Moto-Station.com

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"Etre cool, c'est pouvoir s'offrir une jolie moto qui vous fait vous sentir bien, sans faire sauter la banque". C'est Scott Colosimo, le boss de Cleveland CycleWerks qui l'affirme. Et pour le prouver, il a conçu la Misfit, un petit mono refroidi par air de 229 cm3, mêlant habilement look rétro, partie cycle moderne et poids plume (134 kg à sec). La 250 Misfit sera commercialisé en mars 2011, au tarif de 3 195 € (2 450 €). Une petit café racer quiravirait les fans de quart de litre français s'il traversait l'Atlantique. Mais bon, faut pas rêver non plus...

HellForLeather.com

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Cleveland CycleWerks Misfit: the missing link?

“Cool is being able to afford a bike that looks good and makes the owner feel good, but does not break the bank,” says Cleveland CycleWerks’ Scott Colosimo. He designed the bike you see here. When the 250cc Misfit goes on sale in March it’ll cost just $3,195, providing an affordable, desirable city bike or commuter. The Misfit weighs 80lbs less than a Ninja 250 and, according to Scott, can pull power wheelies in first and second gear.

Scott first reached out to us after Michael Uhlarik’s article, Motorcycling’s Missing Link called for more affordable, appealing small and mid-capacity bikes for the North American market. We’re jerks and didn’t email him back until my my article on The Super Motor Company combining low-cost Chinese production with western quality to create appealing Cub clones reminded us about Scott’s project. Cleveland CycleWerks is trying to use the tools of the latter article to achieve the goals of the former. Chinese production is enabling them to design and engineer a bike for American sensibilities, but produce it cheaply enough to actually make it attainable for new riders. The Misfit is over $800 less than that Ninja 250.

But while Chinese production makes the Misfit affordable, Scott is adamant that it doesn’t make it cheap. “I lived in China for six months straight to train my staff and hire world-class people,” explains Scott. “Over the past three years I have spent more time in China than in the USA, this is something we are completely committed to. Think about it, Apple, Dell, HP, etc all manufacture in China, it’s all about finding the right partners, people who understand quality. Our manufacturing partners build under ISO standards and know how to trace a defect back to its source. We are extremely serious about producing high quality, extremely affordable bikes and strive every day for improvements. We put the bikes through 100,000 miles of testing.”

The Misfit will be the second bike that Cleveland will sell. The Heist, an attractive 250cc bobber, is already selling well here. New Jersey’s PIT Motors LTD distributes the bikes in North America and stocks parts (there’s learner law-compliant 125 and 50cc models available elsewhere), giving Cleveland access to over 100 US dealers and rapid parts availability nationwide.

Look at components like the USD forks, wavy rotors and remote-reservoir shocks and it’s hard to see how the Misfit manages such a low price. Sort of a cross between Cafe Racer and standard style, the bike has flat bars for an upright riding position, a shapely tank and a removable pillion seat cover. The 250cc, four-stroke, air-cooled single-cylinder hangs out in the wind for everyone to see.

Weighing just 296lbs (dry), the Misfit puts out 16bhp and 12lb/ft. It’ll be geared for acceleration in stock trim, limiting it to a 75mph top speed, but Scott tells us 85 is easy with different gearing. Emissions are 50 state compliant, although Cleveland’s currently waiting for CARB to mail the certification for California.

“It’s really the sort of Café bike that everyone attempts to build in their home shop, chopping out all the bullshit tabs and brackets that you don’t want and putting on all the cool components that you do,” explains Scott. “Being a small company, we build bikes that, as enthusiasts, we want to ride, and this directly translates to the types of bikes that other enthusiasts and beginners can appreciate.”

Unlike the bike you’d build in your garage, the Misfit is totally legal, safe and reliable. It’s the kind of thing you could abuse as you learn to ride, scare yourself on a little bit, drop a few times, but still depend on day after day to get you to work or school.

“We are serious about changing the industry,” continues Scott. “One goal of CCW is to shift America’s perspective on motor size and efficiency. A 1000cc motor for an around town bike is wasteful and difficult to handle. We develop lighter bikes with smaller motors because they are easy to handle and extremely fun on a daily basis. Open up one of our bikes on a back road and the experience is exhilarating, taking one back to a time when bikes felt faster because they were more connected with the rider and the road. Riding is about the experience, not about how much you spent on your machine. We have millions invested in new product development and will have 5 models in production by the end of 2011”