You all know by now that I’m an unusual guy and I love unusual vehicles, those normally offered by factories made by skilled workers. Well, this 19__ (we don’t know the year) “Boatercycle” custom motorcycle is a one-off very unusual custom display motorcycle made by at least one skilled worker, not on an assembly line. Like it or not, it’s listed here on eBay in Ten Mile, Tennessee and they have an unmet opening bid suggestion of $4,500 that hasn’t been clicked on yet.
The vehicles I’m normally drawn to are ones made in a factory by skilled workers after having been designed by actual corporate designers and engineers. I’ve always wondered what some of the assembly line workers think about the oddball creations they’re assembling, some tiny Japanese motorcycle or 1970s battery-powered wedge car the size of a golf cart or whatever it is. You must have noticed the props on the rear wheels, the anchor on the front wheel, and everything in between. Very nicely done. It’s just so over the top that you have to appreciate the thought, creativity, and craftsmanship that went into this machine.
This Boatercycle is different. I mean, in a good and very creative way. The seller says it was built as a display piece and when they used to show it, there would be people packed around it like a baby Bigfoot was lying in a cradle. I made up that last part, but it supposedly had two rows of people surrounding it trying to take it all in. The designer and builder were super creative, as you can see, with the boat stern detailing and all of the incredible craftsmanship that went into making this boat. I mean, this bike. I mean, this Boatercycle. As with the recent four-door Barracuda, whether you like the design or not, I hope you can all appreciate the time and work that went into this one. When it’s operating, water comes out of the exhaust like on a boat! That’s a solid A+ on that detail!
In case you didn’t notice the seat, here it is. Another fine detail. I’m assuming this was a Harley-Davidson or Indian three-wheeler originally but we don’t know. This one clearly isn’t isn’t for everyone and it isn’t remotely street legal so you’d have to trailer it to every event, but I guarantee you’d be let into almost any motorcycle or boat show in the country with this thing. The footboards are wooden waterskies, another outstanding detail. I can see why there was a crowd around this at shows. The seller put $40,000 into building this custom machine!
We don’t know for sure if this Ford “100 series” flathead V8 is a marine engine or if it was Chris-Craft-related, as in formerly in a boat, but it could have been. What we do know is that it currently isn’t in running condition as it’s been in storage for about a decade so it’ll need some tinkering before it’s running again. It has a three-speed transmission, and there’s a lot of cosmetic work to do – detailing and possibly some re-chroming and other work, etc. But once you’re done, it sure would be fun to display at vintage motorcycle and boat shows. Have any of you seen The Boatercycle or created a custom-themed vehicle like this?
Unusual guy? Says who? So, biggest question, does it float? Only one way to find out,,oh, oh,,ze propellers, they do nothing. So, where is Ten Mile, Tn.? In between 9 Mile and 11 Mile, I reckon. Man, inspiration was a lot stronger than Hamms, I’ll tell you that.
I would think that the driving force behind this thing was more than likely Jack Daniels and not Hamms. All kidding aside, you’ve got to admit that the builder definitely had a vivid imagination as well as some fabrication skills.
I thought that taking LSD had gone out of fashion…
Timothy Leary’s dead, no, no, no, no, he’s outside,,,looking in. The father of LSD died of prostrate cancer,,,go figure.
Figure what?
It looks like a good sturdy build. I like the flathead V-8 and the Indian style front end. It seems a lot of work and engineering went into this. O.K. now that I said that, what’s with all of the boat stuff? I just don’t get it. ( not surprising, in school they told me I wasn’t the dumbest guy in the world, but I better hope that guy doesn’t die). If this is ridable as a motorcycle, cool. Trikes are really getting big now as us old guys have trouble keeping our big old geezerglides up on 2 wheels. But if its just a work of art, I don’t know who would buy it.
Can you ski behind it?
No thanks.
The forerunner of contemporary “rat rod”
Methinks created by a landlocked former lifelong mariner who also loved Harley Davidson’s, in response to his predicament and longing for the sea. ;-)
Gotta have tremendous respect for someone who built this thing, seriously.
Built by someone with a lot of stuff on hand, a lot of skill and a LOT of free time .