Motorbike enthusiasts recognize the name Chicara Nagata and respect him for the way he has turned motorcycles into works of art. There is good news for them as three of his road machines or functional works of art to be exhibited at MB&F‘s M.A.D. Gallery. The Japanese designer who started as a graphic designer is considered a visionary by his admirers. His imagination is wild but his technique is exquisite. Chicara is obviously fascinated by the American motorcycles of the 40s and early years. He started customizing Harleys in 1993. Subsequently he started participating in shows and winning awards for his design and creation. Finally the AMD Championships gave him worldwide recognition.
The process of creating these Art bikes is fascinating and stunning. There are almost five hundred parts that Chicara hand crafts personally for each of the motorcycle he has made and he has made a total of 13 bikes till date. His patience must be appreciated as each bike has taken 7,500 hours to build. You won’t find any large equipment or machinery in his workshop or maybe it should be called a studio. It is evident that he is passionate about his work or else he could not have gone on for projects after great projects.
Since the bikes are basically art you can’t ride them. The machines have been built for visual pleasure only. Designed in retro futuristic style, the bikes will cost you a million dollars. The Chicara Art One is the artist’s interpretation of the 1937 model U Harley-Davidson. Hand crafted from steel, aluminum and chrome the bike boasts of a high level of finish. The engine is a V-Twin 1200cc unit and many of the part are Chicara originals. Chicara Art Two is quite different from the first one. It is all chrome with a very unusual frame. With a small cycle seat the artistic creation is also inspired by an American Motorcycle. The designer has worked his magic on Chicara Art Three as well. He has taken several parts from different motorcycles of different periods and added several others artistically designed in house. The end result as usual is fascinating.
