Custom motorcycle submissions come into Cycle Source Magazine from every corner of the motorcycle world. Show bikes. Garage builds. Survivor chops. Rusty death traps. High-dollar customs. Backyard engineering experiments that probably shouldn’t work… but somehow do.
And the truth is, not every bike makes it into the magazine.
Sometimes it’s timing. Sometimes it’s space. Sometimes a bike just doesn’t fit the direction of a particular issue. And sometimes a motorcycle simply isn’t everyone’s glass of whiskey.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.
Because every single motorcycle that lands in our inbox has one thing in common: somebody gave enough of a damn to build it.
That matters.
The thing people forget about custom motorcycles is they aren’t supposed to all look the same. They’re not supposed to follow trends or fit neatly into categories so the internet can vote on them. Some bikes are beautiful. Some are strange. Some make you stop and stare while trying to figure out if you love it or hate it.
Usually the best ones do both.
Take “Daytuna,” for example.
On paper, it’s a heavily modified 1963 Triumph chopper. But in reality, it’s rolling artwork from the mind of Robert “Leatherman” Katrinic, a Flint, Michigan artist and customizer whose imagination clearly had no interest in staying inside the lines.
This thing is absolutely insane.
The front fender is shaped like a mudskipper fish. The fuel tank is a giant open-mouthed puffer fish. The rear fender is another fish entirely, with the taillight tucked into its mouth. Angel fish brace the frame. An octopus decorates the points cover. The oil tank looks like a full-blown aquarium. Everywhere you look there’s another detail hiding in the metalflake paint and fiberglass bodywork.
And somehow, against all odds, it works.
Maybe this bike isn’t your style. Hell, maybe fish-themed choppers aren’t your thing at all. But you cannot deny the craftsmanship, imagination, and commitment that went into building it.
That’s what we respect.
Katrinic wasn’t just building motorcycles. He was building expressions of himself. The guy worked in leather, fiberglass, sculpture, and paint. His work showed up everywhere from magazines to museums, including the Guggenheim’s Art of the Motorcycle exhibit. “Daytuna” even earned Best of Show at Daytona, proving that originality still turns heads when it’s done with conviction.
And underneath all the wild artistry is still a legitimate motorcycle: a 649cc Triumph parallel twin with twin Amal carbs, rigid frame, Triumph fork, Lockheed front disc brake, fishtail exhaust pipes, and enough hand-built detail to keep you staring at it for an hour.
That’s the beauty of motorcycle culture when it’s healthy.
Not everybody has to like the same thing.
We can appreciate a perfectly restored knucklehead, a greasy shovelhead chopper, a performance bagger, a hand-built Triumph freakshow, or a garage-built mutant made out of swap meet leftovers — because every one of them tells a story about the person who built it.
And honestly, those stories are what matter most.
Cycle Source has always been about the people behind the motorcycles as much as the machines themselves. Sometimes the bikes that spark the biggest conversations aren’t the cleanest or the most expensive. Sometimes they’re the weird ones. The uncomfortable ones. The builds that make you tilt your head sideways and ask, “What the hell was this guy thinking?”
Usually, that’s where the magic lives.
So keep sending us your bikes.
Even if they’re strange.
Even if they don’t fit a trend.
Even if they aren’t polished for social media.
Even if they’re not everybody’s glass of whiskey.
Because motorcycles were never meant to be one-size-fits-all.
And thank God for that.
If you’ve got a motorcycle with a story behind it, you can submit your own feature bike to Cycle Source Magazine here: Cycle Source Magazine Feature Bike Submission
