Unique Thirty, Handmade BBO winner

Winner of the Middle East Biker Build Off

Florian Engel and his young team received a request from Customshow Emirates as to whether he would be interested in taking part in the Biker Build Off because the organizer wanted two extremely young teams to compete against each other.

After a short thought, Flo agreed and after a few days realized that such a project was quite complex, because after all, he not only represents his young company, but also represents Germany in the United Arab Emirates, at BBO UAE vs. Germany. So, with the help of Danny from Schrammwerk , an unusual design was developed for which there was no frame, swing arm and other parts available anywhere. So Flo from Engels Schmiede , with the help of a few friends, set out to put a Twin Cam engine on the workbench and draw a 1:1 sketch on the wall. Everyone who came to the workshop said Flo was crazy because his budget for the project was very limited, as the young company was only founded in 2011 and had moved into a new hall a few weeks before that had to be renovated, but this gave it a chance It's not every day, so free time was canceled and full throttle was the motto. So, with the help of his team and friends, he began bending the first pipes and wanted to do as much as possible himself, not least because of a lack of money.

Once the first tubes were bent and stapled together, he sawed two wheels out of wood and placed two tubes on the frame, simulating the fork and 30″ front wheel as well as the 20″ rear wheel. He ordered two blanks from Ricks and was told that they would never get a 30″ front wheel milled in 3D on the first try, but Flo was undeterred and used a friendly company's milling machine for several nights to get two wheels in 1a quality and 3D design came out of it. In the meantime, he still had to earn money during the day and he also started looking for sponsors for the project. NHPower found the idea so crazy that Swen provided a drive system that Engels Schmiede modified again to suit the bike. Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde contributed two silencers, which were ultimately put on two self-made manifolds and when Michael Naumann from Naumann and Co. heard about the project, he made an airride for the front and rear of the bike.

A small financial injection came from VW Hamburg and so the trip to Abu Dhabi no longer in the way; except a lot of work. Instead of relying on simple technology, the self-made swing arm and the fork with a specially made triple clamp were equipped with an airride. Then came the bold idea of ​​controlling the entire bike via a touch panel, which was to be embedded in the tank fairing. A friend of the house helped here too, so that in the end the company logo on the display was supposed to control everything by touch. Starter, airride and lighting control etc. were programmed and how could it be otherwise, the electrics promptly went up in smoke on the first try. Due to lack of time, a second attempt was not possible and so the second control unit went into hand luggage in the hope that everything would work in Abu Dhabi without installing additional security in the form of a button or toggle switch as Plan B. Time was running out, as always with a project like this, and Flo welded day and night on the bike's body until, in the last few days before departure, he mobilized everything that could weld and screw.

The parts that had to be coated were heated in a self-built “Pulvermat 2000”, which previously served as an oven because the right powder oven was a long time coming. It should be noted that despite the stress, he still found enough time for his girlfriend and they will soon be a threesome. After the sheet metal parts were prepared, everything went to the scraper factory, where the bike was painted in record time, which was intended to delight the Arab audience with various painting techniques and endless layers of clear varnish. A few days before the BBO, the engine was finally overhauled, a manifold was built and pretty much everything was done, but the bike wasn't even completely assembled when it was delivered in the box to DHL and set off on its journey. The team's luggage was correspondingly different, with various sockets, screws and other small parts almost driving the customs officers to despair, but in the end they were allowed to import everything into the UAE. At the BBO they competed against Lycan Customs from Dubai, who built a Chicano Bobber with two 30″ wheels, a pan/shovel motor and lots of gold.

Florian Engel from Engels Schmiede & Omar from Lycan Customs

Both teams got along straight away and Omar from Lycan Customs helped Flo's team out with one or two screws and small parts that no longer fit in their luggage. At the end of the third day of the Biker Build Off , the team from Dubai had already been busy cleaning and polishing for some time, while the Engels forge was working until the last second. When the signal was given to start the engines, the team dropped the tools, Jojo put down the crimping pliers and the soldering iron and was visibly excited to see whether the electrical system would cooperate. Both bikes started straight away and on the Unique Thirty everything could be controlled via the panel as planned. While both bikes were driven to the stage, a team of four people from Germany and the Arab Emirates evaluated the votes of the bike show participants, the industry and the audience, who each had a third of the vote. When Frank Sander announced the decision on stage, the young team couldn't believe that they were the first European Middle East BBO champions .

together with Lycan Customs and the competitors became friends, both of whom said beforehand that it didn't matter who won, because being at a show like this is an honor and each team praised the other's bike to the skies. The next morning, both teams demonstrated the roadworthiness of their bikes on a tour through the 35° warm Abu Dhabi, although Flo, who was outside Europe for the first time, still had to struggle with his emotions on the tour. At the end he just said that it had been the hottest experience in his life so far and spontaneously invited Omar from Lycan Customs to visit him in Germany. Now the next big event is coming up and Flo already had an idea for the name of his offspring, but his partner didn't agree with either Simply Thirty or Abu Dhabi.

Text and photo credit: Frank Sander

Technical data / Tech Data

Builder's Names: Engels Schmiede
Owner's Name: Engels Schmiede
Bike Name: Unique thirty
Model/Year/Model: 2015
Time to build: 7 months

Engine version (Engine Make/Size): HD Twin-cam B
Displacement: 96cui
Cylinder: HD
Cylinder heads (Top End): HD
Camshaft (Cams): HD
Carburator Mikuni 42
Exhaust system : Jekill&Hyde
Krümmer: Engels Schmiede
Ignition: Altmann

Gearbox / Transmission Type: HD
Gears: 5
Clutch: NH-Power
Primary drive: NH-Power

Chassis Frame
Manufacturer/Type (Frame Make/Type): Engels Schmiede
Steering head angle (Rake): 48
Fork (Front End): Engels Schmiede
Triple tree: Engels Schmiede
Swingarm: Engels Schmiede
Shock absorbers ): Naumann&Co.
Brake discs:
Front: Engels Schmiede
Rear (Rear): TRW
Brake calipers (Calippers):
Front: RST
Rear: Brembo
Front wheel: 30″ Engels Schmiede
Rear wheel ): 10.5×20″ Engels Schmiede
Front tires (Tires Front): VeeRubber 140/40-30
Rear tires (Tires Rear): Avon 280/60-20

Accessories
Risers:
Handlebar: Engels Schmiede
Grips: Avon
Rear fender: Engels Schmiede Seat
: Saddlery Horn
Forward controls: Engels Schmiede
Tank: Engels Schmiede
Oil tank (Oiltank ) Engels Schmiede
Electrics (Electrics): Engels Schmiede
Lamp (Headlight): Engels Schmiede
Taillight (Taillight): Engels Schmiede
Indicator (Flasher)
Paint Idea (Paint Idea): Danny Schramm
Paint (Paint): Schrammwerk

Other (Specials):