I remember sitting in front of my computer perplexed by the strange and mysterious motorcycle that had appeared on my computer’s 19” flat screen. Beautiful, clean, yet very strange.

The picture was followed by a small excerpt from Bandit, “You want to do a feature?”

How could I say no? I wasn’t sure what the deal was with the bike, but I didn’t have to search too hard to find the designer and builder. His name is Christian Dotson of Dotson Design. I was able to find his business’s Myspace page and I liked the way he introduces himself there.

”For the longest time, it was virtually impossible to find a hot rod/ motorcycle shop that really understood proportion, lines, and consistent themes. It was almost equally hard to find designers that could personally fabricate their vision without any compromise. Until now…”

This bike, Swingshot, was his very first build from concept to final product. The engineering, creativity, and overall look landed this bike on the Easyriders Centerfold Tour for 2008, as well as a slew of other trophies.

It seems whatever show he enters, he comes away with the top honors.:
• 2007 AMD World Championships Freestyle Champion
• 2007 Hollister Motorcycle Rally
• 2007 Grand National Roadster Show “America’s Most Beautiful Motorcycle”
• 2007 AutoRama-Sweepstakes Motorcycle
• 2007 San Francisco Rod and Custom Motorcycle Show
….and the list continues to grow.

The bike’s concept and inspiration began with race bikes from the 40’s and fifties. He wanted to build the bike using technology that was available for the time. The Panhead was chosen because of the visual aesthetics.

He chose a kickstart-only transmission to compliment the period correct vintage styling and functionality.

The seat is a cowhide-wrapped seat pan that sits curiously on a canti-lever suspension system utilizing engine valve springs.

Looking at the flow of the bike, it is apparent that Christian understands flow and design extremely well. I wasn’t surprised to discover he has a Bachelor’s Degree from Detroit’s College for Creative Studies in 1997. He went on with a career with General Motors as a Creative Designer from 1997 to 2002. I wonder how much he had to do with the HHR that debuted in 2005?

This bike took approximately 14 months to build. It was built as a “vintage concept bike” under a certain budget.

The handling and suspension on the bike will surprise most when looking at the profile. What may not be seen as the typical rake on a chopper, 30 degrees in this case, I would say this bike definitely qualifies as one.

He originally built this bike with several purposes in mind; one, to test the market, two, to test his skill, and three, to be used as a marketing tool for his business.

While any new business takes time to develop, Christian Dotson’s Dotson Design is making some big strides in the custom motorcycle world. While the core of his business has been in design work for other people (design, artwork, metalwork, consultation), his goal is to build unique, crazy creations from his head, unfiltered, without going through a committee.

Dotson Design is moving from it’s current home to Southern California. Christian has big plans for the future. His next couple of projects should be equally as creative as this one. He plans at least one more build before constructing the next Swingshot. This time, however, he is planning on building the same bike as it would be built today, with modern technology. CNC, waterjet, computer imaging, it will be a marvel.

So keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. Watch for this new kid as he keeps tearing up the custom platform with his fresh design ideas and concepts. I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg with him.

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