From movies to real life, motorcycles have long been a symbol of being cool. With a range of makes and styles, there is a bike to suit anyone’s preference. But having a stock motorcycle just doesn’t cut it for some. That’s where customizing shops step in to take a cool motorcycle and make it even cooler. So what is Workhorse Speed Shop, and what does it have to do with bikes from Indian Motorcycle?

People love customizing motorcycles

Customizing motorcycles is nothing new. It hails back to the days of hot rods and custom cars in the 1950s and 1960s. The custom bike builder responsible for jettisoning this craft into the worldview is renowned builder Arlen Ness. According to The Mercury News, Ness was known as “the king of custom motorcycles,” and his appreciation for hot rod cars informed his signature chopper-style creations in his motorcycles. 

At that time, Ness built custom parts for bikes himself, the Mercury News mentions. He sold his first custom bike in the early 1970s and later built showpiece motorcycles from his Dublin, California shop for decades until his death in 2019. 

More recently, television shows in the last 20 years brought the process of building custom motorcycles to a broader audience. Shows like American Choppers highlighted the skills of builders and shops like Jesse James’ West Coast Choppers. 

According to Discovery Go, James started out making custom bikes in his mom’s garage. Some of the wild designs featured on the show included a liberty-themed motorcycle made with actual copper from the Statue of Liberty and other awesome themed bikes like dragons and crazy spider web designs.

Builders like these showcase the following and desire people have for cool motorcycles, built to all kinds of preferences.

What is Workhorse Speed Shop?

From drag bikes to racers, Workhorse Speed Shop takes motorcycle custom builds to another level. According to Bike EXIF, the builder behind the Belgium-based shop is Brice Hennebert, who previously worked with Kruz Company.

Workhorse Speed Shop reports that Hennebert works in custom aluminum fabrications where the only limit is the client’s imagination. He’s worked with different makes, notably Indian Motorcycle. 

As Thunder Press discusses, in 2019, Hennebert created the Indian X Workhorse Appaloosa V1.0, based on the Indian scout bobber 1200, for the Sultans of Sprint drag sprint challenge. According to Workhorse Speed Shop, this custom build features a full aluminum body, shaped by Workhorse, as well as a 7020 aluminum swingarm. It’s also nitrous oxide charged along with a host of other mods like an Ohlins racing suspension. 

Workhorse also made the Appaloosa V2.0, based on the Indian Scout, for the Baikal Mile Ice Speed Festival in Russia. This motorcycle has a cutting-edge design down to its spiked Dunlop tires.

Workhorse Speed Shop’s upcoming pair of Indian FTR builds

The latest creation slated to come from Workhorse is a pair of Indian FTRs commissioned by two brothers. These inspired rides draw from two unique design styles. According to auto evolution, one motorcycle, dubbed the Black Swan, will be a road bike based on 1990s sports bikes. Thunder Press adds that it will feature lots of carbon fiber to up the cool factor and reduce weight.

The second bike, dubbed the FTR AMA, is like a war tank, says auto evolution. It continues that the bike draws from the Lancia Delta HF and will don Martini Racing livery, a classic racing icon.

Like Workhorse’s other builds, the two bikes will have Ohlins suspension, Beringer brakes, and Akrapovic exhaust. There is not a set release date for the builds as of yet. Hennebert and Workhorse have released several in-progress photos, showcasing just snippets and parts of the build.