Hubless Harley: Straight Outta the Future
Ballistic Cycles’ badass Harley build is one of the craziest — and coolest — things we’ve ever seen.
The world of custom motorcycle builds is very fluid. To make a name for themselves or stand out from the competition, builders have to constantly innovate. And we’ve simply gotten to the point where you wonder if you’ve seen it all. But then, something like this comes along. What you’re looking at is a hubless Harley, a bike you might expect to see in a futuristic sci-fi movie.
But this thing is very real, and it actually works. The madmen behind its conception come from Ballistic Cycles out of Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. The first thing you’ll notice, of course, is that huge, 30″ hubless front wheel. It’s actually machined from a solid piece of billet aluminum in house. The braking system is integrated into the wheel, and a custom air cylinder handles the load.
The idea of hubless wheels isn’t exactly new, since Frank Sbarro invented them back in 1989. And you’ve undoubtedly seen them in the movie Tron: Legacy. But the idea never caught on, so Ballistic is somewhat of a pioneer here.
On the other hand, this bike isn’t just a one trick pony. If you can pry your eyes away from that giant Dyson fan up front, there’s a lot more to take in. Power comes from an air/liquid cooled engine sporting a pair of 53-mm variable vane aerocharger turbos. Ballistic hand crafted the incredible body from aluminum, then covered it in gorgeous paint work and detailed graphics.
It all adds up to one of the most insane things we’ve ever laid eyes upon. It’s no wonder the hubless Harley has already racked up a number of awards. With the reception it’s received so far, we’ll undoubtedly see more hubless bikes in the future. And don’t be surprised if Ballistic begins selling them, either.
