Max Hazan's Ironhead Powered Beach Cruiser

Beach Cruiser bicycles and Ironhead Harleys

As any true motorcycle enthusiast should know, many motorcycle manufacturers got their start building bicycles in the early 1900s. It was a natural transition, take a bicycle, put an engine and basic drivetrain on it and voila! You, more or less, have a motorcycle! But, after over 100 years, one would think that the old ways of powering a beach cruiser were over. Well, Max Hazan did just that. Following a motocross accident that rendered him immobile on the living room sofa staring haplessly at his bicycle, he decided to power it up when he was able to get back in his workshop. Powering a bicycle of today’s standards, however, turned out to be a bad idea, but much like the admirable men that built the first successful motorcycles back in the day, Max was inspired and did not give up on his vision. 

Inspired and emboldened

Inspired by the beach cruiser style of bicycles, and emboldened by his fabrication ability, Max took an old worn-out 1000cc Ironhead Sportster engine and some, very old and very big, car tires and built a custom motorcycle around it. The cornerstone of his inspiration is apparent with the large, narrow, laced wheels and the bike’s simple and elegant design...the beach cruiser lives on in this bike's DNA. 

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Made from scratch

Max builds his bikes from scratch. Not like the, “I bought this gas tank on eBay and I’m gonna cut it and re-fab it” kind of way,  but rather, the “there is some sheet metal, I’m gonna beat the hell out of it until I have a tank” kind of way. The only things that Max didn’t create with his own two hands are the engine and the wheels, everything else is custom built. It takes more time to do it this way, and it’s much more tedious, but in the end, Max isn’t building these bikes to meet production demands, he is creating art. 

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Big guys need big bikes

Ever see a big guy on a little bike? They make the bike look tiny and the bike’s just not comfortable for them. Max built this bike for big guys like him. At 6’2, he didn’t want to look like a little kid riding a carnival ride when he was kicking around on it, so he built it with his proportions in mind. The bike is over 8 feet long with huge hoops, 30” front and 31” rear, and an elongated frame with the seat tucked neatly in front of the rear tire. The front end has a trick springer fork with the springs parallel to the backbone under the tank. With no rear suspension, Max saved his spine by incorporating one of the coolest spring seat set-ups that I think I’ve ever seen. 

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Engine work

As a true artist, Max couldn’t leave the mill alone, either. He took the tired Ironhead’s rear jug and swapped it with a front jug for a custom look. By doing so, he put the exhaust port in front of the rear cylinder and was able to install a velocity stacked dual carb set up that is not only beautiful but completely functional. He also split the rocker boxes and polished everything for an elegantly simple aesthetic. Looking for the battery on this electric start Ironhead mill? It’s hidden neatly inside the gas tank while the rest of the electrical and oil tank are hidden within the frame. 

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An epic beauty for any cityscape, built by a true artist

As an avid motorcycle enthusiast, I seized an opportunity some time ago to combine my passion as a writer with my love of motorcycles. In doing so, I have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful and interesting people- riders, skilled laborers, artists and artisans that all share my passion for motorcycles, the motorcycling culture and all that is embodied by it. I don’t consider myself to be an artist, though. No, not me. I suppose that I just paid a little more attention in English class than the next guy, or maybe I just get lucky, by finding the right combination of words to put together at the right time, so that I can write about what I love while making a few bucks for gas while doing it. But guys like Max Hazan are, without a doubt, true artists. They take something that inspires them, and using their own skills and ingenuity, they create a tangible manifestation of that idea in a functional and elegant form.

Just because Max can throw a leg over his creation and ride it to work, doesn't make it any less of a sculpture than the statue of David or the Mona Lisa...it just makes it more useful.  

>>Join the conversation about this beach cruiser Ironhead right here at HDForums.com!

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