This Machine is Known Worldwide As The Hubless Monster.

The 1st Formal Paint Color is Shown Here

The First Roll-out To Debut The New Line of Vee Rubber Tires is Shown In the Flat Black Version Below.

The 360×18, and The Revolutionary New 120/70×23″ tires as shown on the Hubless Monster is “Doubly New”

This machine was the first to debut a New Line of Tire Sizes on A
Completed Bike.

Mike and Leo Smith (formally of Avon) Designed These Revolutionary Sizes To Give The Custom Builders More To Work With.

Up to this point, All Customs Built, had to rely on The Old Standard 16-18-21″ Tires that were in production.

Even tho the 23 and 360 became a bit known for builders to use over the next 4-5 years…

It took a bit over (6) years for the 26″ wheel to take off, which found a home mainly in the Custom Bagger Segment of The Industry.

History:

Normally the tire manufacturers could make a new wider tire faster than they could get a rim manufacturer interested in “gearing up.”

The rim guys would have to scramble to get a new wider one-off rim made for the next tire size that was coming out.

That was what was shown at the big dealer shows.

A New Tire on a Rim.

We Showed A Complete Bike.

The tire war was back and forth between Avon And Metzeler.

With Avon Fast, new tire size about every 6 months. 180-200-230-250-300

And Metzeler slow to answer, but Had The Quality. 240-270, later renamed 280… Then the 300mm

The 280 was established and “the newest”

Then The 300 mm tire came out and was the biggest “for a week.” (Metzeler)

They were pissed, too.

These Vee Rubber Designs and Sizes effectively killed the Big Tire War.

After the 360 and 23″ was “out” at Daytona on the Hubless Monster, I took a break from the crowd and Leo asked me for the next batch of sizes.

I said, “Next, I want a Rubber Band around a 26” wheel, that was “tops” for me.

I then spec’d out several other sizes which they built. (260 and 310 upsizes for the guys already running 240-250 and 280-300’s and a couple of re-visits and some on 20″ and 21″ rims)

Molds were built for all these and tires made.

I know as a Designer, you can make Large Sized Custom Motorcycles that look normal to the eye, if you use big diameters for the wheels…

And So IT Went, Back Then…
Quite a Story Managing It All.

This Bike was built entirely WITHOUT the TIRES being in existence.

They tire Molds were being machined at the same time the Hubless monster was being but.

All I had to go by was an emailed section “drawing” of the rear tire, And it was just the “top part.”

When I transferred the drawing to metal and seen how wide this tire was going to be, I knew had a Monster on my hands.

This is how the tire AND the bike Got its name.

The tire was so wide, I knew the only way to get the bike built in the 2 months I had, was to pull out the Hubless wheel drawings had from 1998. (told Lane about them in 1999)

Factoid:

Hubless wheels are the Worst of Bad Designs.

Yep, cool &#!T and all…

To actually “build” them, costs the full house…

But, really…

Who in the world wants to see your your 75″ long wheel seal work at 75 miles/hour for “long time.”

But, They Do Work…

I knew a ferris wheel (wheel turning a wheel) design would work so I built that into the bike.

I had to “reverse” the rotation of the drive tho.

And…

The Hubless monster contains (14) separate sets of wheel circles, with 850 ball bearings. 4 rows of these bearings, placed where they need to be….

There are more threaded bolt holes under the tires as there are on the outside.

And,

My wheels Don’t Turn.

What “Looks Like a Wheel, is Actually Part of The Frame”

An Incredible Technical Challenge which shows You Can Do Anything You Want Once You Commit To It.

This is The Poster and Tee Shirt Design that came from it.

Here is the “most used” picture of the bike

I probably should Write a Book About It.

Now Available in 30″