Its Name Is Zoso
ITS NAME IS ZOSO
American FLYERS
And it's anything but so-so
TEDDY KIMER, JR. doesn't just "think outside the box," if you'll pardon the cliché; judging by his work, he apparently thinks outside the entire packaging department. Kimer designed and built the spectacular motorcycle pictured here, a long, low, curvy H-D custom he has christened "Zoso." While most Harley customs tend to fall into one stereotypical classification or another, it's fair to say that this one lives in a category all by its lonesome.
Kimer is owner and operator of Teddies Hotbikes (www.teddiesinc.com) in St. Petersburg, Florida, a custom-building business originally founded by his father, Teddy Kimer, Sr. The two ran the operation jointly (hence the plural “Teddies” name) until a couple of years ago when Sr. retired and left the task of managing the enterprise solely to Jr. Based on this bike, at least, it would appear that the company is in good hands.
Inspiration for Kimer’s creation came from the classic streamlined automobiles of the 1930s, cars like the Delahaye Roadster and Chrysler Airflow. Kimer originally sketched the bike on scraps of paper, then the entire concept was drawn up on a CAD program and assembled in 3D space before the first physical piece ever existed. After nearly two years of fabrication and construction, the bike made its debut at the 2003 Grand National Roadster Show where it captured the prestigious “America’s Most Beautiful Motorcycle” trophy. Since then, it has earned numerous other awards, including a first place in the Rat’s Hole Custom Show in Daytona Beach. It also has been featured in numerous television shows and magazine articles here and in Europe.
About the only conventional aspect of Kimer’s machine is the engine, a 2000 H-D Twin Cam Beta motor that’s still an 88-incher, modified only with mild Screamin’
Eagle cams and a 42mm Mikuni carb. The transmission is a stocker, as well, an unmodified five-speed Twin Cam box.
Don’t look for standard stuff elsewhere, though, because all you’ll find are one-off pieces either built or heavily altered by Kimer. He fabricated the dualbackbone frame from 4130 chrome-moly steel tubing, then modified a Ducati single-sided swingarm to accept a four-piece linkage operating an Ohlins shock mounted horizontally just above the primary case. The long, swoopy rear fender attaches to the swingarm only at the very front and on the left, but Kimer insists it can support as much as 200 pounds without buckling.
No need for anyone to sit there, though, because the seat is a two-up affair cantilevered out over the fender. It flips up to allow access to the battery and permit rear-fender and wheel removal. At its aft end is a taillight built from a Suzuki Hayabusa unit that Kimer split into two separate chambers, each filled with LED elements that serve as brakelights, stoplights and tumsignals.
Things are even more out of the ordinary up front, starting with a perimeter-style brake rotor embedded into the Kimerbuilt alloy wheel without any visible attachment hardware. Dual calipers hide up inside the top of the front fender, which matches the bulbous, flowing lines of the rear. But the coup de grace is the frame’s complete lack of a steering head. Instead, the entire front end pivots on two sturdy spherical joints encased in hardened enclosures. The only thing visible in the open space between the fork tubes and the front of the gas tank is a small stainless-steel enclosure that houses the wiring and the handlebar control lines.
Kimer says that the bike runs, rides and functions much like a stock Softail, thanks in part to the moderate engine tuning and rational steering geometry. He retained most of the OEM electrics, including the tumsignal/security module, bank-angle sensor, voltage regulator, ignition module and fuse panel, and linked it all together with a custom wiring harness that uses the very same color-coding as a stocker.
He claims that any Harley shop with a Softail wiring diagram and a Scanalyzer can plug into the stock Data Link Connector to service the bike.
Kimer came up with the Zoso name as a tribute of sorts to Led Zeppelin. On the cover of the group’s fourth album, released in 1971, was a 16th-century symbol that signifies the planet Saturn and looks like the word “zoso.” In astrology, Saturn rules Capricorn, the sun sign of Led Zeppelin’s lead guitarist, Jimmy Page, who adopted the symbol as his own. Kimer felt that with his custom, he was “pushing the envelope” in much the same way Led Zeppelin had done with its music, so he decided to name the bike after that symbol.
You could argue that by using that name, Kimer really didn’t show complete originality, indicating that perhaps he really doesn’t think outside the box. Maybe, maybe not. But you have to admit it’s a pretty impressive-looking container.
Paul Dean
