CYRIL HUZEDI F F E R E N TBYDESIGNBy Cindy Quick WilsonIf you have any preconceived notions about whatinspires and motivates a talented and hugely successfulcustom motorcycle builder, you would probably be wrongwhen it comes to Cyril Huze. You might assume artisticvision to be a necessary element, but as for beingphilosophical—not so much. Yet, Huze is obviously adeeply thoughtful and philosophical man who feels anintimate connection with each bike he builds. For him,it’s a very personal journey.As with most true artists,Huze sees thingsdifferentlythan the rest of us. From a very earlyage, he saw beauty in the most mundane objects; toys,miniature cars, ash trays. His artistic perspectiveinspired him to beautify everyday objects in his life tomake them reflect his own sense of appeal.With an unusual sensitivity and aunique perception of the world around him, Huze saysconceptual inspiration can come from the most ordinarythings; the pages of a fashion magazine or gazing atbeautiful architecture. His gift, as a builder ofworld-class custom motorcycles, is that his ideas aresculpted through the eyes of an artist and the hands of anengineer. “I love all forms of arts and communicationand have an absolute passion for motorcycles. So nothingmakes me happier than to design and fabricate rollingpieces of art for somebody who shares the samepassions,†he explains.Not your average motorhead, Huze spent his earlyyears in Paris, France, pursuing an education in marketingand advertising. His talent was soon recognized and soughtafter by some of the biggest names in the internationalmarketplace; accounts like McDonalds, Volkswagen andHertz. It was clear Huze had something very special.Though professional success seemed to come easilyto this young Parisian, there was one dream he had yet tofulfill. Through books, magazines and the lure ofHollywood, he was inexorably drawn to the romance andrebellion of American culture during the 1950s and ’60s.His passion for motorcycles and muscle cars led him toadmire the talents of Dick Dean and Big Daddy Ed Roth.“The main influence on me is that they showed me howfreedom of expression can lead to creativity.†After hisvisit to America in 1978, he set his sights on living inthe U.S., and by the late ’80s, made the move to BocaRaton, Florida.The very essence of a custom motorcycle is itsoriginality. Huze, although continually asked toreplicate some of his most popular designs, neverreproduces a theme, and adamantly stands by hisprincipal: “I never duplicate what I have donebefore. I am a designer, so I don’t specializein a type of bikes.†He keeps his ideas fresh byconstantly changing concepts and styles: bobbersto softails, baggers to choppers, never limitinghimself to any particular model. “Only myemotions influence me. My style is theresult of these emotions.†He loves nothingmore than to thumb his nose at conventionalmethodology and venture into his own interpretationof shape, power and paint. “It’s true that as amaterial, steel, aluminum or paint seem to havephysical limitations. But perhaps nobody tried topush these physical limitations,†explains Huze.When it comes to inspiration, his guiding principleis always “uninhibited experimentation.”Huze’s intellect, designsavvy and engineering capabilities allow his explorationof fabrication techniques and original paint concepts thatconstantly raise the originality bar for other custombuilders. For Huze, there are no rules when it comes tocustomizing. He does not recognize the conventions, andthereby, the limitations of industry “standards†incustom development. A little outside the box? Huze neverknew there was a box.When it comes to describing his custom work, one canuse words like stunning, innovative, original and unique,but these descriptions, while accurate, fall far short ofthe gut level emotion his bikes arouse. For anyone wholoves the sleek lines of beautifully crafted motorcycles,the splendor of perfectly selected and accented paint, andappreciates the total commitment to original fabrication,there is no way to deliver the grace and beauty of thesecustom machines through the written word.Huze has an impressive list of original andhighly acclaimed creations, but to name a few, hisfirefighter-inspired bike, the Bravest, was built tobenefit the International Association of Firefighters BurnFoundation and features actual firefighting apparatus fromthe mid-1940s. Its “fire engine red†paint and 1940svintage charm was featured (centerfold—ooohhh la la!) inthe January/February 2007 issue of BarnettMagazine and was also featured in a world-wide tour.His war-era inspired bobber, Bombshell, is a tribute tothe flyboys’ penchant for decorating their instrumentsof war with voluptuous pin-up girls as a way of inspiringthe troops and distracting the enemy. Bombshell has beenfeatured in magazines nationally and internationally. Moreof his work can be seen on his Web site (below), as wellas a selection of custom parts and accessories.His innate sense for creating beautiful motorcycles hasbrought him to the pinnacle of fame and recognition in thefiercely competitive world of custom bike building. InOctober of 2006, Daytona Biketoberfest saw the inductionof Huze into the Hall of Fame by the International MasterBike Builders Association, an honor he shares with fellowbuilders, Arlen Ness, Dave Perewitz, Eddie Trotta, AaronGreen, Matt Hotch and the late Indian Larry.Huze attributes his success to his passion formotorcycles, the artistic connection that allows him aspecial intimacy with design, shapes and colors, and hisability to bring his passion to life.He knows no boundaries or limits whenit comes to seeing his esthetic dreams come to fruition.Hailed as one of the true masters of custom motorcycledesign and fabrication, Huze is, by anyone’s standards,at the top of his game.For more information, visit www.cyrilhuze.com.If you liked what Steel Horse News has to say pass it on Clickhere to email this to a friend.Amazon.com WidgetsCopyright© Steel Horse MotorcycleNews. May 15, 2012.