Midas’s Motorbike

You may have heard of King Midas, a man in Greek mythology who was granted his wish to turn everything he touched into gold. With this beautiful customized motorbike, the story of Midas might as well have been brought to life.

(Image taken from The Asahi Shimbun)

 

This motorcycle was created for an international bike customization competition. Known as the Custom Rumble Competition, it is organized by Italian luxury motorcycle brand Ducati and contestants are supposed to modify a Ducati Scrambler model. The winner will be the one that receives the most votes for their bike design.

To compete, imported motorbike dealer Casuno Motorcycles enlisted the help of Hori Metal Leaf & Powder Co., which was established in 1711, to coat the Kyoto-styled engine with brass foil instead of gold leaf. The brass foiling emphasizes the vehicle’s streamlined body, giving it a gorgeous and sleek look.

Named the Aellambler, this motorcycle was covered in metallic foil presumably to pay homage to the ancient capital.

(Image taken from Japan-Guide)

 

A Short Overview on Kyoto and Kinkakuji:

Kyoto was once known as the capital of Japan, and now houses the famous Kinkakuji, also known as the Golden Pavilion. The Zen temple, located in the Northern part of Kyoto, is an impressive structure overlooking a large pond, and the picturesque view paints an extremely scenic view.

Just check out the shimmering gold of the temple reflected in the clear lake pictured above.

What is even more impressive, however, is the fact that the top two floors of the temple are covered entirely in gold leaf. This just goes to show how deeply tied the history of gold leaf is to Kyoto, and the astonishing number of distinguished gold leaf artisans there are in the amazing city.

Bringing it back to the topic of the modified motorcycle, the Aellambler’s pictures to be submitted for the contest was shot on the grounds of Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine. Located in Southern Kyoto, this important Shinto shrine is also a popular tourist haunt especially known for its thousands of vermilion torii gates.

(Image taken from JapanBase)

 

The Fushimi Inari shrine is also near Casuno, the company who gave the golden touch to the Ducati Scrambler. One of the officials there, Yutaka Shimoda, stated that “The competition provides a golden opportunity for us to expand our sales networks to overseas markets.”

We also really appreciate the way Casuno incorporated parts of the Japanese culture to make this motorbike even more amazing.

Results for the Custom Rumble will be released in July this year.