Absolutely! And anywhere else in the world for that matter. Believe it or not, we get asked that question a lot. I guess to most people it might seem strange to ship a motorcycle halfway around the world, but not to us. We welcome the challenge and are very excited to have a Stiletto representing Kingdom Customs in Japan. The following photos show us packing up the Stiletto for it’s air freight journey to Japan.
This photo shows the base of our shipping crate. A wooden saddle will be inserted along the middle of the base so that the frame is resting on solid wood. Each tire will rest in the custom cut drop outs so that the entire weight of the bike is supported by the saddle. We do this so the suspension does not have to be compressed for long periods of time during shipping. As you can see, every surface that makes contact with the bike is covered in carpet to eliminate any potential scratches in the paint.
Each Stiletto is built with a custom chin scoop that is designed to direct airflow towards the oil cooler. The scoop is accented with a custom hand-fabricated grill which not only looks good, but is extremely functional as well. We thought you might like to see some of the stages that go into fabricating such a relatively small piece. From concept to completion, each hand-crafted Stiletto component goes through the same process to ensure that every part, big or small, is constructed to the highest level of design and fabrication excellence. Please enjoy our process…
In this photo, you can see that the scoop is completely prepped. All painted areas are covered with blue tape to make sure no paint is scratched. Already installed is the wire mesh screen which serves two purposes. The most obvious is to protect the oil cooler from damage by any debris that may get kicked up while riding. The second purpose, being more aesthetic, is to provide a visual break between the actual grill and the oil cooler itself. It makes it more visually appealing. The screen is then rimmed with a stainless steel border which cleans up the edges and completes the look.
Check out the current issue of Pacific Edge magazine in the Edgelines section. Here you will find a brief write up on Kingdom Customs and a photo of the Stiletto. To read the write up in the online version of the magazine, click here. We want to thank Natalie Schack and the rest of the staff at Pacific Edge magazine for including us in this months issue.
Congratulations to Mr. Toshi Funaki for placing the winning bid at the 2011 Sony Open silent auction. At Mr. Funaki’s request, his new Stiletto will be flown to Japan and used to represent the IDEC corporation at various events. We want to thank Mr. Funaki for supporting the Friends of Hawaii Charities and Kingdom Customs. 100% of the auction proceeds go directly to the Friends of Hawaii Charities and are used to support the needy here in our home state of Hawaii.
Dan Kokubun (left), Toshi Funaki (center), and James Kometani
Stiletto in the Prefunction Gallery @ the Edition Hotel Waikiki
Wednesday night saw the Stiletto on display at the Waikiki Edition Hotel. The Friends of Hawaii Charities hosted a private reception for sponsors, friends, and pros entitled “Just Between Friends”. To support the Friends of Hawaii Charities silent auction of the Stiletto, Kingdom Customs representatives were on hand to answer questions about the auction and to assist people in registering to bid. Sony Corporation also had several displays showcasing their newest 3D technology and Playstation equipment. Combined with the beautiful surroundings of the Edition Hotel and first rate food, everyone in attendance had a wonderful time.
The calm before the storm. The Stiletto looking at home on the red carpet for the premier of the Greeen Hornet
Kingdom Customs was pleased to have the Stiletto on display at the Ward Theaters for the premier of the Green Hornet Movie. Although the Stiletto was not featured in the movie, it was included in the festivities to help draw attention to the Stiletto silent auction which was handled by the Friends of Hawaii Charities. The premier, which ran in conjunction with the Sony Open Pro-Am draw party, was one of the many events that occurred during the week of the Sony Open. With many top international executives from Sony Corporation in attendance, Kingdom Customs was exposed to a world-wide audience. We want to thank the Sony Corporation and the Friends of Hawaii Charities for allowing us to be involved.
Being the official motorcycle of the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii does have some perks. One of them was being able to shoot the Stiletto on the course at the Waialae Country Club. For those of you who have never been there, it is one of the premier golf courses on the island of Oahu. I doubt that many people have had the opportunity to drive their motorcycle on the course at the Waialae country club which makes this experience that much more unique. We want to extend our deepest gratitude to the fine people at the Waialae Country Club for being so accommodating. Check out the short clip of the Stiletto driving down the cart path. All photography for this event was handled by Cynthia Kehler from Kehler Photographic.
No doubt many of you have heard of Cyril Huze. His bike building skills and work within the custom bike building world is legendary. Cyril also runs one of the most frequently visited motorcycle blog sites which reports heavily on custom bike building and the motorcycle industry in general. Recently, Kingdom Customs had the honor of having our Stiletto featured on his blog site. We want to thank Cyril and his many readers for their kind, and some not-so-kind responses to our bike. Very interesting comments by a diverse group of readers, please be sure to check them out. To see the complete article, please click on the link below.
