Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog

At the Ippodo Gallery in New York there is an exhibit called Liquid Chrome. It is a collection of hand-built bikes by Chicara Nagata, a Japanese biker who survived life-threatening injuries in a motorcycle accident.

Chicara’s Background

Chicara was born in 1962 and at the age of 16 had a motorcycle accident on a curved road. His injuries required an eight-month recovery period filled with blood transfusions and intensive therapies. When he was 20 he began a career in graphic design with a new life-goal in mind: to create beautiful art that the world would enjoy. This was to be his way of expressing his gratitude to those who provided the blood and medical care that enabled him to survive his accident.

In 1993 he started to build motorcycles. He has a workshop filled with antique Harley Davidson engines and all the 500 or so bike parts that go into his custom bikes are hand made. Each bike takes him about 7,500 hours to build. If he works eight hours per day, that is 937 days (about 2.5 years).

The Motorcycles

The bikes are named according to when he built them. One is the Chicara Art I Classic which has a 1939 Harley-Davidson engine and a stainless steel and chrome frame. It has a three-speed transmission and 18-inch wheels. In 2006 it won the first prize in the Freestyle category at the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike building.

Another piece of bike-art is his Art III Classic which he built in 2008. It has a 1950 Meguro Racing Motor and a 1950 Triumph gearbox with four speeds. In with all its steel and chrome are a red seat, red rims and a few other red, copper and brass pieces, giving an impressive and beautiful appearance.

The bikes all run but are not designed for off-road or even street conditions. They are for sale, starting at $1 million for the Art IV Classic. This one has a 1966 Honda moped engine and is his newest and smallest bike.

The Liquid Chrome exhibit began in November, 2008 and will run until the end of January, 2009.

If, like Chicara, you have been seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident and would like to obtain some top-quality legal advice, please contact the Robert W. Kerpsack Co., L.P.A. in Columbus, Ohio.