Confederate P120 Fighter Black Flag

Confederate motorcycles have never done things by the book. Using aircraft grade aluminium, unorthodox design cues and employing curious engineering solutions, these American motorcycles are neither affordable nor common.

Take the P120 Fighter for instance. Just 50 of them have been built, priced at US$72,000 a pop.

But if you're really serious about your futuro steampunk dream bikes, then the ultra rare Black Flag (based on the P120 Fighter) is for you, priced at a cool US$80,000.

Just 13 Black Flags are scheduled for production, and they feature the kind of unique attention to detail that makes you do a double take at almost every opportunity.

Take the oil and fuel tanks for instance -- they are incorporated into the central tubular frame, which is peppered with arcane-looking wiring and protuberances, and the oil can be seen by the naked eye from 20 paces via a giant circular glass window.

Motive force is provided by an air-cooled 1966cc V-twin, which is about 120 cubic inches, and the carburetted unit is hooked up to a five-speed gearbox and chain final drive. The twin exhaust system is very short, end underneath the engine case, and would likely give the Black Flag a voluminous note.

Even igniting the motorcycle's engine requires a check-list of aviation-like complexity, with fuel pumps to prime, decompression buttons on the cylinder heads to push, and so on. Your everyday cruiser this is not...

The design of the Confederate Black Flag is immaculate, combining new- and old-world styles to impressive effect, with a level of precision engineering that sees every part of the motorcycle neatly slot into the other like a giant black anodised aluminium jigsaw. There's also a smattering of carbon fibre (for instance the wheels) just for good measure, and though it doesn't look very comfortable, the seat is yet another work of art.

But the jaw-dropping level of detail/design/componentry doesn't stop there. The single disc brake up front is a carbon-ceramic compound clamped by a four-pot Brembo calliper and the Girder-style front forks attract the eye like few other set ups.

The aluminium swing arm is propped up by an adjustable rear monoshock and the rear hoop is very wide to cope with the engine's surfeit of torque.

Instruments are kept to a minimum - a single analogue rev counter with a small digital speedo - and even the headlights and indicators have been carefully integrated into the frame to avoid taking away from the bike's unique aesthetic. Until we were showed, we couldn't even pinpoint the brake lights!

Like a collision of past, present and future, the Confederate P120 Fighter Black Flag's design is a visual treat the likes of which seldom reaches production. Sure, it's expensive at close to $100,000 but the attention to detail and the novel engineering solutions used will no doubt see all 13 of these machines finding homes.

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