On June 23rd, famed Star Trek actor William Shatner will embark on an eight day cross-country tour. Starting near Chicago and working his way down to Los Angeles, Shatner will follow the historic Route 66. He won’t be riding alone, though. His cross-country bike tour posse will include members of The American Legion of Riders, as well as American Wrench representatives.
While the tour will help raise money for the American Legion, buzz about the event has been almost exclusively centered around the crazy custom-designed trike Shatner will be riding. That’s because it’s a custom design he helped create.
If you ever wanted to see what kind of motorcycle design William Shatner would dream up, turn into a supercharged high-performance reality, and then drive across the country, then read on. It’ll be one interesting ride.
A Custom Design Partnership with American Wrench
American Wrench – which will be riding along with Shatner during his epic cross-country tour – helped co-create the Rivet One in a partnership that began about a year ago. The partnership between the actor and the custom design company supposedly started during an autograph session, when an American Wrench employee mentioned how much fun it would be for the two of them to create a motorcycle together.
The idea then took off.
Since December, Shatner and American Wrench owner/designer Kevin Sirotek have been hard at work on what they officially call a “land jet.”
The enterprising actor/singer/writer/producer extraordinaire has now started his automotive career by providing his personal designs for the trike. Watch him hard at work in this clip:
What Exactly Can Car Technicians Expect from Rivet One?
While much about the Rivet One is still TBA, one thing is for sure: William Shatner’s land jet/trike/bike combination vehicle will be one wild ride.
“It’s a beast with advanced guts. It’s powered by an all-aluminum, computer-controlled, supercharged and intercooled V8 engine – producing over 500 HP,” Shatner boasted in an interview with Gizmag back in April.
The Rivet One will also have a unique steering system. Its design does away with traditional motorcycle handlebars and instead opts for tank-like handgrips that motorcycle enthusiasts are still mulling over. But that’s not the only design feature that is still flying through the rumour mill. While the current designs for the Rivet One show an open top one-seater, Shatner has mentioned giving it a canopy and adding in another seat. There was also talk about adding wheelie bars and flamethrowers (although the flamethrowers were later deemed a little excessive).
A Commercial Future for the Rivet?
The highly original rivet-covered steampunk art-deco style of the bike is also sure to draw a lot of attention. For students looking to work as automotive service technicians, there’s a chance they might one day see the unique design roll into their shop. That’s because American Wrench is planning to eventually sell models on a build-to-order basis.
While there are no plans set for a Canadian leg of the tour, we can still hope for an appearance by the Canadian superstar and car enthusiast. It would certainly be something for students in mechanic programs in BC to catch a glimpse of the Rivet One.
What do you think of William Shatner’s design for the Rivet One and which features do you hope make it into the final design?
