Cristian Sosa is a master of metal. His builds are like free-form jazz, each piece complementing the others yet completely unique, a sculpture sitting with other sculptures to create the final motorcycle. “Kamala,” Sosa Metal Works build based on the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Twin, is no different. Presented in bare metal, it lets the materials speak for themselves - steel, aluminum, brass - each reflects the light differently, glowing in the countless hours that led to their final forms.
“Kamala” is inspired by vintage board track racers - its lean form and large thin wheels perfectly proportioned to frame the 650 Twin motor at its core. While inspired by this most dangerous of vintage motorsports, it is also a completely original creation, with Cristian letting the materials guide him to the final form. Often, a project like this will go through a phase of sketches and proposals - with Cristian, however, there is an agreement about the basic direction and that’s it - the rest is left up to the hours, days and months that follow as the form gradually emerges from the tools in his studio. He employs an arsenal of machines and techniques to create each build, ranging from hand hammering and flame to power hammers he has built himself - but is careful to point out that it’s not the tools that matter - it's the will and inspiration to make the thing that is most important.
In “Kamala” this takes the form of a beautifully narrow swept tank, perfectly formed around a completely bespoke rigid frame made of chromoly steel. Inspired by early Royal Enfields, a sinuous girder fork connects the wheel to the frame at the front, and a beautifully detailed springer seat arrangement holds the rider perched behind the motor on an almost impossibly narrow spring. All these parts perfectly complement the pure metal construction and simple retro forms of the 650 Twin motor, working together in a composition that is both tough and delicate at the same time.
Premiered at The One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon in February 2020, the bike almost didn’t make it - the time it takes to painstakingly make each part takes its toll, but a final week long push - and very little sleep plus a 16 hr drive - later, the build arrived in time for the show. Cristian spent much of that drive in the back of the van, still assembling the final parts together. The build instantly stood out at the show, and won one of the top awards presented the next day, even though it still wasn’t 100% finished!
Cristian formed Sosa Metalworks with his brother, Roberto, in 2012. Already an experienced metal worker from years as lead fabricator at Count’s Kustoms, Sosa has quickly become one of the most respected names in metal fabrication for cars and motorcycles worldwide - his builds have been featured in shows from his hometown of Las Vegas to Yokohama, Japan, and everywhere in between. Not content to just create, Cristian is also committed to raising the next generation of metal workers, and regularly runs classes at his shop and abroad to pass on the skills he has acquired over the last few decades of practice.
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