Cleveland Cyclewerks - Tha Heist (and yes. I spelt it correctly.)

I recently had a chance to spend some time with the Scott Colisimo’s creation ‘Tha Heist’, courtesy of Dale from Loxton Suzuki Randburg. When I first bumped into this bike online it immediately sparked my interest, so I did a little hunting and found out that they are available right here in good ol’ South Africa. I gave Dale a call and he was kind enough to set up some time with the bike for me.

Before I get rambling on about the bike, I’d like to chat a bit about Cleveland Cyclewerks. They work on a simple philosophy of quality, passion and affordability. Out of seemingly nowhere, CCW has started selling their products in the EU, Australia, the USA, South Africa and many other countries as well. Under the direction of Scott Colisimo, the company is making really pretty bikes for a price that is making the shitty, cheapy, troll-ugly bikes in this country quake in their boots. I think that CCW that now put their foot the door of the SA biking community and they aren’t going to be leaving any time soon.

Now, on to the bike itself. The Heist is a 250cc bobber. That’s right my friends, no rear suspension. Just two springs under your bum that absorb the jolts, potholes and other hazards. The bike just screams old school cool and to be honest is just about the most fun I have had on an on-road bike of this capacity before. Tha Heist is not about going fast, but about how you get to your destination. The 250cc motor had enough grunt to carry a big guy around in the traffic and to pretty much wherever you want to go. The example I road had an optional exhaust system on it which makes it sound like an evil little beastie. The ride is very forgiving (style, not on your bum) making easy on beginners or people coming back to biking. All in all, pretty cool.

Customization by owners seems to have become a standard from what I have seen on online forums, and what some of the guys are doing is pretty radical, with almost a cult following. The standard trim and fittings on the bike aren’t bad at all, but I think there is so much room to improvise on these bikes that the owners just can’t help themselves. The riding position takes getting used to if you’re a crotch-rocket jockey, but after a couple of kilometres it feels just fine.

What I can’t get around is how a talented bunch of people put their heads together to come up with something that looks cool, is reliable and is so inexpensive. What? That doesn’t happen anymore? A company doing something for the common good, that is cool and inexpensive? I don’t think that there is anything in this price bracket that can compete. I think a lot of manufacturers can take a long hard look at CCW, and then crap themselves. I think they are making some awesome products and I can’t wait for the launch of Tha Misfit in a month or two here in SA.

An awesome bike with very little to complain about for this price. For more info, check out:

http://www.clevelandcyclewerks.com or www.deucebobbers.co.za
or call Dale at Loxton Suzuki on +27 (0) 11 704-1441 or dale@loxtonsuzuki.co.za