BOBBER'S ELSASS KUSTOM

Post by Jack McIntyre, Story and Images provided by Jordan Kraemer, Kustom Pulse, France and Burn & Shot. @burnandshot

MADE IN ALSACE, FRANCE. POWERED BY THE USA.

The sun beats down on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Around him are motorcycles of every make, builders and teams from all over, each here to take their shot on the salt. Laurent Schneck is standing in the middle of the Utah desert, accompanying a French association attempting to set a Harley-Davidson land speed record.

For a moment, he can barely process where he is.

“What the fuck am I doing here? How did I even get here?”

Just a few years earlier, Laurent was building his first motorcycles in his garage in Oberentzen, Alsace.

Now he is at Bonneville, surrounded by people every bit as obsessed with motorcycles as he is, all trying to squeeze out a few more miles per hour.

But what Laurent discovers there goes far beyond speed.

“At Bonneville, everyone is chasing the same opponent: the clock.”

Teams help one another. They share knowledge, lend tools and even help competitors find parts. Everybody wants to go faster, but nobody seems to forget what they really came for: setting a new land speed record on the salt.

Laurent puts it simply:

“The goal is to beat a world record. It’s not to beat your fellow builder.”

It is a mindset that makes you think, especially when looking at the custom scene back home. Another builder’s success should inspire you, not threaten you.

For Laurent, Bonneville became one of those moments when you stop, look around and suddenly realize just how far you have come.

IT ALL STARTED IN A GARAGE

Yeah, I know. It often does.

At 18, Laurent got his motorcycle license right after getting his car license. His first bike was a Kawasaki Z750.

Then one day, a buddy showed up on a Sportster.

That changed everything.

The sound. The vibration. That unmistakable feeling when a Harley V-Twin fires to life.

Laurent remembers his reaction pretty clearly:

“Fuck, this is incredible. What the hell am I doing on this Japanese plastic thing?!”

Before long, Laurent was making his own parts, and the story of Bobber’s Elsass Kustom began.

Bobber, for the style he was drawn to in the beginning.

Elsass, for his Alsatian roots.

And Kustom, with a K, for the American custom culture that inspired him.

A little history never hurts here. The “K” is a nod to the American Kustom culture that emerged around builders such as George Barris in California. Over time, that K became almost a badge of honor, separating Kustom culture from simply modifying a vehicle.

Laurent embraced it.

MAKING A LIVING FROM KUSTOM

Before Bobber’s Elsass Kustom became his life, Laurent worked in Switzerland as a master metalworker in the metal construction industry.

His little personal workshop was his weekend pressure valve—a place to fabricate, experiment and build motorcycles the way he thought they should be built.

Eventually, he made a radical decision.

Leave Switzerland. Return to Alsace. Start over.

Laurent bought a house and rebuilt an outbuilding into the shop where he could concentrate on what really mattered to him: motorcycles with character, rooted deeply in custom culture.

Today, he makes his living entirely from that passion—building and customizing motorcycles while developing a strong presence on social media. His craftsmanship and professional approach have also attracted attention from names including Milwaukee Tool and Von Dutch, while leading to his becoming a sponsored dealer for Arcdroid.

His philosophy for the shop is straightforward.

No tire changes. No oil changes just to fill the schedule. No general mechanical work.

That is not a criticism of shops that do those things. Laurent simply knows exactly what he wants Bobber’s Elsass Kustom to be.

And the work doesn’t stop when the tools are put away.

Behind every video are hours of editing. There are posts to create, stories to write, partners to manage, research to do and all the other invisible work involved in building a brand.

For Laurent, this is much more than a business.

“Bobber Elsass Kustom is my baby. I fight every day to make it grow and evolve. It really is my life’s work. It’s my soul.”

WHEN CUSTOM HAS TO WORK WITHIN THE LAW

Building a heavily customized motorcycle in France—and throughout much of Europe, means dealing with a serious regulatory framework involving type approval and technical inspection requirements.

The more radical the motorcycle becomes, the more those restrictions become part of the build.

And that changes the economics of custom motorcycles.

A builder can invest months of work and a significant amount of money creating a motorcycle worthy of shows and magazine features. But when the bike is finished, another question waits:

What can you actually do with it?

Sell it at a loss? Ride it, if anyone would dare? Fight through the process of getting it approved?

For someone determined to make his living entirely from custom motorcycles, that environment matters.

Laurent began looking toward a place where he believes his business and creativity could have more room to grow.

America.

MILWAUKEE, 2025: AMERICA IS NO LONGER JUST A DREAM

A two-month stay in Milwaukee, especially time spent with his buddy Danton Arts Kustoms, changed Laurent’s perspective completely.

He spent those weeks visiting shops, meeting builders and enthusiasts, and soaking up Milwaukee’s motorcycle culture.

Wisconsin got under his skin.

The Friday night Bike Nights at Harley-Davidson, the people, the motorcycles and the atmosphere gradually allowed Laurent to picture something that once seemed like only a dream:

Living there.

Laurent and his wife are giving themselves roughly two years to make the move.

Milwaukee is one possibility, although they plan to explore other states before deciding where to put down roots.

But the overall plan is clear:

Build a shop in the United States and continue making a living from Kustom motorcycles.

THE SOUVERAINE BUILD

If you want to understand what Laurent is capable of, take a look at Souveraine.

The motorcycle was built for well-known influencer La Boiserie, who gave Laurent carte blanche and a six-month deadline.

The build starts with a completely reworked SS Custom frame wrapped around an Ultima El Bruto 140 CI engine, all 2,300 cc of it.

Getting that torque to the pavement meant using a right-side-output six-speed RevTech transmission. That decision required Laurent to rethink the bike’s entire architecture.

The transmission and braking sit on the same side, requiring a custom-made caliper and bracket.

On the primary side sits a beautiful three-inch BDL belt drive, huge and aggressive yet perfectly integrated into the motorcycle.

But Souveraine is far from a catalog-parts build.

The oil tank and swingarm were completely custom-made, with the swingarm designed around an imposing 300 mm rear wheel.

Then there is the exhaust.

Another completely custom dry-pipe system, spectacular in proportion and remarkable in the precision of its welds. Every line, joint and detail demonstrates the craftsmanship behind the machine.

Altogether, Laurent poured more than 1,000 hours into Souveraine.

That includes fabrication as well as the little things that separate a motorcycle from a truly finished custom: engravings, meticulous finishing work and paint accented with genuine touches of gold leaf.

The result is a true drag-style custom, born in Alsace with the help of local partners.

Souveraine may be American in inspiration, but it is deeply Alsatian in execution.

It is Laurent’s interpretation of Kustom.

THE TICKET TO AMERICA

Another motorcycle may tell Laurent’s story even better.

The project was started by a Swiss motorcycle enthusiast battling cancer. His best friend promised him that after he was gone, the motorcycle would be finished.

Laurent eventually took over the project.

When completed, the bike went on to win the Jury Prize at the 2025 Lyon Motorcycle Show.

But its story isn’t supposed to end in France.

Its owner made Laurent one simple request:

When Laurent leaves for the United States, the motorcycle goes with him.

A bike started in Switzerland, finished in Alsace and eventually destined for American roads.

In a strange way, its journey looks a lot like Laurent’s own.

Today, Laurent isn’t simply dreaming about America anymore.

He’s preparing for it.

In roughly two years, he and his wife hope to cross the Atlantic.

Not to run away.

To go further.

To give his creativity more room. To keep building, learning, meeting people and passing along what he has learned.

And maybe, finally, to become part of the culture that has inspired him ever since that first Harley-Davidson changed everything.

THE LITTLE QUESTIONS

This has become my little thing at the end of interviews. The questions sound lighthearted, but I think the answers can tell you quite a bit about the guy sitting across from me.

Jordan: If you were a V-Twin engine?

Laurent: “I’d be an Evo El Bruto 140 Cubic Inches. I like its power and exclusivity. It’s an engine that marked my generation.”

Jordan: If you were a beer?

Laurent: “I’d be a good dark beer, maybe a strong Trappist. I trained as a brewer and I even created a 10 percent craft beer called ‘Brunbier’ with a friend. A beer with character, you know.”

Jordan: Music in your shop?

Laurent: “No. I work in absolute silence to stay focused. If someone puts music on, I turn it down.”

Personally, that last answer is exactly the kind of detail that makes me feel a little better about handing the guy the keys to my Dyna…

CONTRIBUTORS TO THE SOUVERAINE BUILD

Paint: @avat_art__custompainting
Engraving: @aerographefockeur
Upholstery: @lescuirslebarbu
Exhaust: @elsass_auspuff
Electrical: @motogadget
Machining: @usvracing