by matt corwin
Rebellion cannot exist without a strange form of love. ― Albert Camus, “The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt”
The Lakeview District has always been the manufacturing heart of Birmingham, Alabama. The old warehouses were once home to Birmingham’s steel industry and Dr. Pepper Bottling company during the 1920s. Today, Birmingham’s steel industry has moved outside the city, and the Lakeview District is no longer the manufacturing hub of the city. The old warehouses, once home to the steel mills, are now occupied by coffee shops, breweries, restaurants and art galleries. It’s ironic that the only manufacturing company remaining in the Lakeview District is a motorcycle company that doesn’t make their bikes out of steel, but rather aluminum and carbon fiber.
Confederate Motorcycles isn’t your typical motorcycle company. Started in 1991 by Matt Chambers, Confederate has produced some of the most cutting edge and unique bikes on the road today. But Chambers’ first career wasn’t in the motorcycle industry. After graduating with a business and law degree from Louisiana State University, Chambers spent 13 years as a lawyer before opening up shop in New Orleans.
“As a lawyer, the way things worked out, I couldn’t see myself make a difference,” Chambers said. “If I couldn’t do it, it couldn’t be done.”
When the motorcycle road movie “Easy Rider” with Peter Fonda came out in 1969, it reflected the cultural battles going on in America. The country was in the middle of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and each country was trying to reach the moon first. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed the previous year and the issue of segregation, especially in the South, was at an all-time high. Woodstock music festival was held for the first time in 1969 at a dairy farm in upstate New York, where music stars Santana, The Who and Jimi Hendrix rocked the crowds for three days straight. As Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper headed from California to New Orleans in “Easy Rider,” they experienced the cultural problems that were going on across the country. The duo meets struggles in Louisiana with the locals and cultural differences with Native Americans in New Mexico. All the while, the two are riding their choppers across the country, spending the money they made off a drug deal along the way. Peter Fonda, with an American flag paint scheme on his bike and helmet, made the duo stand out anywhere they went. Peter Fonda was a rebel.
Chambers, who grew up riding 160cc Hondas on the dirt back roads of Louisiana, loved not only the movie “Easy Rider” but what the movie represented — rebellion. Chambers said Albert Camus’ book “The Art of Rebellion” was one of his biggest influences.
“Motorcycling is something you either fall for or you don’t,” Chambers said. “A Confederate Motorcycle shall be a metaphor for American rebellion.”
When Chambers built his first bike, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing or what path would it lead him down. Little did he know how big an impact his bikes would have on the industry.
“Our first bike, I didn’t know much about what I was doing, and it got bigger than I expected,” Chamber said. “Today, we have built around 1,000 bikes.”
What made Confederate Motorcycles so unique back in 1991 and still today is the design of its bikes. One of Chambers’ greatest design influences was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Caravaggio was a late 1500s Italian painter and sculptor who was cutting-edge during his era for his use of dramatic lighting in his artwork. His work, however, was rejected by the church because it wasn’t what they wanted. Caravaggio rebelled against the church and did things his way.
In 1991, American industrial design was virtually dead. The “big three” auto manufactures in Detroit were getting destroyed on every level by their Japanese counterparts. In order to beat the Japanese at their own game, General Motors began to consolidate their design by making small, efficient cars that were supposed to go head-to-head with the Hondas and Toyotas of the era. However, what resulted were vehicles that were poorly made, poorly designed and didn’t sell well. The people at the top of General Motors were forgetting what made American cars and designs great during the 1940s and 1950s. Back then, American cars were the best money could buy. A Cadillac truly was “the standard of the world.” American engineers were simply trying to make the best cars they could make. The design team of a Chevy was different than the team that worked on Cadillac. As a result, each brand truly ruled their class back in the day. But by the time 1991 rolled around, General Motors, who were losing ground on the Japanese and losing money at a rapid rate, decided to save money and convince the public a small sedan was a Chevy, but with a badge changed, could also be a Cadillac. The public didn’t buy it.
“They were drunk on their own power,” Chambers said. “They were trying to sell cars like they were selling variations of soap. Caravaggio would use art to tell a narrative and that narrative was: Don’t buy into the bulls--t.”
Chambers didn’t buy into the bull either. He designed and made bikes his own way, going against everything American industrial designs was doing in 1991. Chambers felt that his influence could be seen on other bikes in the industry.
“No one else in the industry was coming at bikes from the same perspective as us,” Chambers said. “I think the industry copied those bikes honestly.”
Confederate bikes, from way they are designed to the way they are built, follow Chambers design strategy, or as he calls it, “a 25-year study of rebel theory.”
Each motorcycle follows the same three design principles of primitivism, minimalism and avant-gardism. The bikes do not have any paint on them, and the company doesn’t decorate or polish anything on the bike. The chassis is a drag racing chassis, designed exactly to Confederate’s specifications to be as strong as possible to handle to power that the company’s heavily mortified SNS engine makes.
“The structure can never move and never fatigue,” Chambers said.
Each Confederate bike starts life as solid blocks of billet-aluminum before being CNC-machined into different components. As the bike is being made, Confederate's design principles take hold. The bikes are minimal in order to give a raw feel. This is shown as there is no gas gauge on the bike, but rather a clear window on each side of the fuel tank in order to see the level. The avant-gardism is the next aspect of Chambers’ creations. Each motorcycle has to be fresh and unique design-wise in order to be a Confederate Motorcycle.
Each bike has thousands of little details that might not be noticeable at first look. For example, the front brakes are some of the most unusual looking pieces on the bike. But they were originally designed for light aircraft use and are not only lighter than normal brakes, but more effective as well.
The bikes front forks are CNC-machined from aluminum and take around 34 hours to make. There is a clear cover on the side of the motor showing the cam-timing pulley assembly. Each wheel is made from space-grade carbon fiber, and the seat is handmade by a local leather shop in Birmingham. If you ask company designer Jordon Cornille if there is anything on the bike that he would change, he doesn’t hesitate.
“This coil cover,” Cornille said, pointing to the part. “For our next generation of bikes, we will be moving it. Right now, it sort of looks like it was placed … as an afterthought.”
Like any good rebel, Chambers has faced adversity during his journey. When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in United States in August 2005, it left a $108 billion path of destruction behind it. The city that was arguably hit hardest was New Orleans. Chambers was lucky. His home on the North Shore of the city was spared. His shop, however, was not. It would be six weeks before Chambers could see the damage to his shop. Nothing from the shop was salvageable, not a single part or component. He couldn’t reach the top floor of the 150-year-old building because the roof had collapsed. It would be another three to four years before anyone was able to clean it. Chambers’ insurance company went bankrupt during the storm, and the company didn’t get an ounce of relief money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Chambers had lost everything he had built. Chambers and his wife left New Orleans and moved to Birmingham to start from scratch. Birmingham had begun to build a reputation as a hot spot for motorcycle culture in the South thanks to the Barber Motorsports Park and the Barber Vintage Museum, which is home to the largest vintage motorcycle collection in the world. Chambers felt Birmingham was a good place to start over again.
“I didn’t expect Katrina to do what it did,” Chambers said. “When I saw the predictions, I was like, that’s bulls--t. We don’t anticipate bad stuff to happen to us, and I believe that is one of the best things of life. It makes you appreciate happiness for all the right reasons.”
Since moving to Birmingham with basically nothing, Chambers has been able to rebuild Confederate Motorcycles stronger than ever. The company is building some of its highest-quality work to date and has attracted clients from all around the world. According to Chambers, 70 percent of Confederate clients are from overseas. Many customers from Europe, Russia and the far East want something that is American-designed and built similarly to American industrial designs from the 1940s and 50s. Chambers wants to continue to build the brand to be known worldwide. Currently, Confederate averages 55 bikes a year. Chambers wants to expand production to around 150-300 bikes a year.
“Our biggest problem is, like many artists, I undervalue our work,” Chambers said. “I probably should be charging more, but I don’t have it in me to do so.”
Chambers hopes Confederate can start producing its own accessory products and an apparel line in the future. Chambers also wants to be able to make more bespoke bikes for his clients. He described riding one of his creations as similar to riding a “muscle-bound rhino.” Chambers said his customers seem to enjoy that.
“Most of our customers are pretty accomplished, and they don’t have the time to ride them as often,” Chambers said. “Our bikes give the feeling of suppression of time, a greater sense of danger. You will definitely not be falling asleep when riding one of our bikes.”
As Chambers continues to lead Confederate into the future, he is also preparing himself for the future as well. Chambers hopes to retire in a couple of years to write books on topics like Confederate Motorcycles, American rebellion and rebel theory. Currently, Chambers and Cornille are designing Confederate’s fifth generation of bikes with the hope to bring some to market in the next couple of years.
“I think, like any artist, I want to go back and change stuff after the fact,” Chambers said. “You need to be able to make mistakes and admit it.”
What Chambers is able to do at Confederate Motorcycles is pretty remarkable. His small team of about 12 people creates an impressive combination of art, sculpture, design and strength. Confederate bikes are some of the most radical pieces of equipment on two wheels today, harkening back to the glory days when the factories of Detroit were on top of the industrial and motorized world.
Chambers described his bikes and their place in the world perfectly: “The Bike is art. The fact that you can take it out and pound the s--t out of it makes it the greatest of all American hotrods.”
Confederate Motorcycles isn’t your typical motorcycle company. Started in 1991 by Matt Chambers, Confederate has produced some of the most cutting edge and unique bikes on the road today. But Chambers’ first career wasn’t in the motorcycle industry. After graduating with a business and law degree from Louisiana State University, Chambers spent 13 years as a lawyer before opening up shop in New Orleans.
“As a lawyer, the way things worked out, I couldn’t see myself make a difference,” Chambers said. “If I couldn’t do it, it couldn’t be done.”
When the motorcycle road movie “Easy Rider” with Peter Fonda came out in 1969, it reflected the cultural battles going on in America. The country was in the middle of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and each country was trying to reach the moon first. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed the previous year and the issue of segregation, especially in the South, was at an all-time high. Woodstock music festival was held for the first time in 1969 at a dairy farm in upstate New York, where music stars Santana, The Who and Jimi Hendrix rocked the crowds for three days straight. As Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper headed from California to New Orleans in “Easy Rider,” they experienced the cultural problems that were going on across the country. The duo meets struggles in Louisiana with the locals and cultural differences with Native Americans in New Mexico. All the while, the two are riding their choppers across the country, spending the money they made off a drug deal along the way. Peter Fonda, with an American flag paint scheme on his bike and helmet, made the duo stand out anywhere they went. Peter Fonda was a rebel.
Chambers, who grew up riding 160cc Hondas on the dirt back roads of Louisiana, loved not only the movie “Easy Rider” but what the movie represented — rebellion. Chambers said Albert Camus’ book “The Art of Rebellion” was one of his biggest influences.
“Motorcycling is something you either fall for or you don’t,” Chambers said. “A Confederate Motorcycle shall be a metaphor for American rebellion.”
When Chambers built his first bike, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing or what path would it lead him down. Little did he know how big an impact his bikes would have on the industry.
“Our first bike, I didn’t know much about what I was doing, and it got bigger than I expected,” Chamber said. “Today, we have built around 1,000 bikes.”
What made Confederate Motorcycles so unique back in 1991 and still today is the design of its bikes. One of Chambers’ greatest design influences was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Caravaggio was a late 1500s Italian painter and sculptor who was cutting-edge during his era for his use of dramatic lighting in his artwork. His work, however, was rejected by the church because it wasn’t what they wanted. Caravaggio rebelled against the church and did things his way.
In 1991, American industrial design was virtually dead. The “big three” auto manufactures in Detroit were getting destroyed on every level by their Japanese counterparts. In order to beat the Japanese at their own game, General Motors began to consolidate their design by making small, efficient cars that were supposed to go head-to-head with the Hondas and Toyotas of the era. However, what resulted were vehicles that were poorly made, poorly designed and didn’t sell well. The people at the top of General Motors were forgetting what made American cars and designs great during the 1940s and 1950s. Back then, American cars were the best money could buy. A Cadillac truly was “the standard of the world.” American engineers were simply trying to make the best cars they could make. The design team of a Chevy was different than the team that worked on Cadillac. As a result, each brand truly ruled their class back in the day. But by the time 1991 rolled around, General Motors, who were losing ground on the Japanese and losing money at a rapid rate, decided to save money and convince the public a small sedan was a Chevy, but with a badge changed, could also be a Cadillac. The public didn’t buy it.
“They were drunk on their own power,” Chambers said. “They were trying to sell cars like they were selling variations of soap. Caravaggio would use art to tell a narrative and that narrative was: Don’t buy into the bulls--t.”
Chambers didn’t buy into the bull either. He designed and made bikes his own way, going against everything American industrial designs was doing in 1991. Chambers felt that his influence could be seen on other bikes in the industry.
“No one else in the industry was coming at bikes from the same perspective as us,” Chambers said. “I think the industry copied those bikes honestly.”
Confederate bikes, from way they are designed to the way they are built, follow Chambers design strategy, or as he calls it, “a 25-year study of rebel theory.”
Each motorcycle follows the same three design principles of primitivism, minimalism and avant-gardism. The bikes do not have any paint on them, and the company doesn’t decorate or polish anything on the bike. The chassis is a drag racing chassis, designed exactly to Confederate’s specifications to be as strong as possible to handle to power that the company’s heavily mortified SNS engine makes.
“The structure can never move and never fatigue,” Chambers said.
Each Confederate bike starts life as solid blocks of billet-aluminum before being CNC-machined into different components. As the bike is being made, Confederate's design principles take hold. The bikes are minimal in order to give a raw feel. This is shown as there is no gas gauge on the bike, but rather a clear window on each side of the fuel tank in order to see the level. The avant-gardism is the next aspect of Chambers’ creations. Each motorcycle has to be fresh and unique design-wise in order to be a Confederate Motorcycle.
Each bike has thousands of little details that might not be noticeable at first look. For example, the front brakes are some of the most unusual looking pieces on the bike. But they were originally designed for light aircraft use and are not only lighter than normal brakes, but more effective as well.
The bikes front forks are CNC-machined from aluminum and take around 34 hours to make. There is a clear cover on the side of the motor showing the cam-timing pulley assembly. Each wheel is made from space-grade carbon fiber, and the seat is handmade by a local leather shop in Birmingham. If you ask company designer Jordon Cornille if there is anything on the bike that he would change, he doesn’t hesitate.
“This coil cover,” Cornille said, pointing to the part. “For our next generation of bikes, we will be moving it. Right now, it sort of looks like it was placed … as an afterthought.”
Like any good rebel, Chambers has faced adversity during his journey. When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in United States in August 2005, it left a $108 billion path of destruction behind it. The city that was arguably hit hardest was New Orleans. Chambers was lucky. His home on the North Shore of the city was spared. His shop, however, was not. It would be six weeks before Chambers could see the damage to his shop. Nothing from the shop was salvageable, not a single part or component. He couldn’t reach the top floor of the 150-year-old building because the roof had collapsed. It would be another three to four years before anyone was able to clean it. Chambers’ insurance company went bankrupt during the storm, and the company didn’t get an ounce of relief money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Chambers had lost everything he had built. Chambers and his wife left New Orleans and moved to Birmingham to start from scratch. Birmingham had begun to build a reputation as a hot spot for motorcycle culture in the South thanks to the Barber Motorsports Park and the Barber Vintage Museum, which is home to the largest vintage motorcycle collection in the world. Chambers felt Birmingham was a good place to start over again.
“I didn’t expect Katrina to do what it did,” Chambers said. “When I saw the predictions, I was like, that’s bulls--t. We don’t anticipate bad stuff to happen to us, and I believe that is one of the best things of life. It makes you appreciate happiness for all the right reasons.”
Since moving to Birmingham with basically nothing, Chambers has been able to rebuild Confederate Motorcycles stronger than ever. The company is building some of its highest-quality work to date and has attracted clients from all around the world. According to Chambers, 70 percent of Confederate clients are from overseas. Many customers from Europe, Russia and the far East want something that is American-designed and built similarly to American industrial designs from the 1940s and 50s. Chambers wants to continue to build the brand to be known worldwide. Currently, Confederate averages 55 bikes a year. Chambers wants to expand production to around 150-300 bikes a year.
“Our biggest problem is, like many artists, I undervalue our work,” Chambers said. “I probably should be charging more, but I don’t have it in me to do so.”
Chambers hopes Confederate can start producing its own accessory products and an apparel line in the future. Chambers also wants to be able to make more bespoke bikes for his clients. He described riding one of his creations as similar to riding a “muscle-bound rhino.” Chambers said his customers seem to enjoy that.
“Most of our customers are pretty accomplished, and they don’t have the time to ride them as often,” Chambers said. “Our bikes give the feeling of suppression of time, a greater sense of danger. You will definitely not be falling asleep when riding one of our bikes.”
As Chambers continues to lead Confederate into the future, he is also preparing himself for the future as well. Chambers hopes to retire in a couple of years to write books on topics like Confederate Motorcycles, American rebellion and rebel theory. Currently, Chambers and Cornille are designing Confederate’s fifth generation of bikes with the hope to bring some to market in the next couple of years.
“I think, like any artist, I want to go back and change stuff after the fact,” Chambers said. “You need to be able to make mistakes and admit it.”
What Chambers is able to do at Confederate Motorcycles is pretty remarkable. His small team of about 12 people creates an impressive combination of art, sculpture, design and strength. Confederate bikes are some of the most radical pieces of equipment on two wheels today, harkening back to the glory days when the factories of Detroit were on top of the industrial and motorized world.
Chambers described his bikes and their place in the world perfectly: “The Bike is art. The fact that you can take it out and pound the s--t out of it makes it the greatest of all American hotrods.”