Matte Black Goes Dark

You've seen some of the Matte Black custom bikes on our blog before. True artisans. We were recently sent a link with more photos of these bikes - all dating to around 2003. That was about the same time Matte Black disappeared from the grid. Rumor was that D and his crew had packed up their Seoul based shop and were in route to Huntington Beach. Did their plane go down over the Pacific? Was their boat hijacked by Kim Jong Il's navy? Are they being held ransom for scotch, John Wayne movies, and Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses? Or are they actually setting up a secret volcano based headquarters on a remote island near the Philippines? The custom scene needs the Matte Black Garage Team more than ever. In Black We Trust.

Matte Black - Madass

Matte Black's bad ass Madass. It was still a work in progress when we saw it but sick none the less.

Suzuki 5.5" rear wheel inside a custom swingarm

Salvaged Korean motor suspended in place

Matte Black - Final Suicide

Yet another Matte Black creation - 'Final Suicide'. The Icon garage team was pressured into test riding this beast in front of the mildly intoxicated home town crowd. To say it was a bit of a handful doesn't do it justice - this is one bike that definitely earns it's name.

FInal Suicide's proud owner displays the questionable 

ergonomics while the poster in the background begs 

us to stop before someone gets ruined - we don't

heed it's request

Based off a Yamaha 750 - or not - only the Matte Black

Garage Team knows for sure and they aren't talking

Kurt rides off, merrily chanting the Final Suicide's theme song -

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..."

Luckily it comes equipped with a change of trousers

to save post test ride embarrassment

Matte Black - Industrial Chopper

Another build from D at Matte Black. Sickest pipes ever? Probably. The crazy Giger'esque sculpture is actually the original gastank from this bike. Yeah.....sick beyond words.

Matte Black - Der Steppenwolf

There once was a bike builder in Korea. His name was 'D' and his shop was called Matte Black. D, for lack of a better term, was a genius. He built some of the sickest bikes the Icon staff has ever seen. These weren't just bikes but incredible rolling biomechanical sculptures. D's bikes had a style all their own. We shot these photos a few years back when D was having an open house. Chicken, Kimchi, OB, RatFighters, and hot Seoul nights - awesome. This particular bike is called Der Steppenwolf. Peep the offset shaft drive to clear the Mercedes military truck wheel. Ridiculous. From what we've been able to piece together D got out of the bike building profession. Which is definitely a shame - our world needs more D's. 

Just for the record - the Icon Garage Team does not share the opinions of the Matte Black Garage Team when it comes to Apgujeong...