Rocket Bobs Are Your DREAM Custom Bike Builders

Rocket Bobs, founded out of love and passion for custom bikes by Pete Pearson based in Swindon, United Kingdom. Rocket Bobs pride themselves in building Custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In this article, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Pete Pearson and ask him some questions about Rocket Bobs.

What can you tell me about Rocket bobs?

“Rocket Bobs started in 2009 with a central purpose to solely build custom motorcycles only with a twist. Our bikes have to be ridden and ridden hard. They need to out handle, accelerate and stop better than there production equivalents. We wanted to respect the heritage and roots of the custom scene but put our own stamp on it.”

What is that essential factor for you when you start building custom?

“My driving force is to just take what’s in my head and work it out through the evolution of a build. The most important thing to me is not to look at other builders work or take any inspiration other than that which already lies in my fucked up brain. Basically the most essential factor in any build is to stay true to myself and only use / develop those designs that came purely out of my head.”

Do you feel competition gives rise to new ideas in building customs?

“Not really, I built bikes way before entering competitions. In fact I was always very much against competitions. Also they certainly don’t give rise to new ideas! Competitions are important to me as they allow me to put my work out there to be judged and critiqued. As that is what does drive me forward, out of competitions, the desire to improve and push myself harder to raise the level of design in my work.”

Do you feel sad when you build the custom with lot of efforts and ultimately it has go via sell?

“Our bikes we build at Rocket Bobs for competitions remain ours! We do not sell. We will build many versions of championship winning bikes, but bikes such as Gas’d Rat, Swamp Water, Speed Weevil etc. remain ours. The exception to this are bikes built for customers that go onto win competitions, such as 3 Finger Eddy, Pressure Drop etc. These were never ours to start with.”

5.Your base motorcycle has been Harley Davidson do you feel you should try your hands on other bikes?

“We started out as solely Harley custom Builders. During the 9 years in business we have strayed off that path and built triumph and a Suzuki plus modded a few other. We would be happy to work with Indians, Italian or Bavarian motorcycles and also we are currently building a Suzuki GSXR for a show later this year. However, my heart lies with Harley. My favorite ever motorcycle is the 1979 FXS Lowrider. It changed my young life when I first saw it. So we will always me mainly Harley builders.”

What inspires you to build such cool customs?

“With me I can only get heavily involved with those things that interest me. Motorcycles set alight my imagination at a very young age and I have spent the decades since utterly captivated by them. To me it’s become a way I can exorcise the frustrated artist in me. I can pour out into a bike the parts and designs that I obsess over and draw on nature and the animal world I love, to create motorcycles that genuinely live in my mind.”

What is your ultimate goal?

“Ultimate goal is to design a range of production motorcycles along with a range of Rocket Bobs parts. But we also need to carry on designing and building custom motorcycles for the big shows as although we have been going nearly ten years now, the fact is we have only just got started and I have basic design briefs noted down and stashed for over 80 motorcycle designs. So it would be nice to drag them into existence!”