46 amcn.com.au
refinement and so little vibration is nothingshy
ofimpressive.
TheBomber’sbrakes remain thesamequartet
of leading-edgeBeringer 230mm aluminum-
ceramic composite f loatingfrontdiscsasonthe
Fighter,doubledup in two pairs grippedbyfour-
piston radialone-piece calipers. Specialsintered
metalpadsareusedtostopthe247kgbike – that’s
with oil and 14 litres of fuel, with a 48/52per cent
weightdistribution.
The brakes work brilliantly from high speed,
especiallyas Confederate has addressed the issue
IhadontheFighterwiththesamebrakepackage.
Theinitialtake-up was way toofierce, even with
the bike’ssubstantialweight,enoughtocause
concern about lockingup the front wheel on a bike
without ABS. But on theBomber I rode,itfeltmuch
improved–helpedbythedifferent choice ofpads.
But, whynoABS?
“Asalame-duckmodel,therewasnopoint in
makingtheinvestmenttodevelop a systemfor
the Bomber,”Chamberssaid.“Butwe’llhaveafull
ABSbrakepackageonthe Curtiss modelsbythe
time theystart production.”
Noquestion about it, Confederatehas savedthe
bestforlast. Fewbikes everbuiltdeliver thesamekindofvisceralthrillyouget from ridingthe FA-13
Bomberhard,asitinvitesyou todoeachtimeyou
stickthekey in theignition.
It’sthebestbikeyetfromtheDixiemanufacturer
–anidealwaytobidafondfarewelltotheArtof
Rebellion – well,withacombustion engine, atleast.
Expensive andclassy, yet muscular andsubstantial,
this is industrial art with a focused purpose.
Confederate motorcycles maybegone, but theywill
neverbeforgotten.
“TheseBomberswe’remakingnowaregoing
tobethelastConfederates,”Chambersoffers.“So
Ithinkofthemasthelastrebels,readytogo out
withabang. American poet E. E. Cummingshadit
right when he wrote‘To be nobody but yourself ina
world which is doingits best, night and day,tomake
you everybodyelse–meanstofight the hardest
battlewhichanyhumanbeing canfight; andnever
stopfighting.’That strugglefor thecauseofanti-
conformityis what we’ve been doingfor the past
25 years with Confederate. But now that battle is
over,andwe must turn our attention to a new war
that’sjustbeginning.”
Indeed so, one fought with new-generation
electrical charge, rather than the old-style but
current internalcombustion....Left:Wonderhowthese’ll
look in 25,000km?
Belowleft:RaceTechshocks
are employedatbothendsf d att FA 13specs
ENGINE
Configuration56.25-degree V-twin
Cylinder headOHV pushrod, two-valve
Capacity 21 63cc
Bore/stroke 111 .7 x 111 .7mm
Compression rati 10. 3 : 1
CoolinggAir/oil
Fuelingg 51 mm throttle bodies, single
injectors,Delphi EFI
Power112kW @ 5100rpm (claimed)
Torque224Nm @ 2000rpm (claimed)
TRANSMISSION
TypeFive-speed, cassette type
ClutchDrymultiplate
Final driveChain
CHASSIS
FramematerialBillet 6061aluminium
FramelayoutTubular/monocoque
Rake27.5 ̊
Trail 1 06mm
SUSPENSION
RaceTech
Front:Aluminiumdouble-wishbone
parallelogramfork, tubular struts,
11 4mmtravel
Rear:Fabricatedaluminium swingarm
with cantilever monoshock; two-speed
compression and rebound adjustment,
13 7mmtravel
WHEELS/TYRES
WheelsBSTcarbon
Front: 19 x 3. 5 Rear: 1 7x 8. 5
TyresPirelli
Front: 120/70ZR19 Night Dragon
Rear: 24 0/45ZR 1 7 Diablo Rosso II
BRAKES
Beringer
Front:Quad 230 mmaluminium-
ceramic discs,four-piston radial
calipers
Rear: Single 240mm disc,
two-piston caliper
DIMENSIONS
Weightt 2 47kg(kerb, claimed)
Seat heightt 736 mm
WidthNot given
HeighttNot given
Wheelbase 1588 mm
Fuel capacity 16 L
PERFORMANCE
Fuel consumptionNot given
Top speedNot given
CONTACT&SALE INFO
TestbikeConfederate Motorcycles
Contactwww.confederate.com
Colour optionsMetallic grey
WarrantyyFive years
Pricee$249,000 (ride away)
AvailabilityNolonger available“I think of them as the last rebels,
ready to go out with a bang”
WHYIT’STHEBOMB
“THE FA-13 COMBATBomber is the ultimate act of
rebellion, that’s also the product of Confederate as a
company,”Chamberssaid.“EveryoneatConfederate
hadahandinit.Weallsatdownasagroupandweall
worked on creating this bike.
“Together, we came up with the whole kind of
militaristic look that’s kind of tough, and aggressive.
It’s a definite ‘f*ck you’ motorcycle! Instead of
anodising the frame like on the handful of black
Fighterswemade,webead-blastedthisone,sothat’swhy it has this really mad, kind of scratchy surface to
it - it really matted out the finish dramatically, to add to
the tough looks of it all.”
But the step up from the Fighter to the Bomber isn’t
soley restricted to form, but function too.
“The weight is a little bit less, around 14kg, but we’ve
also tweaked the engine for extra power. So now it’s
actually very much like the motorcycle we took to the
saltflats–thechangeswemadetotheFighter’sengine
to break the record are the changes contained in the
Bomber–it’sbasicallythesamemotor.”