Confederate G2 P51 Fighter

There are as many body types of motorcycles as breeds of dog; big ones and small ones, low and tall, the rat hunters and the beast-slayers. The metaphor comes to mind with the latest from Confederate, the G2 P51 Combat Fighter, a bulldog of epic proportions. It's stoutly built, exuding a muscular power; an all-dude machine, the Rambo of motorcycles. Like that steroidal action hero, Confederate's punchy prose is ideologically confusing; "For a quarter of a century, we have executed against a clear and transparent vision; create the metaphor for American rebellion in the form of the motorcycle. We know that the rebel says No; No to stasis, what is established, what is known to be true and which is not, corruption, poverty, red tape, deceit, dishonesty, greed, and power. We know that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Neatly contradicting itself, the Fighter is also described as "absolute power. It is pure irony in the palm of your right hand." Indeed.

Like the earlier Fighters, the P51 relies on a massive aluminum tube for a spine frame, which doubles as the fuel tank, featuring transparent portholes for both gas and oil on the sides. Unlike earlier models, the P51 sheds the visually awkward tubes used for its girder forks, and relies instead on massive billet girders, carved like the rest of the chassis from solid 6061 aluminum alloy. The P51 is better integrated visually than previous Fighters, with the beveled leading edges of the forks echoed in the lower frame supports and swingarm assembly. It sheds a few previously odd styling cues in favor of an integrated aesthetic, which hones its message of pure machismo, making an ordinary American V-twin look like the spare-tired, middle-aged gents who typically ride them.

The engine puts out a claimed 200-plus-hp (with a 500-pound claimed weight), making possible burnouts of considerable “sound and fury,” to quote Shakespeare, although that’s best expressed in straight lines, as the enormous 240mm rear tire won’t help much around bends. Having blasted a Wraith around the “no motorcycles allowed” 17-Mile drive in Pebble Beach (in a rare moment when motorcycles were allowed), taking it up to 80 mph in quick bursts and cranking it through the Cypress-lined bends, I can confirm the mighty beast was a pig in corners. But the Confederate did what it was designed to do, attracting more pedestrian attention than any motorcycle I’ve ever straddled, with an awesome power delivery and exhaust note, plus that unique aesthetic.

In the past few years, Confederate has invested time at Bonneville, clocking a peak speed of 176 mph last year, in a rare dry moment on the-now vanishing salt pan. While they describe "foreign" horsepower as "goo from a tube," such goo is apparently good stuff, as a 200-hp 2.0-liter engine might be expected to clock a bit more speed from other factories…but I reckon no other American production motorcycle comes close. Well, maybe an EBR 1190 RX, since they are back in biz. An edition of 61 G2 P51s is planned, half in black and half raw aluminum. If you, too, are a rebel with a confusing ideology, have $113,000-plus to spend on proving it, and like pumping your irony in public, there's a factory in Alabama waiting to hear from you.