Former Confederate Motors designer wants $500k to build three LSR bikes, document the process

Out of the workshop of Birmingham, Alabama-based Confederate Motors has rolled several revolutionary bikes. JT Nesbitt designed the G2 Hellcat and the Wraith, two of the company's first models. Made of aircraft aluminum and carbon fiber, the $100,000 Wraith set a top speed record of 166.45 mph in its class at Bonneville in 2008. And now, Nesbitt has left Confederate to start his own company, Bienville Studios in New Orleans, to work on automotive projects. But he still likes motorcycles.

Nesbitt believes as much in the craftsmanship of a bike as he does the mechanics and engineering. Which made him a perfect fit for a Kickstarter project with Manifest Digital, a Chicago graphic design firm.

The goal of the Bienville Legacy Kickstarter project is to raise $500,000 in one month to fund the no-holds-barred creation of three record-setting bikes. Once the funds are booked, Nesbitt will begin putting together the bike you see above using only the highest grade aluminum, titanium, chrome-moly and carbon fiber. Without worrying about costs, profit margins, investors, hard-to-please customers and a bad economy, the team will be free to experiment however necessary to, as Nesbitt says in the video, create "... the fastest f***ing motorcycle ever built in this country."

Exotic materials will lend the bike lightness, while the power will come from a Motus 100 cubic-inch, 160-horsepower V4. As a side note, Motus, also located in Birmingham, was co-founded by another Confederate designer, Brian Case.

The $500k will also pay for "Tempus Veritas Revelat" (Time Reveals Truth), a documentary being shot of the bike build as well as for taking the three bikes to Bonneville for the attempts to break land speed records in three different classes.

A Kickstarter pledge of $15 or more will get investors a free download of the finished documentary. Several pledge levels above that, at $10,000, is a choice of two packages. First is the opportunity for you and 12 of your friends to work with the build team to create the bikes in New Orleans. Your other choice is a "long weekend" apprenticeship and permission to take a bike out for a ride.

Interested? Might want to hurry. The Kickstarter project has a long way before reaching its $500k goal, but its pledge window closes Oct. 22. Check out the project's video by scrolling down, then if you're interested, head over to Kickstarter.