Tuesday 10.30-18.00
Wednesday 10.30-18.00
Thursday 10.30-21.00
Friday 10.30-17.30
Saturday 10.30-17.30

The Chopperdome

Admiraal de Ruyterweg 346
1055 NA Amsterdam

+31 (0)20 774 3396

Saturdaynight at the movies

As a fan of Star Wars, the name for this new project was easily chosen. De Basman will come in “Bobber Chopper” style with fat tires and the association was made; the Basman Bobber Feth was born.

We stripped a Basman 100 classic and started working on the idea that was taken into account when the Basman was first produced. The rear fork is wide enough for a 80mm or 100mm rim and by using an offset sprocket, enough space remains for the chain. The rims were already in stock and eventually, we also found the right tires.

Early spring 

The first test model is built and tested severely; a lot of miles are made, sometimes off road, such as happened at the Wasaga cruise 2007, where we cruised on the beach for half an hour. The extra fat 24 x 4 ¼ monster tires proved to be the right choice.

Since this chopper is a delight to ride on asphalted roads, it is sometimes hard to grab another bike. It also works on dirt roads: a Hummer cruiser.

The design

In order to present the bike as we had in mind for the TT class at the FBI 2007, we needed to make the association with film. On a Sunday morning, we cruised through town and stopped at the Tuschinski cinema. This Art deco / Jugendstil building contains a treasure of decorated ceilings with the most beautiful old school flames and licking tongues that you can imagine.

The colours and decoration seen in the theatre formed the inspiration for the paintjob. We wanted to create a film in the rim which reminds you of the early spinning cylinders that would display sequences of still pictures in order to produce the illusion of motion. The idea was discussed with the boys from Custom Painting Amsterdam. Little time left to finish before the FBI…

The rims, made by E1, arrived in time together with the frame.
We start with a relatively simple build-up, no fancy parts. Of course, some new parts are introduced, such as the extra wide fork. It is no problem to fit a 80mm or 100mm with 4’’ tires in a Basman frame. The fork and hub are 346 projects. The bike is presented as a display of the 346 Basman choppermodel, which is now in production and is expected summer 2008. Now already shown at the FBI part VI.

Some background information on Tuschinski Source: Wikipedia.

The Building
Pathé Tuschinski is a movie theater in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, originally exploited by Abraham Icek Tuschinski, who had it built in 1921 at a cost of 4 million guilders, in a spectacular mix of styles, as designed by Hijman Louis de Jong; Amsterdam School, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The main auditorium is usually the one in which movies premiere in the Netherlands.
The front, with its own style of Art Deco with oriental influences, was designed to help people get a feeling that they were being led into an illusion. The main auditorium was originally not designed just as a movie theatre and still has a stage and organ, on which performances are still given.
The theatre was not only special in terms of architecture and decoration, but also electrotechnically, with revolutionary heating and ventilation, which kept the temperature even throughout the building.
From 1998 to 2002 the whole theatre was renovated in its original style. At this time it was also expanded, with a new modern looking wing that is connected to the old building via a corridor. The new wing added 3 extra auditoria to the theatre.
The cinema has been designed as an imposing building, with a big entry, an imposing Art Deco façade and two towers on both sides, rising above the neighborhood. The interiors, designed by Pieter den Besten and Jaap Gidding were very Art Deco, with strong Jugendstil influences, just as the investor wanted it to have. The main foyer was imposing, plush, somber, lit by big yellow Art Deco lamps. The walls are from covered by carvings in dark wood, glazed tiles and bronze elements.
The huge main Tuschinski auditorium had an allure of an opera, with two big balconies one above the other, hanging above the audience. It had originally 1200 seats. In the side rooms, a cabaret named La Gaité, a Japanese tea room, a Moorish suite were located. Several smaller suites on higher floors were built. An elegant lift was taking the guests upstairs. The corridors of Tuschinski were built were not only to connect the various auditoria. Their labyrinth was meant to offer its guest the privacy. The cinema had a modern ventilation and heating system maintaining the same temperature throughout the whole building. In 1936, the cinema has been thoroughly renovated. The beautiful 2-inch thick woolen carpet in striking colors dates from this time.