Porsche’s 911 or Neunelfer is one of the most iconic automobiles of the twentieth century. You don’t even have to like cars to recognise it, but if someone mentions ‘Porsche’, the early 60s air-cooled, rear-engined Classic would be the one that springs to mind. A recent frame by Yorkshireman Ricky Feather pays homage to a certain 911, customised by Magnus Walker, an LA-based designer and passionate Porsche restorer.

If you’re not aware of Magnus Walker, go and watch Urban Outlaw, then come back and read this. I spotted this on the Feather Cycles Instagram feed and managed to track down the owner, Simon Hillier, for more information: “I started following Ricky via his blog ever since seeing his work at the inaugural Bespoked bike show. I went the second year to meet him with the hope of having a brief chat and getting in his queue. The third show in March this year, I went and collected the bike.

“Having owned the bike a little over six months I can honestly say this is either one I will pass on to my kids or it will be buried with me. Ricky was so cool to deal with, a true artist and amazing craftsman. Having spent a Saturday afternoon in his workshop I could see how hard he works. We spent a good while chatting about how I would like the bike to ride and also that I wanted it to be in contrast to another bike of mine so that it would be a ‘continental’ style, all-day bike for long hard rides.

“After that I really only exchanged a handful of emails with Ricky leaving him to get on with things. It wasn’t until the very end of the build that we decided to go with the paint of a very cool 1968 Porsche 911R which had been refurbished and built by Magnus Walker after seeing the car in the documentary, Urban Outlaw, which was released about the same time. I know the pin-striping caused Ricky’s painter a few headaches, especially on the mudguards which I have only recently fitted.

“The bike has been built using Richard Sachs’ ‘Nuovo Richie’ stainless lugs which Ricky has hand carved, installing additional windows and shaping them to remove a few of the tangs. He also built the stem and set the brakes at a perfect height to be able to use the standard-drop Campagnolo brakes with mudguards, not something you get from an off-the-peg bike. I built the wheels using Royce hubs, the amazing Royce quick release skewers and H Plus Sons Archetype Rims.

“Ricky spent about a day machining the top caps for the seat stays so that the louvres on the rear deck lid on the car could be reflected in the bike somehow, a very cool addition. Such a small part, but an idea of the details that Ricky agonises over in his unheated shed on a farm just outside of York.” Melbourne’s leather couturier, Busyman Bicycle’s Mick Peel, supplied the reupholstered saddle and bar tape, and did an amazing job of matching the pinstriping through the perforation.

Massive thanks to Simon Hillier for the photos and story. Contact Ricky Feather via his website.