There's no shortage of lunatics on Earth. But there definitely seems to be a plethora of them in the great state of Florida, as it certainly seems to churn out more of them than any other state around. Maybe it's something in the water?
Yet, the latest in this long line of insanity from America's, um, panhandle, is something that I'd probably try given the chance. Everyone's favorite wild-eyed mechanics from Grind Hard Plumbing Co. went on down to the Sunshine State to have some fun with a couple of kitted-up Sur-Ron e-bikes.
Now, these aren't your average modified Sur-Rons. No, one's in full drag-spec while the other is the subject of today's story: a Sur-Ron built to waterski.
Here comes dinner, gators!
The bikes were built by GritShift, a small Florida-based shop that specializes in building sick-ass custom e-bikes, Sur-Rons, and UTV parts.
According to the video, the GritShift guys got the idea from a video that Robbie Maddison put out a few years ago where he took his competition dirtbike and modified it to ride some waves. The basic premise of the build was to stick aluminum "skis" on the front and rear tires—which they made from metal bought from Home Depot—and add a sand-type paddle tire to the rear for propulsion and that's about it.
They did a few more modifications to increase the power and torque, too.
What's wild, however, is how well the whole thing works. It just dances across the water like it was nothing. Granted, the water in question is a small canal, and crossing it seems like a pretty short affair from the video. But still, the electric motorcycle just handles it.
That said, they're still some teething issues with the Sur-Ron Ski, as the front tire is said to kick up way too much water toward the internal motors and, even though they're IP67 waterproof, something's getting in and causing some issues.
There's also the shop's dope Sur-Ron drag bike, which they say will hit 60 mph in under 4 seconds and then they drag race a new Corvette Z06. The whole thing looks like those dope Indonesian single-cylinder drag motorcycles, which I still need to write a story on.
Either way, both look hella fun and make me want to try them out.
