Building the Bikes of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Based on Stieg Larsson's global best-seller, the film looks to be just the kind of gritty perfection you'll need to wash the holiday cheer from your mouth. Bike Exif recently chatted with Justin Kell of Glory Motor Works in Los Angeles, the shop responsible for crafting Lisbeth Salander's bikes used in the film. While the studio wanted the anti-heroine to have a modern motorcycle, Kell pushed to give the character a bike a 20-something could actually afford, creating a wicked late '60s Honda CB350 custom for her instead.

Can we get a round of applause for this gentleman?

Kell and Glory Motor Works whipped up a prototype bike to demonstrate to the studio that an older machine could be just as reliable as its newer counterpart, and after getting the go-ahead, the shop had just 30 days to find and build three identical bikes. The crew sourced three low-mile, original CB350s, then stripped and powder-coated every metal part accordingly. New clutches, brakes, wiring harnesses and fasteners were used on all three machines, and each engine was torn down to its bare innards before being cleaned and reassembled.

In order to handle the rigors of movie life, the bikes were also given larger, sealed batteries along with an upgraded charging and starting system.