Roland Sands Design and Tony Hawk Craft Custom 2011 Triumph Scrambler for Charity
- Nov 30, 2011
In a mere six years Roland Sands Design (RSD) has positioned himself as a leader in the distinctive design of motorcycles, motorcycle parts and apparel. Sands' roots in design and racing have proven to be the ideal combination for creating functional, aggressive, well-rounded and aesthetically pleasing designs and custom bikes. "We build what we like and we hope you like it as well," remarks Sands. To date the RSD fleet of custom motorcycles has been featured in over 450 magazine articles world-wide and over 100 magazine covers. Sand attends and is a huge draw at most major American motorcycle rallies and events year round, as well as multiple International shows. However, what separates Sands further from other customizers is not just his inimitable vision; it's his willingness to use his powers for good, as a means to give back. "We've worked with many charities in recent years," says Sands, "and we have generated over 300K for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, 60K for the Tony Hawk Foundation, 40K for Kids and Chrome, and we have many other charity projects currently in the works."
Recently Sands and Tony Hawk joined forces once again to create a one-of-a-kind custom motorcycle to be auctioned off at the 8th Annual Tony Hawk: DaGeDar Presents Stand Up For Skateparks benefit hosted by the Tony Hawk Foundation in Beverly Hills. Hawk and other top skaters and BMX athletes, including Shaun White, Mat Hoffman, Bucky Lasek, Mitchie Brusco, and Lincoln Ueda performed a Vert Demo on Hawk's personal ramp. The bike auctioned off for $32,500 while the entire benefit raised $755,000 for the Tony Hawk Foundation's mission to build free public skateparks in low-income areas. Triumph provided a modern day version of their legendary 2011 Scrambler 900 for the build, RSD then re-worked and upgraded the classically designed motorcycle, giving it a unique aesthetic worthy of both the Hawk and Sands brand. "I've always been a skateboarder and a fan of the sport so when a mutual friend connected us (Tony Hawk) it was a natural progression from talking about helping to actually doing it," Sands told K&N News. "The Hawk foundation is a great example of how people can directly help their local communities by providing recreation for under privileged youth. It seems the government routinely fails at doing this and the Hawk Foundation has had great success, so it's been an amazing project with great benefits." The foundation's goals are to aid low income communities in building skate parks where they normally would not be funded or built. "Skate parks are often overlooked as recreation," adds Sands, "but today there are more kids interested in skating than ever before. These parks give young people a safe place to have fun and exercise with their friends and build confidence." Sands explains that Hawk relied almost entirely on his vision to create the Hawkized Triumph, adding "Tony didn't get too heavy into the building. He tends to stick to four wheels bolted to a wooden plank most of the time. We worked back and forth on the design and paint though, and he made the final design call. He really liked the last one we did together, the red Thruxton." How did the connection between the Hawkized Triumph and K&N come about? "At RSD we use K&N filters on all our bikes, so it was an easy pairing with the Hawk Triumphs," said Sands. "Bikes need air and nobody delivers it more efficiently than K&N." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
