Russian Motor-Head Creates Perfect Life-Size Motorcycle Out of Wood

Yuri Hvtisishvili, a carpenter from Russia, has created an astoundingly perfect wooden replica of the legendary IZH-49 Soviet motorcycle. The life-size model is so realistic that you’d expect him to mount it and take off at any moment.

The idea for the project came to Yuri earlier this year, when business was slow at the carpentry shop where he works. He wanted to attempt something new and different, and that’s when he remembered something he saw on the internet – a master carpenter who had made full-scale models of motorcycles from wood. The idea inspired him, so he decided to replicate his favorite Russian motorcycle, the IZH-49.

Yuri started to work on the project on January 18; it was the perfect activity to pass his time during the long winter evenings. He patiently carved out the motorcycle one part at a time, down to the last nut and bolt. He made use of two types of wood – beech and pine – mainly for the way they complement each other. Four months later, on May 18, the hyperrealistic motorcycle was completed.

It’s amazing how Yuri managed to get everything right – the bike seat, the tank, the headlamp and especially the tyres look like the real thing, even though it’s made exclusively of wood. When he published pictures of his finished work on the Russian social networking website ‘Vkontakte’, they immediately went viral. People raved about his superior carving skills and praising the realistic look of his wooden motorcycle.