ROUTINE WAS NOT WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR!

This Flatbed/Bike Combination Is the Latest in a Long Line of Successful Rides

- Words and photos by JOE GREEVES

IF YOU'RE LIKE MOST enthusiasts and serious about your creativity, your ultimate dream is to see your ride featured in a national magazine. Having your talent recognized has to be the ultimate thrill. If you're one of those lucky few to actually have your ride appear in your favorite book, you know that it took the right combination of tools, time, and talent, along with a healthy dose of creativity (and maybe a little luck), before you achieved success. If you are really lucky, however, like Jose Lugo, and have had two of your rides already featured, you know that the next success demands a level of creativity that is even bigger and better than the last. Fortunately, Jose was up to the task, creating this one-of-a-kind ride that is genuinely hard to categorize. We'll give it our best shot, labeling this one a diesel-powered bagged Ford C-800 COE rat rod flatbed, sporting a diesel-powered and bagged rat bike. Whew!

Now that the naming process is done, if you're still trying to figure out the origins of this one-of-a-kind flatbed bike hauler, it started with a Ford C-800 COE cab—a popular commercial offering from Ford that began in 1957 and lasted until 1990. Since the model has been out of production for more than three decades, its vintage lines made it obscure enough to be the perfect start for Jose's crazy one-of-a-kind rat rod COE. Here's how this outrageous build began.