Has the great American motorcycle run out of gas? It seems the ride of choice for Dylan and McQueen has been left in the dust by nasal-sounding racers — crotch rockets, affectionately — or Frankenstein monster choppers, as seen on reality TV. To prevent the hog from going extinct, in 2001 Donald Atchison and wife, Wendy, founded the Denver-based Ecosse Moto Works, and their signature Heretic model may be the greatest thing on two wheels since Harley met Davidson. A mechanical engineer and lifetime cycle rider, Donald knows that the joy of a Sunday drive derives not from killer speeds but from massive torque. "I wanted the bike to give you whiplash between stoplights," he says. By dropping the rpms while maintaining horsepower, the Heretic explodes from zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds, on its way to 150 mph. For this exclusive Men's Vogue motorcycle, he gave the aluminum engine and transmission a sturdy matte finish, added red and gold pearl accents to the chassis, and threw in dual titanium mufflers. There's no shoddy fiberglass or kitschy chrome to obscure this bike's sculptured, mechanized heart. It's not aerodynamic, but then Donald prefers a thrill chase to a police chase: "This is a way to have an extreme amount of fun at legal speeds."

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