This is a little off the beaten path for this site, but Wired has a nice piece on Chicara Nagata, a Japanese artist who has spent an average of 7,500 hours meticulously hand-crafting each of 13 motorcycles that blend vintage parts and engines with modern design and technology.

Nagata was almost killed at age 16 in a motorcycle accident; he spent eight months undergoing intensive therapy in a hospital. Since that time, he became a graphic artist, and began creating works in honor of those who have died and those who saved his life.

"Nagata hand-crafts everything but the drivetrains," the report said. "The frames, the suspension components, even the throttle assemblies and hand controls are designed and made by Nagata." Currently, three of the motorycles are being shown in an exhibit at New York's Ippodo Gallery and the Contemporary Asian Art Fair, with price tags of $1 million on each one.