Larry Desmedt, 55; Motorcycle Builder Featured on Cable

Larry Desmedt, 55, a New York City-based motorcycle builder known for his appearances on cable TV’s Discovery Channel, died Monday in Charlotte, N.C., of injuries suffered during a stunt.

Desmedt, better known as “Indian Larry” for the classic brand of motorcycle he once rode, fell off a moving motorcycle Aug. 28 while performing before 8,000 people at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center in Concord as part of the Liquid Steel Classic and Custom Bike Series.

Desmedt was wearing a protective suit but not a helmet. He was standing on his bike as he went down a parking lot when the bike began to wobble. Desmedt fell and hit his head.

Born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., Desmedt went to California as a young man and worked as an apprentice to custom hot-rod builder Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. He was later a subject of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Desmedt appeared in movies and television shows, once riding his motorcycle through a wall of flame on “The Late Show With David Letterman.” He had been featured recently on the Discovery Channel’s Bike Build-Off series, in which well-known motorcycle builders design and build bikes from scratch, which are then judged by motorcycle aficionados.