Kickstarter is great for people with a brilliant idea or an innovative solution that is hard to find backers for, projects that need investment to get tooling, machining or prototyping done. What he's doing is getting other people to buy batch-made bikes from Sycip, Ventana or whoever at an inflated rate over the retail for what - a different decal.
Why not cut out the middle man, who isn't really adding anything special to the mix having been out of the bike industry for over a decade and is now offering a generic bike at a huge price, and go straight to the custom builder who will build a bespoke bike and who deserves the custom?
If he wants to get Fat Chance back up and running again then do what other builders do and dig out the torch and earn that $2500 rather than sell someone else work as his own.