This is one of the best board track configurations I’ve seen to date. In some respects the colors are ’90s Cadillac, yet it’s true to board trackers from the ’20s without fenders and pipes so short they’d fry the pavement. “The color came from a ’30s hot rod,” Ralph Randolph said. “It’s pure art deco earth tones, sprayed with modern metallics.” That’s about as far as the true aspect applies to the board track racers of the original era. I’ve known Ralph Randolph for a few years. I’ve watched his company struggle, yet the man never stopped creating killer customs. “I was building three customs for Sturgis that year,” he said. “We faced tremendous time constraints.”

As many of you know, he’s got a day job as an airline captain, but he’s been a biker since he was a kid and rolled through every aspect of being a biker from joining a club to riding across country and building several bike configurations from the ground up. He ran strip clubs, owns a bail bonds joint, threatens to build a restaurant/nightclub and recently produced a television show. He’s definitely an A-type personality. He’s fought the ups and downs of our industry, grappled with the title of his company and a deal with a major toy manufacturer. He’s enjoyed major opportunities and several setbacks, but he keeps moving ahead, because he loves building bikes, creating parts and facing challenges.

His demeanor is non-stop but his artistic side is all traditional rider style, except for this bike. His customs are mostly hot rod, bobber, classic, easy to ride bar-hopping scooters. This bike falls outside the everyday rider but has some historic significance.

“I sat across from Rick Krost, the Board Track Chassis designer, in Laughlin in 2004,” Ralph said. “I couldn’t leave without buying that frame.”

Here’s the bike Ralph created for the Air Force fund raising effort.

He just recently completed a daily rider around a stock Softail, but also with historic overtones for the United States Commemorative Air Force as a fund raising effort. A new television show revolves around this build and the bike will be on tour at air shows this season to raise funds. We will bring you reports on the show as the producers find a home. But this bike also demonstrates that Ralph and his team don’t just build parts and Knockout Motorcycles. Their shop is full service and they work on anything from Softails to Sportsters.

But let’s jump back to this Board Tracker, which I would love to own. It’s a classic, with a chassis designed and built by Rick Krost of U.S. Choppers. Rick’s board track frames are now built by Paughco and a new version of a traditional spindly framed scooter from the ’20s was just released in Cincy at the V-Twin show this year. I’ve witnessed a few board track builds, and although they’re not considered everyday riders, they contain an exciting element of historic racing like nothing on this planet.

It may seem crazy to build a bike you can’t hardly ride, has no fenders and a riding position reminiscent of the board track racers of the teens and ’20s. They didn’t have brakes and some didn’t have exhaust pipes at all. They thundered around wooden tracks swelling with dagger-like splinters, spewing flames out exhaust ports and oil, through constant loss systems, lubricating the already slippery tracks. Through this brief era of motorcycling history riders aboard bicycle-like structured frames, peeled out of control into crowds killing several on-lookers, who were leaning on wooden fences. They were 100 mph bombs flying around the tracks on thin frames with narrow wheels, piano wire spokes and thin rubber tires.

This is Otto Walker racing on the beach in Daytona.

Ah, but what the hell. Life is short, and now these original racers are worth over $250,000 for the right vintage and most over $100,000, even if it never saw a track. Fred Lange specializes in pre-1915 pieced together restorations, often starting with only an engine (805) 937-4972, and Don Whalen only deals in the originals, often with documentation, trophies and proof of racing history (626) 358-9696. But Rick and Ralph offer a fun way to capture a chunk of our history, and still ride it, although maybe not very far.

Here’s the real thing on boards.

Ralph is the driving force behind all of his business entities, plus he’s the artist, the fabricator and illustrator. He hand built the aluminum tanks, the two-piece bars, the mid controls and the seat suspension system.

Ray Creviston aboard a board tracker Excelsior-Henderson. Look at that wood behind him.

“The bars are held in place with dowel pins under the trees and bolts from the top,” Ralph said. “They won’t turn. I attempted to make this bike as minimal as possible and sometimes that’s the toughest aspect to any build.”

At his back is Kenny Lucas, his motorman, wiring expert and assembler. “He can build an engine is two hours,” Ralph said. “It would take me all day. He understands that each motorcycle has a soul. That’s why we ran clear oil lines to enhance the living aspect of this racer’s veins.”

This is one of Ralph’s products, the cushioned solo system.

Ralph is currently working with his producers to splash his Commemorative Air Force show series on cable television while finishing a bike for Daytona Rat’s Hole Show. “It’s another board track racer with all modern components,” Ralph said. “It will have a solid billet front end, billet controls, pegs and the wheels are wild and matching with a 20/280 rear and a 23/3.5 front. I’m calling it the Rat Rocket.”

Next he will start designing a build for another Television effort, the Chopper Challenge, with nine other builders around the country, including Scott Long. “They begin the shooting at Knockout Motorcycles during Arizona Bike Week.”

The man behind knockout, Ralph Randolph.

There you have it, one non-stop individual, who is a rider and builds bikes and parts to be used and abused. We will bring you additional reports on his new projects and new products as they come together.

</centerROCKEM ROCKETBOARDTRACK RACER EXTREME SPEC SHEETOWNER:FOR SALE …it could be yours!!!
YEAR:2006 ROCKEM & SOCKEM
MODEL:ROCKEM ROCKET
FABRICATION:RALPH RANDOLPH & KEN LUCAS
ASSEMBLY:RALPH RANDOLPH & KEN LUCAS
PAINT:AJ’S CUSTOMS
COLOR:IVORY PEARL w/ TURNED SILVER LEAF

ENGINE BUILDER:RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS – KEN LUCAS

ENGINE SPECS:

YEAR / MODEL:2006 EVOLUTION
DISPLACEMENT:96”
IGNITION:MORRIS MAGNETO
CASES:S&S – POLISHED

HEADS:S&S – POWDERCOATED
CAM:S&S – 561
CYLINDERS:S&S – POWDERCOATED
PISTONS:KEITH BLACK (10.5:1)
CARB:S&S – SUPER “E”
AIR CLEANER:VELOCITY STACK
EXHAUST:RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS – SIGNATURE SERIES

TRANSMISSION:

MODEL:REVTECH 4 SPEED w/ KICKER
KICK PEDAL:RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS – SIGNATURE SERIES

PRIMARY:1.5” OPEN BELT

FORKS:

TYPE: GIRDER, INDIAN STYLE
MAKE: KIWI

FRAME:

YEAR / MODEL:2006 U.S CHOPPERS
RAKE:30 DEGREES
BACKBONE:0” STRETCH
DOWNTUBE:0” STRETCH
MID CONTROLS:RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS – SIGNATURE SERIES
POWDERCOAT:VALLEY INDUSTRIAL PAINTING

BODY WORK:

TANK (OIL/GAS):RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS (SPLIT STYLE)
REAR FENDER:NONE
FRONT FENDER:NONE

OTHER STUFF:

SEAT PAN:RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS – SIGNATURE SERIES
HAND CONTROLS:OLD SCHOOL
MIRRORS:NONE

HANDLEBARS:RALPH RANDOLPH DESIGNS – SIGNATURE SERIES
HEADLIGHT:NONE
TAIL LIGHT:NONE
SEAT COVER:MESA CHOPPERS & RODS

WHEELS, BRAKES, and TYRES:

WHEELS: EXTREME MACHINE – 23” FRONT & REAR
TYRES: AVON VENOM 130/60R23 – DOT APPROVED

BRAKE: EXILE CYCLES (SPROCKET / ROTOR) – REAR ONLY

SPECIAL THANKS:

EXTREME MACHINE WHEELS – ROBERT LEE
AVON TYRES – SUKOSHI & JOHN
U.S. CHOPPERS – RICK KROST
HEAD WATERJET – CUSTOM PARTS / JOHN HARVEY
GEC ENGINEERING – MACHINING WORK / CHRIS NICOLLS
PRO POLISHING – SAM BARRON

NOTE:

THIS BIKE PLACED 26th OUT OF 150+ BIKES ENTERED AT THE AMD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OF BIKE BUILDING (STURGIS 2006 – OPEN CLASS)

A picture of a Danny Franssen designed Bobber built on an Evolution Softail.

I must confess to a horrible sickness I have been afflicted with since I was a small child. It seems there is no cure, and I am hopelessly doomed to die suffering from the incredible malady that currently has no medical cure. I am addicted to motorcycles.

It seems no matter what I am doing, besides sex, I have some sort of bike on my mind. I can’t explain it, but I just seem to constantly search for all information concerning bikes; I never get tired of it. Thousands of magazines, e-zines, catalogs, and brochures line my garage and computer. My wife is ready to throw me out, but I don’t care, I love motorcycles…particularly Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

One of Danny’s early transformations. He tried making Softails resemble the rigids they were designed after.

Part of my obsession is an unstoppable desire to read every page of material I can find on Softails, Bobbers, and Sportsters; basically my favorite bikes. Besides scouring through magazines and books, I am also a scavenger of the forum boards. Always looking for fresh ideas, searching for new bikes, my mission to find the coolest bike never seems to end. Recently, I came across a board called Jockeyjournal.com, and I found a treasure chest of information on Softail bobbers, the kind Harley only wished they would have designed. I was introduced to Danny Franssen.

Danny riding aboard one of his creations.

I saw his Softails on a thread that had 29 pages in it! As I browsed through the pics, it was apparent this guy had some serious skills as well as an eye for design; besides that, his bikes looked like something I’d want to ride! From the threads, I saw he was a friend of Tim Conder, we know him as The Conderosa.

I asked Mr. Ball if he had ever seen these bikes and wondered if he’d want to do a feature on a couple. Not easily impressed, Bandit classified these as “bitchin rides”, but he was concerned with the possibility of the seats hitting the fender and wished to consult with Wrench on the whole deal.

Wrench’s reply was classic:
Danny mounts his seats rigid. It’s a Softail, no need for a sprung seat.

Danny’s design calls for the seat to be mounted onto two studs which can be drilled and tapped into the back of the frame, above the swingarm. He uses the springs as covers sitting over the support posts, just for looks.

Rigid mounted seats? So the springs were just a faux paus? I decided to get a solo saddle for my bike because I was really bugging out about the way Danny made his bikes look. I was determined to make my Springer look like one of these modern bobbers.

I sent Bandit an e-mail asking his advice about putting a spring seat on a Softail so it would emulate a Danny F.-styled bobber. He replied:
“I used one of those seats on my 48 Panhead, rigid-mounted, no-springs, and rode it for 12 years. Then again, I’m not a pussy.”

So the gauntlet was thrown, and it became apparent that Softails with spring seats are uber-gay…or at least metrosexual.

I contacted Danny himself to get the inside scoop and to have a few answers to my questions about these Softail Bobbers. I quickly found out he does mount the seats rigid(see the drawing). The seat does not touch rear fender when going into bumps. When he is making the install, he checks the clearance with his own tried-and-true method. He sets the bike onto blocks in the rear, removes the shocks, and then lifts the rear wheel all the way up to the rubber bump-out studs. He suggests on putting a wooden block under the wheel so it stays into that position, then you can determine how high or how far to the front you need to mount the seat so the fender won’t touch the seat in any circumstances. Sometimes he’ll also cut out the front of the fender and rework it into a different shape. This helps give it a bit more clearance, but that’s just on rare occasions. Fabrication time on a complete custom (bobber) job starting from a standard Softail is about 3 months or so. It depends on how far you want to go, such as moving the rear disc to the pulley side, etc.

You will notice he kept the struts attached to this one.

After reading his detailed description and checking out his beautiful bikes, I had to get to know some more about this guy. It was obvious to me he wasn’t the average “shadetree mechanic”. I learned he is located in Genk, Belgium, and works at a worldwide express service on weekend night shifts. In the past, he had written articles about custom bikes in the Dutch/Belgian “Bigtwin” magazine for 7 years, but had to set that aside as time eventually became a commodity he no longer had. (I understand completely) Besides the bikes and express deliveries, he also dabbles in T-Shirt designs, tattoo designs, as well as designing custom parts for choppers/bobbers, etc.

A Heritage Softail with Danny F. style and flair.

Like most of us, he started reading the magazines at the ripe age of 12. He started reading Street Chopper, Easyriders, Iron Horse, Supercycle magazines that his older cousin Charly left behind in the toilet cabin. From that time on, everything was focused on choppers, and he knew one day he wanted to build a Harley Panhead Chopper; for sure and certain !

With some earned money from “vacation work” he bought himself a 1963 Panhead (ex Belgian Police bike) and from there on he describes it as an “out of control hobby”. He doesn’t have a business, just a little work-shack where he builds bikes mostly for himself. He sells them when he has a new idea in mind.

16 and a whole life ahead of himself.

He started helping his buddies on their bikes but changed directions as the guys started to get older, so did his customers. Most guys were older and they needed a bit more comfort then a hardtail bike. They gave him “carte blanche” most of the time; not budget-wise, but styling wise! According to Danny, “Customizing a Softail to make it look as close to a hardtailed bike is fun doing..it’s a bit more challenging and it involves a bit more fabrication against a hardtail bobber so to speak. I also try to use as much stock parts and give them a different twist..in a funny way sometimes,(with a wink)”.

Since his 16th birthday, Danny has built about 20 hardtails from the ground up and the last 12 years he has customized about 12 Softail based bikes.

One of his older designs he created out of a “parts-bin” bike.

He says,” I heard before that my bikes have a typical DF style every time. One of my trademarks obviously (that’s what they say.) is also the use of just one bag on the left side of the bikes. I have been in a bunch of magazines over the years, but the highlight of my “private hobby guy in the shack” building career was the invitation of the 3 “Art of the Harley” shows. London, Liverpool and Stockholm, each show took place during 3 months in museums and art galleries. I was the only private builder (with my Hot Rod trike) between Arlen Ness, Rick Doss, Cyril Huze, Bob Dron, Battistinis, Richard Taylor, Nic Chauvin, etc. An experience I will soon never to forget.”

“I also moved to California (Lake Arrowhead) in ’92-’93…needed sunshine badly… ha! Did a few bikes there…but my rent was going up and I decided to return back to Belgium.Over there (the USA), at that time…most guys looked strangely to me when I de-chromed a lot of parts and had them painted instead. I guess that was too early for most Americans back then, ha !”

Danny, thanks for the time and interview. I think these bikes are fantastic and the attention to detail while going your own way makes the bikes even more spectacular. We here at Bikernet look forward to the next Danny Frassen creation…including my evil little bobber to be completed shortly.

Until next time…

After writing this story, I found a solo seat off e-bay for 40 bucks and rigid mounted it to my Softail. Being an EFI model, I decided to relocate my ECM module to the toolbox on the right side. Because of the heat of the plasma cutter we utilized in opening the back of the toolbox, I am now using trusty bungee cords to hold the box together until I can buy a new barrel lock for it. The ride is fantastic, and I think it gives the bike a look unlike anything else out there.