Bike Features

I first became aware of this bike’s existence one late afternoon in January of 2006. My good riding buddy, Jerry Gray, called on a Saturday morning asking if I would take a ride with him. I’ll ride anywhere, with almost anyone, at a drop of a hat; but when Jerry calls…I don’t even ask “where […]

Christian Dotson holding the trophy he won in Hollister, 2007.I remember sitting in front of my computer perplexed by the strange and mysterious motorcycle that had appeared on my computer’s 19” flat screen. Beautiful, clean, yet very strange. ”Swingshot”. The first bike ever built by Dotson Design. The picture was followed by a small excerpt

I’ll give the boss a break since young Derek Pauletto, of Trillion Industries, out of Calgary, is such a tech head. We spent a half-hour discussing Plasma cutters and TIG welding before we shifted to his Rovad, one-off motorcycle. The name came from the owner, although he’s not sure he liked Derek’s choice. It’s the

I think she’s got you beat on form, beauty, and for God’s sake, tan! Not long before I started this bike project I was talking with a friend about what a Frisco style chopper was. That got me thinking about back when I was growing up in the bay area. Growing up in Oakland and

This is a rare opportunity. Ralph Randolph of Ralph Randolph Designs and Knockout Motorcycle Company is a friend and a brother, so I can write this article straight up, no bullshit, reporting style. I don’t know what I’m saying, but Ralph is one of those rare individuals you can speak to comfortably and know he

”What the hell?” I shouted. “Watch your mouth,” Dorothy “Troll” Marino, barked from the back of the shop. A hush fell over the 1,600 square foot facility, and I immediately knew who was boss and Grandma to 16 Trolls. From that point on I spoke with deep respect and admiration. I’ll try to explain. I’ve

This is the rear of the bike Mr. Boxell built in his garage. He used a mille, lathe, and a welder. While Bandit is off in Australia humping Kangaroos, I am getting bombarded with rampant e-mails and incessant death threats. Here’s one small example: Dear sir, Bandit is ten times the writer you are. How

I unfold my best English. Lucky enough the young Belgian understands me. We’re in the middle of Belgium’s nowhere on a dusty large cattle-farm far away from towns and villages. I ask him if we could shoot a bike and a girl on his grounds as location. He looks a little puzzled because I’m all

Hey, I you’ll see below, I was inspired to write this Chica story. I ran into the man at a show and told him he had to buy me lunch so I could interview him. I haven’t been able to reach him since. I’ve sent e-mails and left phone messages. I wish I was delivering

Roger Goldammer is no stranger to the world of wild custom bikes. The front of his shop in Kelowna, British Columbia is crammed full with lathes, milling machines and a huge CNC machine. Roger takes his equipment and his work very seriously. He does not follow trends in custom bike building by building the expected

The “W” series 45 cubic inch Harley Flathead motor has been around since 1937. It was very reliable but slow as molasses in January. Decades ago, the legendary Randy Smith came up with the idea of mating the top end of a 900cc Ironhead Sportster to the bullet proof Flatty’s lower end. The result THE

A Pause for a Bit of Brit History… As probably the mostly widely recognized English motorcycle, it helped to have a great name. Triumph motorcycles got that down right in 1886 when the company’s founder, a German immigrant to London, one Siegfried Bettman came up with the name change and began building bicycles. By 1902

The roar of a jet liner filled the phone lines as I attempted to call Ralph Randolph of Knockout Motorcycles. “What the hell?” Ralph said departing his Airbus A320 in Philly after a six-hour flight from Portland. “I need to get to Hooters for some chow. Call me back.” Ralph is a pilot for U.S.

We’ve all heard of the industry legend, the late Indian Larry. In 1993 he hooked up with a group of other bike builders including Paul Cox and opened a shop Psycho Cycles, and then in 2000 Paul and Indian Larry opened their own shop called Gasoline Alley, eventually changing it simply to “Indian Larry.” Joining

Steve “Brew Dude” Garn grew up around Harleys. His father had an old '45 Flat Head as his first bike and still rides almost every day at age 79. Steve inherited the passion from his father and has passed it on to his son Chad. Three generations of bike building in one family may well

I got an e-mail from Bandit saying, ”hey, ya gotta check out Jessica!” Me being the perverted sumbitch I am, gladly obliged by checking the link to the website he gave me. Following the link under galleries labeled “Jessica,” I was a little surprised by the discovery of a chopper, not a girl. Ah Bandit,

Damn, Bandit was blamed for another custom. “It’s the truth,” Mike Marquart said during our interview. “Bandit put together an article in VQ Magazine about Vincent history and styling and it inflamed my memory of the first Vincent Black Shadow I saw in ’76. I had to find one.”Mike has a long history in the

You can bling your car. You can bling your Chihuahua. You can even bling your teeth, so why not bling your bike? Well, we’ve been doing it for a hundred years what with all kinds of nickel and brass then chrome and polished aluminum. And then there’s the paint job where it’s easy enough to

“Hell yes, I’m headed to the Smoke Out West in a couple of weeks,” said Kyle Kurkman. I spoke to him about his Radio Flyer bike, built for his 12-year-old son, this last year. He won best of show at Rips Bad Ride in Socal, so I fortunately had the opportunity to see this sharp

“You’re the storywriter…my story is a common one,” said Dan Bergman from Mesa, Arizona. Bandit gave me the assignment to write this feature, but I wanted to buy a six-pack of Coronas and chase a bubbly blonde named Coral around the shop, while he was picking up parts at Bennett’s Performance in Long Beach. I

Two unique designs from Minnesota’s newest custom bike venue, The Shop. Here at Bikernet.com, we are always looking for new and exciting bikes that are built with one thing in mind; riding. Bandit sent me some info on a couple of bikes built in Minnesota by a relative unknown to the custom motorcycle world, Billy

My amigo, Tom “The German” Steinbacher, of Demon’s Cycle South wanted ta show the world what kinda eye candy ya can build without takin’ out a second mortgage, or drainin’ the crumb snatchers’ college fund, so he bought a used 2005 Sporty, an’ like Phoenix risin’ from the ashes, (Hell, I didn’t even know the

The author and builder, Kevin Brooks. To understand the Bike you must first know the two parties involved, I am The builder and conceiver of its whole, the man who twisted the steel and gave life to its thundering heart, who saw a means to an end, to reach its owner’s, desired results. My history

This is a follow up to the chopper drawing article that was published about a year or so ago. You can find it through this link: http://www.bikernet.com/garage/PageViewer.asp?PageID=778 Jerry Blanks commissioned the drawings from me, in the first article. He owns a carpet company but was interested in starting a new venture called So Cal Hot