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Departure Bike Works on Hull Street in Richmond, Virginia recently celebrated their 33rd birthday. Lee and Brenda Clemens have lived by the Code of The West (so they're in the South), and the Chopper code for over three decades. They’ve built a family within the shop, a family of customers on the outside and a […]

This is how you can finish a seat using one of my PANS FOR LIFE pans (PFL) First Thing is to cut the center out to fit the inner edge of a PFL pan. Tracing:Next step is to lay the leather on the PFL and tape it in place. Next step is to trace the

Can I get you a beer before you start reading?Bandit,Been reading your shit almost as long as you have beenwriting it. Decided to build another bike, so Idismantled my daily commuter. It’s a '97 Buell M/2cyclone, probably one of the most RIDEABLE cycles to reside in my garage in 40 years of riding. I guess

Built and photographed by Cyril Huze. One of the Ten Commandments of custom bike building is “Keep it Clean,” an overall philosophy that also figures into the design concept that greatness is in the details. Another commandment is “Keep it Functional.” Both concepts are well apparent in the internal handlebar controls offered by Custom Cycle

This is the Big One, my first tech tip on Bikernet. In the process we got to add more chrome to Bandit’s Road King, that he’s worked so hard to blackout. This product was so straight forword, I’ll just jump into what you need to get the job done. Dish Soap Needle Nose Pliers 13/32

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil Pay attention, guys.Recently we received the following letter and immediately followed up. “We have developed a Gerotor oil pump that bolts right onto evolution engines,” Bret Barker said, “to give them twin cam style oiling. We have just run it on our test bench atthe shop. We are getting

The Halibrand Special by Conder CustomIt started life as a 2006 Softail Springer with the 200mm back tire, provided by House of Thunder Harley-Davidson in Morgan Hill CA. Outfitted with the first set of Conder/Halibrand Hot Rod wheel adapter hubs and Halibrand Sprint wheels.17×6 rear and 17×5 front, chevy bolt pattern. Sheetmetal, bracketry, overall modification,

Just before rolling out and leaving for Sturgis I check my plugs in the only stock item left on the 93-inch House of Horsepower/S&S hot rod Shovelhead—the early heads. Unfortunately every time I attempted to unscrew the short reach plugs the threads and heli-coil came with them. I rode to Sturgis without ever checking the

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil Well it all started as a little whisper from the Devil, “You need to see this new 5-speed kicker that bandit has, It’s from Germany.” ”Hmmmm,” says I, a kicker for the chop. I’ve been toying with the idea for the past couple of years, but I haven’t heard

The famous Dewey “Yellin’” Jelen. He’s a big Mo Fo.A few months back, I was sitting at the computer when I noticed an e-mail from The Bandit. I blindly opened it expecting nothing more than a “Hey, where you at kid?”What I got was a little more peculiar.“Hey kid, write a feature on a buddy

You never know what snippets of gold you might come across when you're snooping around your local bike shops. I was wandering around “Rollies Speed Shop” in Brisbane ( well known to Queensland bikers) about a month ago and there they were, four volumes of “Easyriders Tech Tips & Tricks”. I couldn't believe it, man

Illustration by David Mann.Many people have asked and seem stuck with the problemthat the spool hub wheels are only available for 5/8-inchaxles. There is a fairly quick and easy way to solvethis problem. The short answer is: 1. Replace 5/8-inchbearings with ¾-inch axle bearings. 2. Replace 5/8-inch center bearing support sleeve with new one of

This is a US Chopper Trike. Tripod Trike KitsStandard and chopper trikes are here. http://trikekits.tripod.comEditor’s Note:Bikernet receives regular questions regarding bikes for disabled riders due to accidents (whether on motorcycles, on the job or in cars), or natural disabilities. Jaqhama, one of our esteemed Australian correspondents responded (volunteered). He should have known better. I asked

The real Bobbers from the ‘40s from Bob T.Scott Long and Darin Morris, Central Coast Cycles, Inc. of Santa Cruz, CA shared their gas tank building experience with Jeff Najar of Horsepower Marketing.Many motorcycle builders regard the gas tank as the center piece of a custom motorcycle. It’s crucial to the style of the motorcycle

I know we been missing in action. We’re just trying to work things out. I guess we're our on our own. We haven’t found any sponsors. Here’s an update. We are still going strong as we can. No one has stepped up yet. But that's cool, we'll make it. We are building an EVO with

Here’s one for you guys who have a little lathe at home and would like to expand your home bike building capabilities. Sprocket spacing can allow for quick and easy chain alignment if you are running wide tire sizes or mismatched tranny configurations. Because the sprocket receives an enormous amount of torque, it is important

This tale will hit home for builders all over the globe. It’s basically an artist’s efforts to delicately touch the waters of an industry he’s dabbled in for years. Japanese Jay, as I call him, has been around Bikernet for over six years representing various Japanese custom motorcycle magazines from Easyriders of Japan to the

Electra Glide owners have a very unique gas cap on their bikes. The bike is designed with a locking gas cap that swings up on a hinge. The original idea works, but it can be a royal pain in the ass when you are out riding and remember your keys are sitting on the desk

Editor’s Note: What you will read is the truth about the writer’s knowledge of big twin H-D transmissions. So this tech is a work in progress. As we glean more notes and information we’ll add it. If you have a question don’t hesitate. We’ll find the info and install it into this tech until this

This is it. New JIMS tools. JIMS make a incredible array of special tools that will make all the difference in the world to almost any Harley mechanical task. We're going to start to run a tool of the week in the news, but we're kicking it off with this batch. If you don't see

Team 5-Ball Racing launches the assault on the 2006 Bonneville Speed Trials by BUB, September 3-7. The team is gearing up with three snarling race bikes and two hungry female pilots to master the salt and bring home a world record. This effort is also a tribute to Bikernet.com’s 10th year in business.Below you'll find

It is not uncommon to have more crankcase pressure when engines are modified. The engine demands increased venting. In most cases the pressure is minimal and just enough to be aggravating. In the case of the 1999 – 2006 Twin Cam 88 Harley Davidson engines, this is easily eliminated by installing a Doherty Machine MYSTFREE

The man TMCC performance mechanic and his assistants.It’s not often that a man gets a hop-up named after him. But the rabblerousers at Thunder Mountain Custom Cycles, TMCC, thought the hop-up they did on the Zebra Blackhawk 240 chopper, from TMCC, stayed true to the core values of myself, Special Agent Zebra. Said values being;

I just finished recording some snap shots of the “57 Tracker” tanks that belong to the bike you are sponsoring.We're stoked to have you on board, and look forward to taking some snaps of you throwing roost on your sponsor bike.Sometimes I just feel like doing something, anything, just not the same thing. Just something