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By: Darren ho Fusion I’m just a biker who found a living in the motorcycle press side of our industry, thanks to the big bastard Bandit. Some call me a writer others a hack, so when a talented builder, craftsman, designer, engineer volunteers to write his own story, I’ll head to the bar and let […]

California Customs has built the fine ride you see on this page. The company has a long history of creating one-off customs. They describe it best on their website. Here’s a brief history to give you an idea what they are all about: CALIFORNIA CUSTOMS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1991 IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS

It was a cold and rainy Ohio afternoon and Old School Jeff, a Sucker Punch Sally partner, was dreaming up his next bike. It had to outdo the bikes he’d built before, represent the company, and it had to be ride-able. Jeff’s deadline, to have the bike finished by the Big, V-twin expo, but distractions

Portrait by Sara Liberte I met Johnny Chop when he was working at Chica’s shop in Huntington Beach. I pulled up in my old Ford Police Interceptor on air bags with straight pipes, laid it down hard and back-rapped the pipes. It made one Hell of a loud thud when it’s frame rails slammed the

Bandit, I’ve been meaning to write this story for at least 2 months. I finally got off my dead ass and got it done this evening. I made an attempt at the proper coding for the website. Hopefully, you won’t have to do a ton of “fixin” to it. My uncle restored a 1940 Indian.

The Carlini name took hold in 1969 in Detroit when Tony had a small shop and worked his ass off to build a wild name in the industry. The crazed psychedelic Italian from the tough motor city streets made a name for himself quick. He became a Hamster, moved to Laguna Beach, California, designed the

Editor’s Note: You’ve seen the “American Iron” feature. Chris Maida, the editor, asked us to reshoot it, but we kept the original shots near the Wilmington, Califa, Port of Los Angeles rail road tracks. Just happened that a train rolled past in the middle of the shoot. Enjoy.–Bandit I just did the Old School bit

A Tribute During the original chopper craze, some 30 odd years ago, you couldn’t just call up your local mail order company and request a hardtail with a 4” stretch and a 43 degree rake. You had to do it yourself. Since there always has been, and always will be more riders then there are

Kevin cook contacted Bikernet not long ago with this killer Triumph bobber. I was all for featuring it, but he told me it was accepted by the outlaw staff of the HORSE for a feature. Great! I have some pics on disc,” Kevin said, “and I will attach the article that will come out in

The European Championship was initially conceived as an engineering and design showcase that, with the Official World Championship, will be held during Sturgis Bike Week in the United States later this year (August 6th-8th). The European and World Championship program, along with its endorsement of approved national affiliate events around Europe and elsewhere, brought builders

“You wanted the best,” The announcer screamed into the stage mike. “You got it, the best the hottest band in the world KISS!” That’s what you heard just before one of the most influential rock-n-roll bands of Michael Lima’s time took the stage. ”Now comes the two wheeled version,” Michael or Mike, the builder said.

This may sound crazy, but like every other bike builder in the country, I’ve been dying to be featured on Hugh King’s Original Productions, Biker Build-offs. I called Hugh numerous times, sent flowers and postcards, nothing. So we decided that we would show Hugh and the gang what Bikernet was truly capable of, over a

I recently had the pleasure of judging a Canadian show, along with Master Builder Chica, Sweden’s Peter Jonsson, from MCM magazine, and Canada’s own top builder Tom Langton. We reviewed Canadian Championship of Bike Building contestants during Labor Day Weekend in Wembley, Alberta. Spending a weekend in the vast Canadian prairie together helped me gain

Roses have a special place in many cultures. They are beautiful to see and to smell, but they do have sharp thorns, sort of beauty with a bite. There are red roses given on Valentine’s Day, the famous yellow roses of Texas, but black roses hold a very special place in magic and mysticism and

Heather from Canada and the Canadian Champ. Just back from judging the AMD Canadian Championships of Bike Building. Bikernet gets it first. I’ll also have a few more articles for you on the show and the next 2 top winners. I also have a feature on Chica’s new 2-Face bike shot in a rustic Canadian

I have been fortunate enough to work at the same place, Pearl Harbor, for 25 years. Working may not always be a “bed of roses,” but I am thankful for what the Shipyard has provided me and what it has allowed me to provide for not only myself but my family. With this in mind,

El Loco, El Loco, El Loco. The name has been running through my head for days like the faded memories associated with a Tequila sunrise. I could almost hear a faint whisper as the wind tickled my ears, while I rode to work. El Loco, El Loco, El Loco. Now I remember. Bandit sent a

This wild chunk of functional motorcycle art was recently featured in Hot Bike Magazine. How could anyone pass up a motorcycle with glass gas and oil tanks, velocity stacks and rocker boxes? It’s a strange mixture of old, new, odd, artistic and yet practical. Check the bare metal seat with a Ford leaf spring for

This is an interesting example of a fully streetable chopper being featured on Bikernet. It gives everyone a notion on how to get your bike featured on Bikernet and the flexibility we have. The shots aren’t the best, but we’ll make do this time. Plus, on Bikernet we can devote as many pages as we

Strange mysterious e-mails flashed onto my screen with images of this sharp Cyril Huze Panhead. At first I didn’t know what the hell was going on. The return address was Accurate engineering, but the bike was signature Cyril Huze. At first I was told I had a sharp feature for Bikernet Readers, then the bike

This story is about a Menlo Park, California, industrial coating shop that started three generations ago, in 1966, with Bob Simpson’s granddad. We’ll cover what they did throughout the history of the shop, info on the bikes and which bitchin’ coatings do what. Not bad for one stinkin’ bike feature hammered out on the Monday

No jive, New York City or Manhattan, as is the case for Nick Genender, of New York City Choppers, is a heaven on earth. We have this notion of NYC as the ultimate crime capital, teaming with druggies, homeless and narrow streets. Old tenement buildings crumble while the traffic screams past, fulla shouting drivers, and

The two builders and their teams met in Two Harbors Minnesota on Tuesday (6/13/2006) in preparation for the ride that started at the Split Rock Lighthouse just north of the rock, on Wednesday morning at sunup. The lighthouse is approximately 100 miles south of Canada on Lake Superior and very scenic. Oh YEAH! It was

It was a really warm morning in Cave Creek Arizona when I was to meet John Shope of SSinster Choppers with the Copperhead 2 and my model, Chainsaw Chelsea, to shoot a feature for Bikernet.com. You can find that feature in the Girls Of Bikernet section, in Bandit’s Cantina. If you’re not a member, you’re