Tech

S&S Cycle opened their doors in 1958. At that time, the performance motorcycle business was a lot different. George Smith figured out how a few lighter parts could make a bike go faster and everyone wanted them. Soon he was rebuilding stock engines into drag strip monsters and setting new records at Bonneville. Tuning a […]

Reprinted from Drag Specialties Magazine I No. 09 — 06Over the past year or so lots of magazine featured customs have one thing in common. Dig deep into the specs listed with those features and you’ll find that the frames are coming from Jesse Jurrens’ Independent Cycle, either the swingarm-style Lowlife or the rigid Hardlife.

Bandit and the King with D&D tested Pure Duals. I got a shot at an Australian run and a brother Down Under bought a used Road King, so I’d have something to ride. The least I could do would be to shoulder a massive box full of D&D pure duals and climb aboard a plane.

Cycle Source Magazine instilled this product with the Product of The Year Award and it deserved it. This brake system revolutionized motorcycle braking forever and afforded the custom industry wheel design appearance enhancement like never before. It’s amazing, but now it’s up to you and builders world wide to install and test them out for

I can’t figure out how old Berry is. He’s been racing and testing engines for a long time.I walked right into Panhead heaven, Accurate Engineering, and talked to Eric at the front desk. I introduced myself, and said I was there to seek an answer to a question from Bandit…..I could tell right away I

I have been using gas caps and kickstands from Mat Hotch Designs for quite some time, even before Lucky Devil was up and running so when the news came around about their new flush crossovers I was already interested to see them and give them a try. I always jump at the chance to chop

Way up in the frozen Great White North of the wilds of Alberta is one of Canada's many hidden treasures. Heather New of New-Line Engraving is no stranger to living and working under extreme conditions and deadlines. Starting off her career as a hand engraver in the early 1980s, Heather first worked in Edmonton, Alberta

The Before shot.Making a Bobber out of a late model Softail seemed the ideal project for the Softail book. After all, Bobbers are popular right now and all we had to do was install a new short rear fender, throw away the front fender, install a solo seat and get rid of the factory dash

There’s the author and tech with his back to us, Scott Holton, wondering whether to remove the front wheel or cut a hole in the wall.Sunday, July 8th, Jeff Wiley, Mike Shafer and I went to Scott Minzenmeyer’s shop, Recreational Motorsports to dyno test the J&P Cycles Express. The motor we tested was what we

Editor’s Note: Plates, plates and more plates…Always needed but most of the time overlooked. We are on the hunt to document all the various transmission plates in the Bikernet.com Galaxy. It’s a strange search with many variables. We started with Paughco, a classic chopper company. They’ve been stamping out plates since 1969 and have a

Alright, here we are again. Here's everything all masked out in the shop ready to spray.I got my coffee, the heat's on and the door's LOCKED. Check out Part One, click here I have to lock my door because folks hear me spraying paint and just walk right in,thus, sucking dust and bugs through the

When Harley-Davidson started rubber mounting their engines in FLT & FXR models it was a big hit with many riders. After a period of time some of the motorcycles developed handling problems. These problems were related to the Cleveblock style bushings in the swing arm. As the engine moved on the rubber mounts, it allowed

The Bikernet Board of directors assigned me this article at the last editorial meeting. “It’ll be a good one,” Snake said while guzzling his third beer during the meeting. His nerves were shot easily if there was an sharp edge to the story or conflict. “Don’t mind him,” Renegade said. “You’ve been assigned a simple

I can’t wait to replace this shot with a photo of EZ and this bike from ten years ago. What a wild man.My name is E.Z. (really, my initials). The photo is current, having been taken early in October. That’s me, on my scoot. Built ten years ago around a 96-inch S&S package, with a

From time to time Bandit tosses something on our milk crates and asks us to evaluate the part or service. We received this locking device from Kirk for our Bonneville Assalt Weapan, and it seemed like a decent notion. Ya see, our BDL engine main or sprocket shaft nut came off during a pass at

Click here for ad info. The frame sitting in Kent’s paintbooth. Five days ago I was looking at a frame, two tires, and what seemed like a million different parts sitting around my bike project. I stood there in Lucky Devil’s shop, mouth agape, hopelessly wondering if there was any way we would finish in

Editor's Note: This is a chapter out of a recent Wolfgang book by Tim Remus. It's an amazing chapter. You get to see a Donnie Smith Bike from start to finish. I learned a lot. If you want more, there's info at the end on ordering the book or click on any Wolfgang banner to

Concept drawing by Christian Dotson for the build. 17 months ago I dreamt up an idea to build a bike for my brother who seemed to like vacationing in Iraq…well, kind of. My younger brother, Joey, has fought overseas since 2002 and has been everywhere from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Africa, Kuwait, and Iraq. The best part

So you’re flippin’ through your favorite scooter mag and you’re “oohin and ahhin” at the steel beauties inside, but did you ever think about what the inspiration was behind some of the killer lines on todays chops? Of course not, unless you’re a metal fabricator yourself or you’re on acid. Today’s metal fabricator has become

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil The Lucky Devil Metal Works shop pool. Never mind the babe.Inspiration can come in many ways, in this situation it came while installing the clutch cable during a small dress up job. One of our customers brought in a truckload full of parts to get powder coated to completely

We have two connections to have an Auto Clutch installed. Either Kirk Taylor, who helped with this tech or Lee Clemens. Lee and Brenda are celebrating 35 years in the biz, with Departure Bike Works in Richmond, Virginia. I'll make sure Brenda watches what Lee's doing.Mr. Phillips of Grandeur Cycles contacted me when I mentioned,

Our Panel of Celebrity Judges.Okay, this is completely nuts. We've covered various seat installs, creations, leather etching techs, and now we have two seats built on Bikernet, so why not pick your favorite. I'll do my damnest, like these bullshit reality shows on television, to point out the various attributes of each seat and esteemed

Veteran Pinstriper and Kustom Paint Master, Alan Johnson, opened the 2008 spring bike season at his New Jersey studio by coloring outside the conservative lines with silver leaf on custom orange chopper tins, which belong to a dream build of Dave Stiteler. The term “old school” is casually thrown out in the kustom bike world

Like most people who ride, I never gave a lick of thought ta dealin’ with a handicap while still keepin’ yer knees in the breeze. That is, until last August, when my wife, Reggie, had a spinal cord surgery go bad, resultin’ in the loss of all feeling in her left side from mid-rib cage