Tech

The first step is nailing your pattern. The pattern for this seat, came from one of my “BAD ASS PANS”. Once your pattern is cut, you have to scribe your design on to the leather. This is done by casing the leather (wetting with water). Let it stand till the leather starts to dry a […]

Hang on. This is the last of the scintillating segments on building the Sturgis Shovel before I write the treacherous saga of the ride. Somewhere we will publish a feature on the bike in a mag and on the site. Oh, there’s one other tech that will come to pass—hard line assembly. I’m waiting for

Hey, here’s quick bit on George The Wild Brush who handled the Pin Striping on the 2005 Sturgis Shovel project. He’s pin striped several other bikes for me in his 47 years behind the brush. Born in Hanford, California, a miserable military town, in 1944, he kicked tumbleweed while his mom worked on a base.

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

Todd's Cycle have came up with new products to save Builders time, plus create form and function. If you’re in Orange County come over to the shop and check it out.Call us at 714.901.4516 or visit us at http://www.toddscycle.com SPRUNG SEAT MOUNTSSpring seat mount, this mount is just under 1 ½-inch long and can be

Xtreme frame order form.Yeah, some of us have been ordering and modifying frames for decades. After you read this you’ll understand why many builders stick with the same frame manufacturer and configuration forever. I’m writing this, because I recently faced this dilemma while ordering a frame from Paughco. I picked up the phone, asked for

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

Thought we’d get your attention right away.1991 was a year of flame and fire, tumult and change, advances and achievements. Operation Desert Storm drove Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces from Kuwait, the USSR became the un-USSR. and a lady named Helen Sharman was the first Briton in space. Back on planet Earth, Compu-Fire was launched by

This is wild and incredible. I’ve known Will Phillips of True Track, Inc. for twenty years. He’s a meticulous mad scientist who loves motorcycles. He’s a sharp engineer/designer type who doesn’t do anything without extensive research and testing. He designed one of the first rubbermounted Softail frames, currently being manufactured by KuryAkin, the Rubbertail.When he

RoadBike Magazine recently profiled the Thunder Bike 2 in their April 2006 edition. RoadBike really liked our unique Thunder Design Process which transformed a new model Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 into a custom cruiser that didn't require fabrication or emptying a trust fund to complete. Scroll down to follow the evolution of this award winning cruiser

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