In a sense, this project is indicative of this time in my life and the life of many bikers everywhere. I asked myself if this should be a life and times story. Let’s see if I can make sense of my life right now. I’m feeling stress at almost 70 and I don’t get it. Actually I do, but I don’t want to feel anything but nirvana. Hell, I built a motorcycle nirvana right on the coast, across the street from the Port of Los Angeles. But there’s something not right about that. They are now calling it America’s Port, yet the port has basically shit on the town adjacent to one of the richest ports in the world. I’ve ...

My grandson wrecked his Dyna. He thinks he went down on a slippery west side boulevard, but the bike looks like he was rear-ended, which launched his girlfriend. She was seriously damaged, but survived. He got scuffed and walked away. He needed a place and some guidance with his ’05 Dyna. He could have sold it and moved on, but he was so impressed with the performance after Bennett’s Performance tuned it and added some S&S TC cams, he didn’t want to let it go. I called Dr. John, in Anaheim, about his frame and spoke to Eric Bennett. We will bring you a complete report on what we do to his Dyna in the very near future.  So, we ...

I spent a lot of money and time rebuilding an old 41mm wide glide for my 1969 Panhead build. It was one of those crazy builds, fulla twists and turns, but the glide haunted me. It wasn’t long enough. I would have liked it to be 2-over for a better stance for a rider 6’5” tall. I squeaked another inch out of it with spacers over the springs. Of course, it rode like shit. I adjusted it, but it still rode badly. Maybe I’m getting old, but I don’t like that excuse. This bastard rode hard even with the wide, soft, cop solo seat. Then the glide actually broke down. I lost the mechanical brake springs. They broke on the ...

 I needed an oil tank for this build that would be rather unique. It had to hold a full size battery from a late model electric start Dyna or Softail as my large high compression stroker motor would need all the starting power it could get. It had to completely hide the battery because I didn’t want any of it to protrude above the frame rails and it had to hold lots of oil.
My preference was round oil tanks so I started looking for cylinder like containers to see what size might fit.
After testing a variety of ice cream containers and my wife’s Tupperware I found a one gallon paint can to be perfect. (once I cut the bottom out ...

Today, J&P Cycles shows you how to replace grips on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. From removing your old grips and adding new grips watch the entire process take place.In this video they use a 2013 Harley Davidson Softail Slim for demonstration but the process will be very similar for all motorcycles that utilize dual throttle cables.Advertisement

I wanted rear belt drive on my new retro modern chopper. All the old rigid framed bikes from the factory were chain drive and they were messy and always need adjustment.After doing a little research I chose the shortest belt available. It was 123 tooth and had been used on the very first rear belt drives Harley offered on Shovelhead models.After installing the back wheel and belt I discovered I had two problems. The belt was too long and too wide.Later Harleys have narrower belts so I purchased a 70 tooth narrow rear belt sprocket and slit my belt on the milling machine to fit the late sprocket.  I wanted rear belt drive on my new retro modern chopper. All the ...

  Back in the sixties the movie Wild Angels came out shortly followed by a soundtrack album with a great coverOne of the bikes on the cover caught my eye. The one to the right of the lead bike has a set of low rise Zee style handlebars. Try as I might I could never find a manufacturer low rise Zee bars. Everything available was four inch rise or higher and it is still the same today.I decided I would make my own Zee bars for this new bike project.I wanted a beefier look for my handlebars than the usual one inch diameter so I used 1-1/4 inch DOM tubing and cut the pieces to size on my milling machine.  I made ...

  “A man’s got to know his limitations”-Dirty Harry Out in the country roads of Moriah, NC., people pick their own tobacco, run their own stills and gut their own deer. At Widowmaker Custom Design and Repair, Hank Thibodeau brings that same self-reliant determination to the design and fabrication of custom motorcycles. Hank has been out here creating, chopping, grinding and giving inspiration to anybody with two wheels and a dream for more than ten years. The two car garage workshop he shares with Patrick Murphy and his father-in-law Jimmy Glenn, has produced more original works of engineered art than most million dollar bike shops. The Widowmaker crew is ready to do everything from rebuilding the top end of your old ...

 We are back at the Widowmaker Custom Design & Repair shop for final assembly of our bike. Everything has come back from paint, powder coat, etc. Now comes the patience part of our build, reassembly. At this point you need to have a plan of attack. Hopefully you took note of how you removed certain items so that your assembly is smooth without and scratches. Let us get started. Item One: Where to start? I generally start by getting the bike back into a rolling state. But this can all hinge on your choice of engine. For Harleys and most v-twin engines this is the best approach. This is the way we approached our setup with the Yamaha Roadstar drivetrain.  However, if ...

 It all started when my mother ran over my metal- flaked Honda 55 Super Cub with a single shotgun pipe. She stormed into our tiny stucco house in Long Beach and announced, “Get that damn thing out from under my car.” Her car was a massive ’59 Ford station wagon. It was 1964 and I was 15.5 years of age. That Honda was my first motorcycle.   Mom and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on a couple of issues. The day after I graduated from high school, I joined the Navy and was shipped to a heavy cruiser off the coast of Vietnam for three tours. I fell in love, and got married, to my mother’s chagrin (my loves have always played a ...