The Essen Motor Show in Germany has a long-standing reputation as the country's most important motor sports trade show and exhibition. While the vast majority of vendors, and also the main focus of the show itself, is clearly on automobile tuning and customizing, the organizers put together special exhibitions every year featuring special interest vehicles including custom motorcycles. For the first time this year, the Essen Motor Show intends to put more emphasis on bikes than in previous years, resulting in an expansion of the Motorcycle Pavilion and, for the first time in 42 years, the Speed Bike Show alongside with the already well established show bike display. The organizers are also working on expanding the range of suppliers and dealers from the motorcycle market. Here is a sneak peek at some of the rides the guys in Essen will be showing off this year from November 28 to December 6.

You have probably seen this monster before: The Gunbus, the largest ridable motorcycle in the world, was built by Leonhardt Manufacturing in Eppingen, Germany. The dimensions are mind-boggling: almost 5 feet high, over 11 feet long and nearly 5 feet wide. At a whopping 1,400 pounds, the engine puts out 350bhp.

A very different approach to an ice racer comes from TGS Motorcycles in Tittling near Passau, Germany. This one off custom named Seppster 2 with the looks of an ice speedway machine carries a turbo charged S&S 1,524cc engine that presses 100bhp on the ground. Each tire is equipped with 120 razor sharp spikes. Another rare feature of the bike is the single sided front fork. Building custom bikes and motorcycle conversion in his professional shop since 1999, Tobias Guckel has won several important prices with his creations, such as the World Championship in the USA last year, as well as the trophy for Radical Over 1000 at this year's Rats Hole Show.

Also built by Tobias from TGS is the Carerra, a bike in arrow design, propelled by a 1,640cc, 100hp RevTech engine. The Carerra features an upside-down fork, 130/60-18 tire in the front and a fat 240/40-18 in the rear.

A contribution from England is the Night Shadow with charging jaguar bodywork and the heart of 1200 Buell. This bike weighs in at almost 800 pounds thanks to the fiber glass cat. Last time this bike changed hands, it reached a price of Euro 325,000 – seriously.

Back to the V-twins: Yamaha's XVS650 engines power these two one off custom bikes. Mario Baer went for an extreme prostreet style and fat rear tire with his aggressive red Lowstar, while his orange bike follows the classic influences of an early tracker.

The guys in Essen promised us a lot more prime examples of custom bike building to be on display at this year's 42nd Essen Motor Show. Should you be in Germany some time between November 28 and Decmber 6, make sure to stop by at the show and let them know BIKERNET sent you. For more information, go to www.essen-motorshow.de

– – C. S. Berg, photos Essen Motor Show

In fall of2002 I was entering my senior year at the University of Cincinnatichasing a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering tech. To graduateeach student is required to take a problem or project from start tofinish along with attending your regular classes. This meant not onlydid I have to come up with an idea, I had to prove to the faculty thatmy problem/idea was worth doing, calculate a solution to thisproblem/idea before I built it, and then build and reprove what I hadalready proven on paper. A lot of convincing people, which was troublefrom the start considering I was not the ass kisser who stuck aroundafter class and I defiantly did only enough to pass a class. While manywere doing test station for the university (too smart to come up with anidea of their own) I decided to chop up my 01' wide glide.

For about ayear I had been thinking that I could fit a 200 tire on the back and nowwas my chance to prove it. Fitting the 200 I knew was no problem, itwas making a swing arm that looked better than the stock one that wouldbe a challenge. Plus, this was the only thing that would carry myinterest long enough to keep me from suffering of boredom, making for along intense senior year. Long story short I hacked up the bike,impressed some faculty, and was riding high from making something fromnothing.

I graduated college on a Friday and started as an official hireat a company I was working part time the following week. It was adesign job that taught me design and detail of parts, assemblies,packaging, etc. for machine shops and in house assembly. Wouldn't beable to do any of the shit I do now if I hadn't learned so much fromthis job. Anyways, back to the story. Through out my wide glideproject I was stumbling in and out of a chop shop that was doing somemachine work and welding for me. They built full up customs and Ibecame really interested in building a chopper. One of the choppersthey built was a Custom Chrome Hardcore I kit. They shit canned the fatbobs in favor of a sporty tank, replaced the wide glide forks with aSpringer, made an oil bag and powder coated the wheels. There were alot of other fine details, but from what I could see the Hardcore kitwas a gold mine start for a chopper.

Fuck it, I ordered one and in amonth I had a pile of parts and a lot of learning and experience togain. What I thought was going to take 3-4 months to built would takeme over a year to finish (not that any bike is ever done).

After I unpacked all of the parts, I jumped in head first. Ibraced the frame up and with a Sawzall in hand, started hacking the shitout of the frame. I cut out the front down tubes, including the frontmotor mount, the neck and the top motor mount. I was fixed on putting asingle down tube in and raking this bitch out to accommodate a six overfront end.

I kept stumbling in and out of the chop shop I hadpreviously worked with and managed to get them to tack my neck in andbend up some lower down tubes to connect to the single tube. This wasnot going to work! I was bugging these guys and I was getting bugged atgetting nothing done. I was working out of a one-car garage with noheat (Ohio winters suck) and pissing off an old lady who rented theother port of the garage for tripping a breaker that I couldn't reset.I was determined to find a way to get this done without pissing peopleoff and without paying someone else to do my work.

I sat the bike on the back burner and started a plan to saveenough lute to buy a mill, a lathe and a small welder. But where would Iput it? Time to talk to the old man. I knew he was finishing up an oldbarn, turning it into a wood shop, with heat, but would he sacrifice some space formy shit? The dice rolled and luckily they turned in my favor. I gotthe O.K. for some space, but he lived three hours away, meaning I couldonly work on the weekends. I stuck with my day job and after saving afew months and selling a car, I had finally saved enough to buy an oldBridgeport, a lathe, a cheap tube bender and a small welder. I was backin the game.

I got back to redoing the frame tubes and in the mean timeordered some parts. I saw a bike in a magazine with some Black Bikewheels and some L.A. Choppers pipes. I knew both would be perfect forwhat I was trying to achieve. I finished the front frame tubes andstarted on the front motor mount/foot controls along with the brassknuckle shift linkage.

I also went ahead and made the rear axle hiddenand made the end of the axle mounts pointy. The oil tank was up next.Starting with some round tube and a press I squashed the tube oval forthe shape I was looking for. I made the battery box and included enoughspace to contain all my wiring and key switch. The bike was starting totake shape.

I moved on to making the motor mount starting with some flatstock. I milled the holes into each piece and then heated them up andbent them over a large tube. Got it tig welded and finished it forchroming. The BDL open primary plate was then cut up to accommodate theoil filter and to hide the coil behind it.

The Gas tank was the majorcomponent of this bike that would make or break what I had done to theframe. I wanted to have the tank follow the new motor mount gusset inthe frame and decided Joe Kerr of Concept Customs would manage thistask. Starting with a sporty tank Joe managed to section and shorten itinto the shape we now have. He also made the spinner gas cap for it.

I started EyeCandy Custom Cycles, LLC in the middle of this bikein hopes of offering custom and one-off parts to the public at areasonable price. If any one is interested in seeing what we do orseeing other projects come together, check out the website.

Model: Started as a Custom Chrome HardCore Kit
Frame: Hacked 2-4 Santee
Motor: 100″ RevTech
Trany: RevTech 6 speed
Primary: BDL 3″
Exhaust: L.A. Choppers
Wheels: Black Bike
Gas Tank: Concept Customs
Brakes: PM & Exile
Tail Light: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Motor Mount: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Foot Controls: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Oil Tank: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Mirror: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Risers: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Seat: EyeCandy Custom Cycles/King Pin
Shift Linkage: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Grips: EyeCandy Custom Cycles
Web Belt Guard: EyeCandy Custom Cycles

Vincent Fries
EyeCandy Custom Cycles, LLC
Republic, OH
(513)312-1137
vince@eyecandycustomcycles.com

Check out their website for complete build photos!
http://www.EyeCandyCustomCycles.com

Two years ago Robin Bradley, the publisher of American Motorcycle Dealer (AMD) magazine, kicked off the World Championship of Custom Motorcycle Builders competition. It began with Robin’s relationship with Custom Chrome and a massive dealer show in Europe. Oddly enough AMD and the World Championship is based in the UK. That’s where the vast worldly prospective came from.

–Bandit

Thomas Habermann and his partner Dany are no strangers to success inbike contests in Europe.Indeed, Thomas's 'Skull Bike' took third place in the AMD ProShow inGermany in 2002. Since then,we have also featured his 'Ghul' chopper in AMD as well.

As the 71 bikes that entered this year's European Championship werewheeled in for registration theday before the show opened, there were a dozen or so that immediatelycaught the eye as likelycontenders for top honors. 'Caligo' was among them.

Judging at the European Championship, presented by Custom Chrome attheir annual Dealer Show inMainz, Germany, March 19th and 20th, was by the competitors themselvesand come five o'clock onthe Sunday afternoon and time for the announcement of the winners,Thomas and Dany were”staggered and amazed” to find themselves winners and 2005 OfficialEuropean Champions.

But there are somany fantastic bikes here, built by great designers and engineers, thatto have them think that ourwork is at least as good as their own is just completely unexpected”.

Whilst there is not a publication in the world whose production valuescould do justice to the detail andfinish of 'Caligo', it should nonetheless be pretty clear from ourpresentation here that the mostsurprising thing about Dany's reaction is her surprise.

The quality of all the bikes entered was superb. The buildersthemselves, as had been the case withcompetitors at the first Annual Official World Championship at CustomChrome's American DealerShow last October, said that it was the finest collection of customV-twins they had ever seen in oneplace at one time. And as at the World Championship, the judging at theEuropean Championshipwas very close, with relatively few points separating the top twenty orso bikes.

Anyone of the top ten or fifteen customs would have been a fine andworthy winner, but one sensesthat the view of the judges was that Thomas and Dany's career had beenbuilding to a crescendo andthat recognition for 'Caligo' was also recognition for years ofconsistency and commitment toengineering quality and a design ethic that, in European terms at least,is now and forever will becharacteristically 'Habermann'.

A rigid fanatic, Dany, as ever, is responsible for the theme of thepaint and the graphics and the bike was built as her own personal ride.Her enjoyment of the iconography and imagery of 'the dark side' isnothing if not thorough. Check out the skulls that have been superblyexecuted from scannedphotographs of medieval plague victims by airbrush genius Bianca Hennig.

The exquisite rendering of Dany's vision (nightmare?) is mirrored byThomas's attention toengineering detail. Based on a frame of their own design andmanufacture, 'Caligo' has forty degreesrake in the headstock and five inches of stretch in the backbone and thedown tube. The front end is aDutch made SJP 18 inch over design with a Custom Chrome RevTech 'Creep'2.15 x 19 inch frontwheel and PM six piston caliper.

The bike uses a 93 cubic inch S&S Shovelhead motor with knuckleheadrockers that Thomasdescribes as giving a “Knovelhead” hybrid look. The motor has an S&SSuper E carb with a skullemblazoned upswept manifold and cone filter, and uses a Dyna S ignition.The clutch andtransmission is a stock Harley 5 speed set up from a 2003 Dyna.

Unsurprisingly, all the bodywork including the gas tank and the custommade exhaust system wasdone in-house by Thomas. With an estimated three months invested in theconstruction, the bike wasfinished in December last year, then modified early in 2005 to take theS&S shovelhead motor as soonas it became available, as an alternate choice to the 1978 Harleyoriginal that he had originallyassumed he would be using.

The rear end is an Avon 300 on a Custom Chrome RevTech 'Creep' 11.5 x 18inch wheel thatfeatures a 'spinner' designed and made by the Habermann-PerformanceTeam.

The most striking feature of 'Caligo' is the massive 95-tooth perimeterchain final drive that emergesunseen from the transmission. Like all good choppers, 'Caligo' is devoidof clutter and unnecessaryaccessories, but also as with all good choppers, the simplicity iscamouflage for design decisions andcraftsmanship of the highest order.

Italian made OMP brand grips and instruments are used on a set ofThomas's own made handlebarswith a W&W front light. At the back an RST four piston caliper isdiscreetly hidden under thebodywork and integrated with the sprocket idler shaft on the right side.

Thomas and Dany want us to say a great big thank you on their behalf totheir fellow builders andcompetitors for voting for them in the European Championship. As someonewho was standing closeto them on stage when the announcement was made, I can vouch that youwill never see a morehumble and genuinely surprised reaction.

Habermann-Performance GmbH
Wiesengraben 5/1
89155 ERBACH-RINGINGEN
GERMANY
Tel: 0049 (0) 7344 84 16
Fax: 0049 (0) 7344 922630
Email: Habermann-Performance@t-online.de
www.Habermann-Performance.com

When Piet Hofman opened the doors of his Violator motorcycle business atAlblasserdam in the Netherlands a couple of years ago, like all buildershe had high hopes for his new enterprise.

However, even he can't have expected that within such a short time hiscompany would have a full order book and multiple bike show awardsaround Europe, culminating in second place at the Official EuropeanChampionship of Custom Bike Building, presented by Custom Chrome Europeat their annual Dealer Show in Mainz, Germany, in March this year.

Violator's styling and ethic has been European style cutting edge fromday one, but 'Full Metal Jacket' represents Piet's own personal stylingchoices as an aficionado of dragster design.

As a summary of what he has achieved, it's hard to improve upon thatanalysis, as, right down to the choice of the two color paint job,everything about Full Metal Jacket is 'black and white'. It has aconfidence and certainty about its build that would be the envy of manymore experienced custom designers. Full Metal Jacket has no grey areas;it is full-on in every decision made.

All Violator's bikes are based on frames built for them to their designby Penz Custom bikes of Austria. 'Full Metal Jacket' uses a Violatormodified single downtube 'Maximus' design. The frame, which has 50degrees of rake, with an extra 5 degrees in the front fork, has a fourinch stretch in the top tube and is two inches lower in the downtube.The muscle for the bike is provided by a 145 cubic inch S&S CycleTribute motor. The gas tank is an old-style two piece design madepersonally by Piet and designed to show off the swooping lines of theframe shape and blend into seat and rear fender bodywork that Piet alsomade himself.

Using a Baker six speed right-side drive transmission, Primo 1 1/8 inchbelt drive and a BDL clutch, the custom made single right-side swingarmhouses Violator's own design six piston caliper and an Italian made OMPbrand 17 inch by 12.5 inch wide rear wheel designed for the Avon 330tire.

Piet has used OMP products extensively on Full Metal Jacket, includingthe 65-tooth rear pulley, the forward controls, the 21 inch x 2.5 inchfront wheel and the four piston front caliper.

The handlebar controls and grips are also Italian, by K-Tech; and thenarrow looking 'Retro Glide' front end is a Dutch made SJP design framefrom GST in the Netherlands.

Full Metal Jacket is a bike characterised by design contrasts. Thecontrasts of the skinny front end with the fat rear end and the largediameter (21-inch) front wheel with the low seat height, and the monster145-inch S motor with the skinny Kevlar rear belt are unusual enough.

But combine that with the right-side drive, single-sided swingarm, and acarbon fibre end piece custom exhaust system (for heat dissipation) thatexits through bodywork vents on either side and beneath the seat, andit's no wonder that Piet's fellow competitors at the EuropeanChampionship judged his achievement so highly.

VIOLATOR MOTORCYCLES
2952BB ALBLASSERDAM
NETHERLANDS
Tel: 0031 651185070
Fax: 0031 786914971
Email: info@violator-motorcycles.com
www.violator-motorcycles.com

The first thing I had to sort out with Mika Nieminen was where his business name came from. 'Mr Moore's Custom Craft' does not immediately strike you as an obvious name for a custom v-twin shop in Finland!

“I guess everybody in our school must have been real silly because, when it came to having nicknames handed out, for some reason I was always called Mr. Moore, and it has stuck ever since”. So, groping for some kind of explanation, I asked if there was some kind of Roger Moore/James Bond vibe going on at the time. Mika said “Well maybe, but to be honest I have no idea why it's stuck with me.

“Around six or seven years ago, I was lining up with the other bikes to enter my first competition and the guy asked me who had built the bike and I just came out with it 'Custom crafted by Mr Moore' and there it was. Before I realised it, that was my new business name”.

Mika has been building bikes since the mid 1980s but first came to prominence with a 1998 project called 'Glowing Dolphin'. He had taken an original 1958 Panhead and thrown the original Springer front end out to 40 inches over. The bike had an axle-to- axle wheel base of 2.65 m (approximately eight and a half feet) and the notoriety the bike gave Mika set him on his way to a full time career in the V-twin industry.

“The funny thing is I still have that bike and I still ride it most weeks”, Mika confessed proudly. “In 2001, I moved to Sweden, originally intending to stay there for a year, and my first job was with Unique Customs Cycles (www.uccycles.com) of Haninge”.

The Swedish bike scene is a hugely close knit community where loyalties and friendships are life-long and Mika came down to the show in Germany with Gordon Rooth and the UCC team, who own the bike 'Statement' and took away tenth place.

After a year or so working for UCC, Mike started his own business. 'Viridian' started out as a twinkle in the eye of MCM Magazine owner Inge Persson-Carleson who first approached Mika about the project in 2002. The parts for the bike were sourced by Martin Lang, the Zodiac International Sales Manager for Sweden who, having spent many years living in Italy (having originally been from Switzerland), got noted Italian parts designer Alessandro Pacelli involved.

Originally involved with the OMP brand, Alessandro's current business, Kustom Tech, provided the 'Fin Line' hubs for the Zodiac/Morad spoked rims, the handlebars, hand and foot controls, and, most impressively, the custom made rear drum brake.

Much of the rib effect seen around 'Viridian' is a styling cue that has been common to Swedish custom bike building for decades. The origins of it go back to that same era that Mika was shooting for. Scandinavia in general, but Sweden in particular, has been heavily influenced by American styling and thinking in all sorts of ways, for decades. For example, outside of the United States, Sweden is where you go to see one of the highest ownership per head of population of faithfully restored and lovingly cared for Americana in general, and fifties Detroit output in particular.

Among the signature part used on 'Viridian' are the Swedish made Roban's Speed Shop finned primary covers. The finned motif is revisited again and again on 'Viridian' wherever good taste permit.

The front wheel is 21 inch build item with a Kustom Tech/ISR (Sweden) caliper, with a 5.5 x18 inch rear. The front fork started out life as a European made Samwell item, extended to 20 inches over. The gas tank started out life as a Mustang piece but as you can see was heavily modified by Mika.

In addition to the custom made drum brake two of the major technical features of 'Viridian' are Mika's own made and designed frame and the exotic two into one custom exhaust system.

Mika makes his own frames on jigs in his workshop and he explains that “I wanted to eliminate as many of the straight lines as I could. So wherever possible I have created curving shapes that again brought to mind 1950s American Hot-Rod styling. A lot of Swedish style choppers are very angular but I wanted a shape that compensates for the effect of the front end”.

The exhausts wrap around the lower part of the cylinders where the fins have been shaved and they meet in a tapered colector that is finished with a fin cover just above the engine cases.

“But actually, the bike runs fine. These days if anybody asks me about it, I simply say yes, it is the 'hottest chopper' in the country!”

The fin motif is completed with the use of the Drag Engineering nose cone cover. Mika says that he found a guy in Sweden who had managed to get three of these. Mika bought two of them; one for use on 'Viridian' and he says that he is going to keep the other for a personal project that he has in mind in a few years.

The S&S shovelhead engine was prepared and tuned by Spok Motor of Helsinki in Finland, and features an S&S 514 cam, Zodiac tappets, Jim's pushrods, a Mikuni HSR42 carb, and a Mr. Moore custom made velocity stack bellmouth.

The spark plugs have been relocated in the cylinder heads to allow for the exhaust port modifications, and Mika has used the distributor style ignition from an Indian.

The transmission is a Zodiac 5-speed, with a Zodiac belt primary and clutch. Zodiac also supplied most of the other parts used including, one of their own brand Bellweather rear fenders and the lights. Much of the rest of 'Viridian' has been hand made by Mika, down to and including the 'Speed Shell' oil tank and the pipes .

The paint job is House of Kolor 'Organic Green Candy' on a gold base, by Joakim Krantz, with pin-striping by Ettore Callegaro in Italy, and chroming by Metallsliperi in Stockholm, Sweden.

If you plan to visit the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building, to be presented by Custom Chrome at the Big Twin West Dealer Show in Las Vegas, November this year, be sure to check out 'Viridian' for yourself. Look out for Mika, his wife Sarita and the crew from MCM Magazine.

To judge by their excitement and their enthusiasm when their success was announced at the European Championship in March, I suspect that there will be quite a crew travelling over for the event, all with permanent 24/7 party-heads on!

MR MOORE CUSTOM
Tampereentie 202
Lempäälä
37560 FINLAND
Tel: 00358 33 75 1000
Fax: 00358 33 75 1010
Email: mrmoorecc@hotmail.com
www.mrmoorecustomcraft.com

Departure Bike Works, based in Richmond, VA is like heaven for a custom builder. Boasting such amenities as a professionally staffed full service department, in house engine facility, frame table, full machine shop, salvage motorcycles, and one of the largest selections of new and used parts on the East Coast, there is virtually no end to the possibilities that await the unsuspecting customer looking to have a custom bike built to suit. James Castleberry took all of this into account when he contracted the DBW team to build him a bike that was a “departure from the norm” of fat tired, long forked abortions.

Starting out in the salvage department, a wrecked 2001 XL1200 graciously donated it’s powertrain for the project. As soon as it was pulled from the mangled wreckage, it was handed off to DBW’s main motor man, Billy Wheatley, for some of that voodoo that he do so well.

While Billy was busy digging into his bag of tricks, the DBW fabrication department (Andrew Williams) began cutting and welding to create a tight and aggressive chassis for the more than slightly warmed over 1200 motor to reside in. Starting with a Paughco rigid sporty frame, Andrew created an aluminum oil bag, and modified a Chica rear fender to finish up the tail section of the chassis.

The frame cross member was rolled to match the fender, and some internal fender struts, combined with a beaded edge for support, made the finished product more than sturdy enough. The aluminum oil bag was mounted in place, and blended right in.

Having all the right connections in this industry makes a big difference during a project like this, and old, decrepit Lee Clemens, who has owned DBW for more that 30 years, has more than a few of those connections, A phone call later, he had scored a set of stamped gas tank halves from Paughco, used in one of their production tanks.

When the planning on this project started, James and the crew at Departure agreed; the bike had to be narrow, so a mid glide set of trees was chosen, and outfitted with some turned down factory 41mm sliders and 2-inch under tubes. Once the PM Hooligan wheels, rotors & sprocket were slid in place, and the sweet little tank was mounted in place, the bike was well on it’s way to being not only narrow, but TINY! No problem there, as James is a bit on the shorter side.

Now that the bike was a roller, the oil and gas tanks were made, and the bike’s only fender was done (no front fender here!), it was time for Andrew to think about pipes and controls. Both would require a mock up motor to build. No problem, there are usually plenty of spare motors laying around the shop for just such a purpose. Once the mock up motor was in place, Andrew got to work on some mid mount controls, but moved the peg and lever locations forward 3 inches to give the rider a more comfortable, but still aggressive riding position.

Now that the killer mid mounts were in place, Andrew started on what he considers “one of the toughest pieces of the puzzle”, the exhaust pipes. Trying to build a set that would be different, yet fit, work & look good would prove to be a challenge, but just like everything else, Andrew took it in stride.

By dropping the front pipe over and behind the rear, he was able to accomplish all that he had set out to do, and then some. The bike had a set of DBW pipes that fit it perfectly, and led to the inspiration for the title “Ghetto Blaster” as the bike would later be dubbed. After standing back and looking at the pipes for a bit, Andrew added a café racer inspired heat shield to the rear pipe for accent purposes.

Now that the mock up was done, it was time to do what DBW’s Hull Street Meanies do best….drink beer and admire the latest creation. After a few beers, Andrew had an epiphany…he realized that the bike standing straight up on the lift looked like a racer, and it was too cool to ignore.

Some ¾-inch round bar, and about 7 different spring arrangements later, the center stand was fit up, and made to disappear under the bike. NOW the mock up was done!

Chad from Copperhead Graphics laid on a sweet paint job, complete with some pin up girls and a bit of classic pinstriping, and finished up the sheetmetal beautifully. The powdercoating chores were handled by the pros over at Powder and Performance Coatings, in Richmond. Brown’s Plating took care of all the chroming, and Paul Cox of NYC, covered Andrew’s hand made steel seat pan with some tanned leather that matched the paint work perfectly.

After all was said and done, the guys at Departure Bike Works created one sweet little bobber they could be proud to put their brand on. Oh yeah, James kinda likes it too…..

General

Owner: James Castleberry
City/State: Richmond, VA
Builder: Departure Bike Works
City/state: Richmond, VA www.departure.com
Fabrication: Andrew Williams of DBW
Manufacturing: Andrew/DBW
Welding: Andrew/DBW
Machining: Andrew/DBW

Engine

Year: 2001
Make: HD/DBW
Model: Sportster
Displacement: 1200cc
Builder or Rebuilder: Billy Wheatley of DBW
Cases: HD
Case finish: Polished
Barrels: HD
Bore: Stock
Pistons: Wiseco
Barrel finish: Powdercoated w/ polished fins
Lower end: HD
Stroke: Stock
Rods: HD
Heads: HD with massaging by DBW
Head finish: Powdercoated w/ polished fins
Valves and springs: Crane
Pushrods: Crane
Cams: We ain't tellin'
Lifters: yep
Carburetion: S&S w/ Thunderjet
Other:

Transmission

Year: 2001
Make: HD
Gear configuration: 5 speed
Final drive: Chain
Primary: Chain
Clutch: Barnett

Frame

Year: 2004
Make: Paughco/DBW
Style or Model: Rigid
Stretch: Stock
Rake: 35 degrees
Modifications: a bunch

Front End

Make: HD/CCE/DBW
Model: Mid Glide
Year: 2004
Length: Short
Mods: Turned down sliders

Sheet metal

Tanks: DBW
Fenders: Chica/DBW
Panels: WTF?!?!?!
Oil tank: DBW aluminum
Other:

Paint

Sheet metal: Copperhead Graphics
Molding: Some
Base coat: yep
Graphics: cool
Frame: Powdercoated
Molding: No
Base coat: Black
Graphics or art: No
Special effects: Invisible onboard GPS with curb feelers
Pinstriping: Copperhead Graphics

Wheels

Front
Make: PM Hooligan
Size: 18″
Brake calipers: PM 4 piston
Brake rotor(s): PM Hooligan
Tire: Metzler

Rear
Make: PM Hooligan
Size: 18″
Brake calipers: PM 4 piston
Brake rotor PM Hooligan
Sprocket: PM Hooligan
Tire: Metzler

Controls

Foot controls: DBW mid mount
Finish: Powdercoated
Master cylinder: PM
Brake lines: Russell
Handlebar controls: PM Contour
Finish: Bling
Clutch Cable: Barnett
Brake Lines didn't we already answer this one?

Electrical

Ignition: Crane HI-4
Ignition switch: Toggle
Coils: Crane
Regulator: Compu Fire
Charging: Compu Fire
Wiring: DBW
Harness: DBW
Headlight: Headwinds
Taillight: Bullet
Accessory lights: WTF?!?!?
Electrical accessories: NOT!!!
Switches: 3
Battery: One

What's Left

Seat: DBW/Paul Cox
Pipes: DBW
Mufflers: Why?
Exhaust finish: Jet Coat
Gas caps: Flush Mount
Handlebars: K&N
Grips: PM
Pegs: ART
Oil filter: FRAM
Oil cooler: Nope
Oil lines: Rubber
Fuel filter: Internal
Fuel Lines: Rubber
Throttle: Twist
Throttle cables: One
Fasteners: Gardner Westcott

Specialty items: The whole damn thing!!!

Fifth place was taken by Krazy Horse Cycles from the UK, with their ‘Zeroesque’, an Ironhead Sportster homage to the styling that emerged from Shinya Kimura’s Zero Engineering in Japan.

Other trends now clearly seen through the Official European Championship have been the growing popularity and quality of ‘retro’ styling, and, conversely, the continuing development of cutting edge suspension, chassis and driveline technology and the use of light weight materials.

Photos and text courtesy of:
Robin Bradley
Publisher/Owner
American Motorcycle Dealer
robin@dealer-world.com

5th PLACE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2006

Bike Name: Zeroesque

Business: Krazy Horse
Bury St Edmunds, UK
www.krazyhorse.co.uk

Builders Name: Krazy Horse

Owner Name: Krazy Horse

Model/Make: 2005/1977 Ironhead

Engine Size/Make: H-D 1000cc

Frame Make/Type: Krazy Horse rigid
Rake: 45°
Stretch: Lots

Swingarm: None

Transmission: 4-Speed H-D

Wheel (front): 3.5 x 16
Wheel (rear): 3.5 x 16

Tires: Avon Speedmasters

Brakes (front): 1940's H-D Drum
Brakes (rear): H-D Sportster Drum

Painter: Pageant

Plating: Nickel plate

Additional Info: Everyone in the shop was involved in the build.
Special mention to the following…
Grips etc in 200 year old yew by Oz
Twiddly forged bits by the Baker
Seat covering and helmet from Davida
Key and brass items from the Kings Arms! www.AMDProShow.com

I interviewed Brad, the Exile employee who built this bike, and my mind was torn in a flurry of misdirected thoughts. I rode to Harold’s Bar and stumbled through the door into the dank biker saloon. “Sheila, I’m becalmed is a sea of treachery,” I slurred. “I need a pot of rum to fill my sails.”

She spun in my direction, her blue eyes shooting Coast Guard flares in my direction. I had a shot with this girl once and was too drunk to take advantage of it. She never forgot. I was alone in my San Pedro pad when an ex sent me a nasty e-mail filled with complaints and accusations boiling my insecurities and blues to the surface. I needed a drink. Okay I’m stumbling off track. But let me finish with a sultry description of that cold damp night when we first met. Pedro is a middleclass seaside town. No flashy, upscale nightclubs, just bars. They’re cool, but you’re not generally going to find the walls lined with hot bitches. I rambled from Harold’s to Rebels, from one blues drowning Jack-on-the-rocks to another one, until after 2:00 when Sheila stepped up to the door and hollered,

The crowd meandered to the door, but when I reached it, she said, “You can stay.”

I watched her throughout the evening like a choirboy dreams about an angel. She was tall, but voluptuous. Her hair was long but had waves I could surf through. She wore a dime store, funky printed house dress, and it didn’t look like she was wearing anything under it, as if she was cleaning her pad and someone called, “Get yer ass to the bar, Bandit shot the bartender.” Her milky cheeks were rosy and her eyes emerald green and they sparkled. And finally the dress was simply low cut and had a seam of frilly material around the edge. Here cleavage was magnificent, bubbling, bouncy and naturally swayed to her movements. My bloodshot eyes danced from her smile to her boobs, in a mystic rhythm, all night. Get the picture, but I had a code.

A drunkard’s rule. I knew when I tipped the scales and it was etched in stone. Don’t ever try to be a lover if you can’t walk. I graciously eyed her fervently once more and said adios. She obviously still held a grudge against me, as if I turned her down. Damn.

Sheila shoved a tumbler, brimming with Jack Daniels and just a few cubes of ice, in my direction. My old school quandary heightened. I couldn’t decide whether tonight would be my Sheila night or I’d slip into the back, behind the pool tables and grapple with my feature notes. Her demeanor answered my question. It was stone cold.

I picked up my cocktail and made my way to the back of the bar. Slugging at the whiskey I pulled my legal pad from my little Joe’s vest pocked and I folded it open and began to ponder scribbled words. My problem was the mix of rough and ready Exile choppers and Brad. At 26 he graduated from an Ivy League, four-year, James Madison College just two hours south of DC and went to work for IBM, just like his dad. Here’s a suit-and-tie guy working for the iron warrior of the biker world. It didn’t make sense, I kept reading.

I tried to pry a wild story of this young man ripping around Hollywood, with the Exile gang, pillaging neighborhoods, without any luck. He did escape the straight suit world of New York, grabbed a suitcase and headed to Arizona to study motorcycle mechanics at the MMI. His mom was a teacher. The thought of schooling was engrained in his psyche. He struggled with the decision to enroll or not and decided not to invest another $20,000 in mechanics training, but find a job in the industry that enticed him. He answered a classified and came to Los Angeles and Russell Mitchell’s shop.

“Sheila,” I hollered from the back of the bar, “ another Jack on the rocks?”

She glared and spun towards the liquor shelf. I could only imagine this kid stumbling into Exile, to be strung up by chains, while cheap North Hollywood whores scrubbed his entire body and soul with Scotchbrite. He needed to be broken down. All the chrome, bling, upscale bullshit removed from his body, so he could understand the essence of the Exile credo. This shop is devoted to the plain and simple and the harsh reality of the elements. It’s all about battleship strength and a warrior’s metal. It reeks of the renegade’s soul, the loner’s spirit and Robin Hood’s plight.

Whatever Russell did to the young man it worked. He’s been apart of the rustic crew for three years and this is the second bike he’s built under Russell’s tutelage.

Brad is now the sales manager, works with purchasing, and customers, building relationships and fixing them up with the Exile components they need. “We sell bikes complete, or rollers or specific parts,” Brad told me.

He handled all aspects of the build this bike including welding, but not the sheet metal fabrication. “Dylan is the master,” Brad said. With Russell’s input they powder coated all the sheet metal and the frame black chrome with a satin clear finish. It took him 50 hours to complete the bike working week days after work until midnight and half-days on Saturday. That Saturday afternoon it fired to life and so did Brad.

There’s nothing like the rush of building a chopper from the ground up and lighting that fucker off. I took a large gulp of Jack and set it down hard on my table. The Brad transition was coming to life in my rough draft. The bike was as tough as Los Angeles streets. It was as simple as a jockey shift street hammer with dual brakes but no lever on the bars. Both rotors were crimped by the same oversized master cylinder (11.5-inch on the front and 10-inch on the rear with just a two-piston Exile caliper). Under the hot California Sun he stripped any chrome or bare metal components of polish or shine with WD40, as cutting fluid, and medium grade Scotchbrite.

Brad jacked up the Sportster tank Frisco style and cut the drag bars, clip-on style. So I got the picture. He was well educated, contained a reasonably strong work ethic and understood the cement creed according to Russell, sorta. I pressed him for riding style, back alley treachery on the whore-strewn streets of Hollywood, but nothing. I was frustrated. I was becalmed in that fuckin’ sea of treachery once more. I tore up my notes, tossed ‘em in the corner, guzzled the whiskey, told Sheila to stuff her high and mighty attitude and hit the streets. My rusty Shovelhead felt bitchin’ blasting across town, duckin’ rampant cops looking for noise pollution breakers instead of drug dealers. I skidded up to the shop, parked the bike and headed to the liquor cabinet, but stopped.

My Apple computer blinked at me in the dark of the Bikernet garage. An e-mail was whistling at me from the din. I tripped over extension cords and printer cables until I reached the keyboard and clicked on “Check messages.” Brad’s message danced across the screen. Daytona last year – We rented a house, and we were a big hit with the lollipops girls…………One of us came back divorced, several others came back and broke up with our girlfriends. Two of us nearly killed each other on the last day. And none of us remembered what happened that last week …………..”

Cheers,

–Brad Cutler
Sales Manager – Exile Cycles
http://www.exilecycles.com/

Fuck, just as I was thinking that the male, macho, hard-as-rusty-nails spirit was gone, Brad confirmed that warriors still live. He reaffirmed the Exile dream. I could finally rest in comfort, knowing full well that concrete pirates still roam the nights.

–Bandit

General

Owner: Brad Cutler
City/State: Burbank, CA
Builder: Brad Cutler
Company : Exile Cycles
Address: 13209 Saticoy St.
City and state: N. Hollywood, CA 91605
http://www.exilecycles.com/
Fabrication: Exile
Manufacturing: Exile
Welding: Dylan @ Exile Machining: Exile

Year: 2005
Make: Total Performance
Model: EVO
Displacement: 121-inch
Builder or Rebuilder:

Case finish: Scotchbrite
Barrel finish: Scotchbrite

Head finish: Scotchbrite
Carburetion: S&S Super G

Transmission

Year: 2005
Make: JIMS
Gear configuration: 6-speed
Final drive: Exile Chain Drive
Primary: Primo
Clutch: Rivera/Primo

Frame

Year: 2005
Make: Exile by Daytec
Style or Model: Rigid
Stretch: None
Rake: 32 degree

Front End

Make: SJP Engineering
Model: Tech Glide 250
Year: 2005
Length: 28”

Sheet metal

Tanks: King Sportster, Modified
Fenders: Exile Short Trojan
Oil tank: Exile

Paint

Sheet metal: Powdercoat
Molding: No way
Base coat: Black Chrome w/Satin Clear
Graphics: Nope
Frame: Powdercoat
Base coat: Black Chrome w/Satin Clear

Wheels

Front
Make: Exile Monster Wheel
Size: 21×3.5
Brake calipers: Exile 4-piston
Brake rotor(s): Exile 11.5”
Tire: 120 Metzeler

Rear
Make: Exile Monster Wheel
Size: 15×7
Brake calipers: Exile Sprocket Brake
Brake rotor: Exile 10-inch rotor sprocket
Pulley: 50-tooth sprocket/rotor
Tire: 230 Avon

Controls

Foot controls: Exile Forward controls, modified for foot clutch
Finish: Scotchbrite
Master cylinder: JayBrake
Brake lines: Exile
Handlebar controls: Internal throttle
Finish: Scotchbrite
Clutch Cable: Exile Foot Clutch cable

Electrical

Ignition: Crane Hi-4
Ignition switch: Exile
Coils: Crane Single Fire
Regulator: Compufire
Charging: Compufire
Wiring Brad
Harness: Brad/Exile
Headlight: SJP 3.5” Halogen
Taillight: Exile LED unit
Accessory lights:
Battery: Yuasa

What's Left

Seat: Seat pan by Exile, Leatherwork by Brad
Pipes: Exile
Mufflers: None
Exhaust finish: High-Temp Silver
Gas caps: Pop-up
Handlebars: Exile Dragbars with integral risers
Grips: Rubber
Pegs: Exile
Oil filter: Harley
Oil lines: Exile
Fuel Lines: Exile
Throttle: Exile Internal Throttle
Throttle cables: Exile
Fasteners: Stainless

Credits: Thanks to Russell, Jake, Dylan!

Contact info: (818) 255-3330 Ext. 1
sales@exilecycles.com
http://www.exilecycles.com/

GERMAN cruiser specialist Thunderbike of Hamminkeln in Germany was the clear winner of this year’s Official European Championship of Custom Bike Building, presented by Custom Chrome Europe at their 2006 Dealer Show at Mainz in Germany. (We will feature the first place winner here, followed by second tomorrow and so on for ten days, if we don’t burn out.)

Called ‘Spectacula’, the swoopy lines and belt-free direct-drive 300mm fat rear-end lowrider was the clear choice for top prize among the twenty industry experts chosen to act as the jury panel at AMD’s acclaimed fifth annual European Championship.

Altogether 127 custom bikes (up from 71 in 2005) were entered by 98 builders (up from 63 in 2005) representing nineteen different countries (up from fourteen in 2005). The competition took place at the Phoenixhalle, Mainz, on Saturday March 25th and Sunday March 26th. The top ten featured three builders from Sweden, two each from Germany and Belgium, and one each from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.

Second place went to custom show newcomer Stellan Egeland of SE Service from near Stockholm in Sweden. Stellan got a huge ovation from the crowd attending the awards ceremony for his remarkable Flathead engined drag-race inspired ‘Esox Lucius’ (Pike). It was only the second bike built by the hot-rod specialist, and it won admiration throughout the weekend from all who saw it.

Third place went to Charly Gregoire of Red Baron Choppers in Belgium for ‘Revenge’, a transverse mounted v-twin, finished throughout in aluminium and stainless steel. It had been a hot tip for Euro champs honours ever since the bike took ‘Best in Show’ on its debut at MotorSale and a Class Win at the Belgian Bike Weekend last year (Netherlands in November and Belgium in December respectively).

Fourth place went to Vaclav Vavra whose ‘Breakin’ the Rules’ backed up its fifth place in the 2005 Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building held in Las Vegas in November last year with a fourth place at the European Championship.

An orthopaedic surgeon by profession, Vaclav Vavra’s Czech Republic based VAV-Tuning bike building business is now firmly on the international map, and as with the success achieved last year by VMP of the Czech Republic (with their hi-tech ‘Czech Bread’ bike) points to one of the big trends seen at the European Championship in the last two years. Namely the emergence of top class custom building with contemporary design and production values in the former Soviet countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Shox KFT from Budapest, Hungary, finished just outside the top ten with the ‘The Hawk’, and altogether there were four entries from the Czech Republic, two entries from Hungary, three entries from Poland and Yuri Shif from Belarus.

Fifth place was taken by Krazy Horse Cycles from the UK, with their ‘Zeroesque’, an Ironhead Sportster homage to the styling that emerged from Shinya Kimura’s Zero Engineering in Japan.Other trends now clearly seen through the Official European Championship have been the growing popularity and quality of ‘retro’ styling, and, conversely, the continuing development of cutting edge suspension, chassis and driveline technology and the use of light weight materials.

It is as an engineering and design showcase that the European Championship was initially conceived, and, as with the Official World Championship which 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, is having a positive and important effect on the global custom bike industry.

“AMD has created a fantastic showcase for the work of custom bike builders everywhere” said Andreas Bergerforth, of Thunderbike, in his acceptance speech after taking his company’s European Championship win. “The opportunity for builders to be able to compete in an event that has such an extremely high standard and that creates such worldwide publicity is great for all of those who take part, and fantastic for the industry as a whole.

“I know I speak for every body who has taken part this weekend when I say thank you and pay tribute to AMD and Custom Chrome for making this possible,” Andreas said.

The 2005 European Championship winner, Habermann-Performance from Germany, continued their fine track record of doing well at the event with an eighth place finish for their new bike ’Balor’, and two times World Championship third place winner Fred ‘Krugger’ Bertrand of Belgium scooped seventh.

Piet Hofman of Violator Motorcycles fame in the Netherlands backed up his 2005 European Championship second place and World Championship eighth place with sixth spot at this year’s European Championship with ‘Guilty to be White’.

The traditionally fine showing by Scandinavian builders continued with Ulf Stjernholm and Per Cederqvist of USPC of Romakloster, Sweden taking ninth place with a remarkable lowrider that combined contemporary styling with a ’74 Flathead power plant appropriately called ‘Fusion’, and 2005 Norrtalje, Sweden winner and World Championship competitor Peder Johansson of Hogtech fame took tenth for his rigid chopper ‘Laponia Outlaw’.

In addition to Shox KFT of Hungary finishing thirteenth, the top twenty saw Sweden’s MKHER tie with Violator’s other entered bike, ‘The Equator’ in eleventh, and bikes from Switzerland, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany (Holger Schnell of No Limit Custom fame for another remarkable v-rod) filling the other top nineteen spots.

Privateer Michael Andreasson and 2005’s 10th place man Gordon Rooth (Unique Custom Cycles) continued Sweden’s excellent showing by taking twentieth and twenty-first places respectively. The much admired ‘Quattro’ by Daniel Rodriguez Crespo of Devil Inside Cycles in Spain also tied for twenty-first, as did Germany’s Andreas Maier of Schwaben-Schmiede.

Many thanks,
–Robin Bradley
Publisher/Owner
American Motorcycle Dealer
robin@dealer-world.com

Photographer Horst Rösler, from Germany can be visited at www.motographer.com and e-mailed at motographer@t-online.de

1st PLACE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP—FREESTYLE CLASS

Bike Name: Spectacula

Business: Thunderbike
Haminkeln, Germany

Year/Model: 2006

Engine Make/Size: TP Pro Series 124
Frame Make: Thunderbike
Frame Mods: 50° 6″

Wheel (front): 4.25 x 21
Wheel (rear): 11 x 18
Brakes (front): Thunderbike
Brakes (rear): Thunderbike
Painter: Kruse Design
Chroming: Thunderbike

Bandit gave the entire staff books on grammar, spelling and punctuation. Whatta mess that caused. Every grammar book handles the topics differently. We couldn’t get it right before, and now we argue about the varied grammatical codes and still get it wrong. That’s not the case in the world of metal work. You either get it right the first time or keep hammering and welding until it’s correct. They’re only various levels of correctness, no rules. As a kid, with three brothers and no parents into bikes or hot rods, Josh Ewing drug a 220 Volt extension cord through his bedroom window, into his Tacoma, Washington, kitchen, pushed the electric stove out of the way and plugged in his stick welder. “I fired it up,” Josh said, “and it dimmed all the lights in my folks’ house.”

He started his craft after buying his first car at 16 years of age, a ’68 Impala. “I had no money to fix it,” Josh said, “so I did it myself.” He started with welding, then bodywork and mechanics. For three years he learned at his first job building hot rods in Auburn, Washington. “Then I spent another year and a half working from Wicked Fabrication,” Josh said. “I have no clue why or how I got into bikes and hot rods. My folks weren’t into it and neither were my brothers.”

During his time in the car shops he built bikes on the side and that end of his craft grew until he was forced to make a decision and opened his own shop in Sumner, Washington just 10 minutes east of Tacoma. His dad was an electrician for the Naval Shipyard and he’s the same age as Bandit, born in ’48. Josh is now 28, married and his first child is on its way. His shop stays busy with predominately metal fabrication. A customer, Marty Mitchell, hauled in this partially dismantled 1946 45 flathead and they started to rework the twisted chassis which led to a complete remake of the front chassis half, then Josh made the tank, the oil bag, the fender, forward controls, fender struts, license plate and taillight mount chain guard and center rear sprocket web. He cleaned and smoothed the stock springer front end and made the caliper mounts.

In addition to a variety of sheet metal working tools Ewing Kustoms house machine shop capabilities with a lathe and milling machine. He enjoys working on early rides but also deals with later bikes with big engines and billet wheels. “We’re predominately a metal fab shop,” Josh explained. They outsource paint, but make some of their seats, except when stitching is required.

We’ll watch as the Ewing shops grows and Josh develops new products, maybe a line of gas tanks and license plates brackets that might be sold through CCI. He’s obviously a talented builder and we hope to feature more of his bikes in the near future. That is, if the old Bandit will allow me to hammer out a story without picking it to death.

Regular Stuff

Owner: Marty Mitchell
City/State: Spanaway/WA

Builder: Ewing Kustoms
Location: 13701 24st East, Sumner, WA. Phone #253-826-6246 / Email address : ewingkustoms@qwestoffice.net
Fabrication: Ewing Kustoms
Manufacturing: Ewing Kustoms
Welding: Ewing Kustoms
Machining: Ewing Kustoms

Engine

Year: 1946
Make: Harley Davidson
Model: Flathead
Displacement: 45 cubic inch
Builder or Rebuilder: unknown
Cases: stock
Case finish: polished
Barrels: stock
Barrel finish: Unknown
Heads: stock
Head finish: Unknown

Carburetion: stock (polished)
Other: Distributor is a modified Mallory

Transmission

Year: 1946
Make: Harley Davidson
Gear configuration: 3-speed
Final drive: chain
Primary: stock chain without cover
Clutch: Barnett

Frame

Year: 1946
Make: Harley Davidson
Style or Model: Flathead 45
Rake: about 45 degrees
Modifications: Rebuilt backbone and downtube to lower the headtube of frame. Removed any mounts that were not necessary, which were most of them.

Front End

Make: Harley Davidson
Model: Flathead
Year: 1946
Length: stock
Mods: Shaved off fender & other misc. mounts. Powder coated and chromed.

Sheet metal

Tanks: Ewing Kustoms
Fenders: Ewing Kustoms
Oil tank: Ewing Kustoms
Other: Air cleaner, primary cover & shroud, chain guard, brake lever, wheel spacer/ brake caliper mounts, fender struts, headlight mount, license plate mount and frame, front spool hub, distributor cap, kickstand, kicker pedal, exhaust mount, upper motor mount, and fender mount are all handmade at Ewing Kustoms.

Paint

Sheet metal: Byers Custom & Restoration
Molding: Byers Custom & Restoration
Base coat: Byers Custom & Restoration
Graphics: Byers Custom & Restoration
Frame: Rainier Powder Coating

Wheels

Front
Make: Harley Davidson / Ewing Kustoms
Size: 16 inch
Brake calipers: Performance Machine
Brake rotor(s): Ewing Kustoms
Tire: 5.00-16 white wall

Rear
Make: Harley Davidson / Ewing Kustoms
Size: 16 inch
Brake calipers: Performance Machine
Brake rotor: Ewing Kustoms
Pulley: (sprocket) Ewing Kustoms
Tire: 5.00-16 white wall

Controls

Foot controls: Ewing Kustoms
Finish: Black Powder Coat & Chrome
Master cylinder: Modified Wagner style
Brake lines: Ewing Kustoms / Goodridge
Handlebar controls: Ewing Kustoms
Finish: Chrome
Clutch Cable: Ewing Kustoms
Brake Lines: Ewing Kustoms / Goodridge
Shifting: Modified stock hand shifter with Ewing Kustom mount and linkage

Electrical

Ignition: Mallory
Ignition switch: Sportster
Coils: Gill
Regulator: V-Twin (solid state)
Charging: V-Twin generator
Wiring: Ewing Kustoms
Harness: Ewing Kustoms
Headlight: Model A cowl light/ Ewing Kustoms
Taillight: Ewing Kustoms
Switches: Only an ignition switch
Battery: Centennial Battery Systems

What's Left

Seat: Ewing Kustoms
Pipes: Ewing Kustoms
Exhaust finish: Ceramic Coating
Gas caps: Ewing Kustoms
Handlebars: Ewing Kustoms
Grips: McFarland Upholstery
Pegs: Ewing Kustoms
Oil lines: Ewing Kustoms
Fuel filter: stock style
Fuel Lines: Ewing Kustoms
Throttle: Exile internal throttle
Throttle cables: Ewing Kustoms
Fasteners: Custom Chrome

Specialty items:

Comments: We prefer to hand-make as many parts as we possibly can and buy only what we can't make. We also guarantee that you will recieve the highest quality with each hand-made part we make.

Credits: Special thanks to Byers Custom, Jaime McFarland ( thanks for the leather ), Daron Gaenz ( thanks for machining the axles),Jeff Cortez (Ranier Powder Coating), John Leach for his support, and Marty Mitchell.

We’re fortunate to have a teaser on Josh Ewing’s next project. Some very smooth sheetmetal work here.

Watch for another feature on Bikernet.com in the future.

Glenn told me, “I bought my first bike when I was thirteen and paid for it with money I earned from my three paper rounds. It was a Royal Enfield, cut down to a sort-of mini bike. It had no brakes and a hand shifter on the tank and went like sh*t – I don’t really know how I didn’t kill myself. Unfortunately the cops caught me on the main road and gave my parents an ultimatum to sell the bike or they’d charge me. Well, at thirteen, guess what?”

Well both Johnny and Larry have left us to compete in that great biker build-off in the sky and Glenn thought he’d do a sort of tribute bike in the style of these masters, with homage to other legends such as Von Dutch who – until his name became a fashion statement thanks to walnut-brained air-heads like Britney (vomit) Spears – was ‘The Man’ when it came to Californian pin-striping.

I asked Glen how this bike came about. “Well Doc, it was a great deal and I’d been thinking about getting another Shovel anyway. It’s good to get back to basics and y’know, I don’t intend to part with this bike. There is definitely something about riding old iron. I think it takes me back to my youth or “something like that”.

There are many little custom touches all over this cool ride, things like Johnny Chop’s motto “Stay Gold” Glen worked into the leather hand grips he made and Indian Larry’s “Question Mark” which represented his philosophy of life. Neat touches, all over.

The rear guard is a chopped down one that was originally suitable for a 300 tyre. Wild Willy, the Mad Fabricator, did the honours on that one and I should have mentioned he did the seat base also. All told this project took me nearly three years but to me, no bike is ever really finished.

But this bike is really special to me because I’ve built it with a lot of great artists in mind like Ed Roth, Von Dutch, Indian Larry, David Mann and Johnny Chop because, in a small way, I hope to keep their spirit alive here in Australia.

Powder coating thanks goes to Scott and Ensoll (075 4534955) and thank you Mike from Mike Warner Motor Cycle Specialist (075 4931966) for rebuilding my rims. I’d like to also thank Mike from Mike’s Custom Shop in Noosa (075 4499555) for his advice and help along the way. And a very special thanks to my beautiful wife Kerry who supports me in whatever I am doing.”

Rear: 16-in HD re-chromed
Tyre: 300 x 16 Bridgestone Spitfire
Hub: HD
Brake: Juice Drum Brake
(Also works well)
Brake line: Stock

Other: Oil pressure gauge and oil warning lightTaillight: L.A. County Choprods