Handmade Specials Done Your Way

Triumph College Class

Al Heckman digs classic Triumph twins and sent this pic of one of his world-class handiwork. This bike is a 1967 Triumph TR6R 650 with an engine that’s been upgraded with hardened valve guides and springs, a ported and polished head, oversize pistons and lapped cylinder walls. “We installed a Boyer electronic ignition and are running a 34mm Mikuni flatslide carburetor,” Al told us. “We tried to use all original hardware where we could and there’s a new wiring harness.” The bike is repainted in original Triumph factory colors of Mist Green and Alaskan White while a set of Norman Hyde M handlebars were shortened 1 ¾” on both ends for a more aggressive riding style. All gauges are rebuilt Smiths. Al says his father, Todd, a professional aircraft mechanic, purchased the TR6 from a friend in 2013 and the restoration was carried out alongside his college studies over four long years. “We met tons of great people in the motorcycle scene who gave us advice and I tried to be a part of each process as much as possible to learn basic mechanics, and restoration techniques.,” he said.

961 Commando Scrambler

Progress has been slower than January molasses at the newly-purchased Norton Motorcycles in England, but this customized 961 Commando shows what dedicated engineers could someday create from the air-cooled parallel twin. This Commando Scrambler is the result of several months hard work from Down and Out Customs, the blokes responsible for the classy BMW bobber from last issue. The stock 961 was extensively modified to be light and agile enough for a flattrack race but reliable enough for everyday street use, says Down and Out’s Carl Portlock. The rear subframe has been replaced by a smaller hoop that’s incorporating the horseshoe-shaped LED taillight and holding a narrow stainless steel fender. The airbox is now gone, replaced by open aluminum bellmouths sucking air into the fuel injection system while the high-rise exhaust system is a sheer work of art, requiring dozens of hours of pipe bending and welding to complete. An 11” off-road tires and Kineo spoked

Baker’s Duc

In So Cal, few Ducati enthusiasts are as dedicated as George Baker. In addition to a sprawling custom shop specializing in Italian twins, he runs a successful motorcyclethemed cafe and rider hangout. This breathtaking take on Bologna’s traditional air-cooled 900 Supersport is proof of his love of the brand as the build was spared no expense or technical detail. The carbureted two-valve engine was carefully rebuilt with new Mikuni carbs, Cone Engineering stainless steel mufflers and the airbox replaced by a set of velocity stacks. “To lend the Ducati a more traditional shape as seen on early SS models, he ditched the clunky stock fuel cell and replaced it with the more traditional-shaped tank from a 1980s Honda CBX six-cylinder. This required having the frame’s top rail cut away and a new piece welded in place, but the results speak for themselves. Other frame mods include grafting on a single-sided swingarm and five-spoke Marchesini rear wheels from a Ducati superbike, along with a custom rear subframe to hold the slim humpback cafe seat. Custom side panels in silver contrast nicely with the bright red paint, which magically makes every Ducati even faster.

Motodoc Moto Guzzi

Davide Paradiso of Umbria, Italy’s Motodoc Classic put together this retro take on the 90-degree shaft drive cafe custom that we spotted at last summer’s Moto Guzzi 100th Birthday celebration. Built from the remains of a worn-out 1986 Guzzi 1000 SP3 sport touring bike, Motodoc saw a classic, race-inspired streetbike lurking inside. To achieve their goals, the three-man team cut the steering head and reconfigured the neck to decrease the rake angle 3.5 degrees for faster steering and rebuilt the air-cooled engine from crankcase to heads. On came a set of Foggy aluminum spoked wheels and rebuilt 1980s Brembo brake calipers. More grip comes from the Continental Road Attack tires on both 18” wheels. Tiny aluminum fenders are barely legal in safety conscious Italy, but neither are the reverse megaphone mufflers that are welded to the sleek stainless steel header pipes and boom out sound from the overbore 1100cc engine. The from an old

While many biking couples have trouble finding the time to ride together, Jessica Luchesi and partner Ben Schattschneider have teamed up to create a rare husband and wife custom motorcycle shop. Chicago’s Never Ending Cycles designs and builds custom cafe racers and scramblers and Jessica’s role is quite a departure from her earlier career, she admitted, but the two very different jobs have similarities “It turns out that 30 plus years in the beauty industry overlaps quite nicely in motorcycle design,” she said. “I’m also quite often the tear down department and I’ve found it quite satisfying to pull off the old stuff and get ready for the new. Needless to say, I don’t have very girly hands!”

Her path to a career as a bike customizer started as a little girl in the family garage. That’s where her father spent weekends tinkering with cars and motorcycles, allowing Jessica to help out with various jobs. “We were never without an old car or bike dad was tinkering on. I loved the vintage world from a very young age,” she said.

Husband Ben began building a couple of cafe racers in the garage during the first Covid shutdown as something to pass the time. Never Ending Cycles began in 2020 as a good reason to smoke cigars, drink whiskey and tinker in the garage while coping with its the world being closed due to Covid, Jessica said. Then she got involved and saw what she describes as “an incredibly talented man with a whole lot of passion,” in Ben. “I’m also a passionate person with 20 years of entrepreneurship and (with) the roots of my dad, I knew what we had could be huge.”

With the shop up and running and offering mechanical repairs, custom fabrication and refinishing of parts and accessories, Never Ending Cycles became known throughout the greater Chicago area. With a background in cosmetics, Jessica says she was immediately drawn to aspects of the shop involving colors and finishes.

“I consult with Ben and clients quite often on color thematics. I also do much of our powdercoating,” she said. Her expertise in those fields is evident in the builds where contrasting colors and textures give Never Ending’s bikes a cool, almost factory-design look and feel. Her Kawasaki KZ400 debuted at last summer’s Motoblot festival and received much props from the crowed for its subdued and classic appearance. Ben has displayed a keen two-tone Honda CB400 Four fitted with superbike forks, and his classic BMW R65, also rolling on modern suspension and featuring a one-off subframe and trick blue paint.

A relative newcomer to motorcycling, Jessica, with Ben, built the KZ400 while she was still enrolled in motorcycle safety classes. In the coming months, she plans to add her own classic BMW Boxer twin to the stable, and both will share customizing duties.

Utilizing social media feeds, Ben soon found a community of many other lovers of vintage custom bikes and people began reaching out to him to build for them. At the end of 2020 a couple of tinker bikes grew to a little more than half dozen. By the end of 2022 the team had commissioned roughly 35 more custom bike builds, proving their combined skills were definitely in demand.

“We began attending shows like Mama Tried in Milwaukee, The Hand Built show in Austin, MotoBlot in Chicago and Glory Daze in Pittsburgh. Then we decided to jump into a couple of local parades and hang out at Road America. Before we knew it, our local community began reaching us to repair bikes and scooters. Then our powdercoating word got out and we took on a few sets of wheels here and there,” Jessica said.

Late last year, the business had grown enough to abandon their original 450 square foot shop for a bigger, roomier location with room to grow even further. “Since then we could work 24/7…if I let Ben,” she joked. The Never Ending team is grateful for the response they’ve received from Chicago’s large and diverse motorcycle community and thankful they’ve latched onto a career that allows them to work sideby-side while having a ton of fun at the same time.

“We feel we connect people to a root… whether it’s their family or just a time we hope to preserve in our ever-changing world,” she said.

Jessica is quick to say the smiles of both her partner and their clients are the most rewarding parts of her job, while the hardest bit is finding balance between her personal and professional life. “Collectively, Ben and I have five children all launching into adulthood as well as three dogs. Our business and our dreams are growing so fast, so we have a lot to juggle. We’re sure to spend time connecting with each other and choosing our battles well. We’re so lucky that we share what we love so that much our working time is still together time,” she said.

As a woman, Jessica says she didn’t experience any considerable barriers to taking on a career in a male-dominated field – or if there were, she rode right past them. “I don’t believe in barriers, so if they are there, I don’t see them. I think what I’ve brought to the industry is that “too old” isn’t a thing and “can’t” isn’t really in my vocabulary.”

Never Ending Cycles

262-804-7133 www.NeverEndingCycles.com