Cycle Source Magazine Issue 290 April- May 22

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December‘10 CYCLE SOURCE

CYCLE SOURCE APril APril '22 - May '22 7

BIKES All In

Garrett's 1946 Knucklehead ........................................................................... 22

King Of Sturgis

B Keene Built's Evo Bobber ...............................................................................40

Seventy Seven

SpeedKing Racing's Shovelhead ................................................................. 58

Death Metal

Billy's 1972 XLCH .................................................................................................... 70

Bar Hopper

Tyler's '77 FLH ..........................................................................................................80

Stacy

Joshua DeBenedetto's Garage Build Winner ..........................................90

Mambo No. 2

Copper Top Garage's 59 Panhead .................................................................94

Lucky 13

James Abram' s KZ440 ......................................................................................100

FEATURES Backroad BBQ Run

Good Ol Fashion Chopper Party In NC ...........................................................10

Shovelhead Reunion

Flames and Glory at the Harley Homecoming ........................................ 32

Frontiersmen Studio

Art Of Our Culture With Matthew Heck ..................................................... 36

Why SmokeOut

Hallman Tells His Tale ........................................................................................ 46

Run To The Ranch

58

Invasion Of The Green Swamp ....................................................................... 64

TECH STOP!

Getting More Life Out Of Your Light ................................................................ 18

Evolving The Evo

Rebuilding The FXR Evolution Engine ......................................................... 28

Horsepower Is Overrated

Baxter's Garage Explains It All ....................................................................... 54

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EDITORIAL OFFICE

The Cycle Source Magazine 118 Dellenbaugh Road Tarentum, PA 15084

For Any Questions Or Comments Please Call 724-226-2867 or e-mail cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

EDITORIAL STAFF

Christopher Callen - Editor In Chief - cyclesource69@comcast.net Heather Callen - Managing Editor - cyclesourcemain@comcast.net Will Ramsey - Tech Editor - will@faithforgotten.com Milwaukee Mike - Mid-West Editor - neanderthalneon@hotmail.com Roadside Marty - South East Editor - roadsidemd@bellsouth.net Keith “Bandit” Ball - News Editor - bandit@bikernet.com

STAFF WRITERS

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Chris Callen, Milwaukee Mike, Jack Schit, Pat Jansen, Will Ramsey, Xavier Muriel, Charlie Weisel, Mitch Bodine, Mark Velazquez, Amelia Rose, Daniel Donley, Joshua Elzey, Jimmy Frizzell, Roadside Marty, Heather Callen, Dan Venditto, Melissa Shoemaker, Tyler Porter, Troy Bensinger, Jason Hallman, Chip Parisi, Matt Reel

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Chris Callen, Heather Callen, Mad Stork Ken, Mark Velazquez, Twila Knight, Dan Venditto, Melissa Shoemaker, Deb Fitch

CONTRIBUTORS

Kelly Lynn, Erick Runyon, Kevin Baxter, Mrs. Judy

STAFF ARTISTS Chris Callen

ADVERTISING

Heather Callen- Sales Manager - cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

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GRAPHIC ARTISTS Chris Callen, Heather Callen

DISTRIBUTION

Comag 5230 Finch Ave. E., Ste. 1, Toronto, ON, M1S 4Z9 Cycle Source - Dealership Direct Distribution 724-226-2867

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Heather Callen - 724-226-2867

COPY EDITOR Judy Duggan

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SPARE PARTS Product Spotlight

A Closer Look At Performance Machines Hand Controls ................... 52

In The News

94

The World Report Powered by BikerNet.com ......................................... 106

DEPARTMENTS

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Chopper Charlie ............................................................... 76 Great American Road Chip ......................................... 86 Photo Hunt ........................................................................... 93 Gut Busters ........................................................................ 114

The Cycle Source Magazine® (ISSN 1935-0287) is published 12 times a year by The Cycle Source Magazine with Offices at 119 Dellenbaugh Road Tarentum, PA 15084, 724-226-2867, www.cyclesource.com. U.S. Subscription rate is $30.00 for 12 issues. Canadian Subscription rate is $45.00 for 12 issues. Back Issues, when available, are $6.00 each, payable in advance. Periodicals postage paid at Tarentum, PA ad additional mailing offices. The Cycle Source Magazine® reserves the right to reject any advertising or contributions that it deems unsuitable. Opinions expressed are those of the author and not of The Cycle Source Magazine®. Nothing printed in The Cycle Source Magazine® December re-printed in whole or part without the express written consent of the publishers. Copyright ® 2020. The Cycle Source Magazine®, A Grass Roots Motorcycle PublicationSM, Scooter Tramp ™ Wild Man™ Low Down & Dirty Rotten™ Grease & Gears Garage™ Grease & Gears TV™ Grease & Gears Garage Roadshow™ ShopTalk™ Do It Your Damn Self™ Inslide Line™ are registered trade marks.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cycle Source Magazine 119 Dellenbaugh Rd. Tarentum, PA 15084

ABOUT THE COVER

From The Editor’s Desk .................................................... 8 Pin-Up Of The Month ....................................................... 16

LEGAL COUNSEL

James L. Paz Attorney at Law - Tarentum, PA - 724-226-9PAZ For Any Subscription Questions Call 724-226-2867

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Jeff Cochran has been cool since before many of us knew what it was, but in regards to why he shows up here, quite simply he is a solid brother. Jeff knows that this thing lives and breathes based on the people in it and is always there for us. Not to mention he pretty much invented this style and owns it like a boss!

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a know, it occurs to me that our little thing here has so many quirky little sayings like the one above. Some of them said in a tongue in cheek capacity, others are the type that countries go to war over. Still, the need to pass along the wisdom, whatever it may be, that is contained in their phrasing holds true. Take this one for instance. You might think you know what it means, but brother I’m here to tell you that the true definition and meaning behind that term is lost on so many today.

Now, I don’t want to come off as a grumpy old bastard…. Wait a minute, yes, I do! You see, at stake here is the very existence of our culture and that means more to me than what anyone thinks about how kind I am or not. When I speak about our culture and community, it’s not you at the local bike night, not the chopular or the instafamous, but those of us that came to motorcycling seeking refuge from a society we never fit into.

One that the rank file had polluted with weak values and skewed perspectives that made the dollar bill king and didn’t require anyone to qualify their words or actions. I know that a lot of you cats will associate this crowd with assless chaps and nicknames like Spider and Road Pig. The term biker meant something back then, that it doesn’t today.

And even those accessories to the community like the nickname, which at one time, was in place to prevent anyone from having the ability to

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testify on each other. I still to this day only know some of my very best brothers by their nicknames.

And assless chaps, well wait, I can’t say they were ever a good idea for bikers, but they came from the term Chapparell pants and Cowboys.

Now, there’s another group who’s description changed over the years.

You might think it’s cute to pass judgment on a “Cowboy” today, but back in the day, and not that long ago, they were some of the roughest sumbitches in the land. If you gave them a cross look you would get a poke in the chops.

So, let’s talk about these chopper dues. I see this term show up here and there and I think to myself, isn’t that cute, some people actually think they have paid their dues.

Well, here I sit, 25 years into doing the magazine, about 35 into being a biker and I’m still paying mine so I can assure you there are more coming for you as well. That’s the point of it, they are ALWAYS DUE! But what are these dues we speak of? Well for me, and I can just speak of my own perspective, it’s about measuring up. Having the ability to toe the line when it’s required, back your words up with action, help a brother, take care of your own shit and in general be part of the solution and not the problem. To add to the community out here and not always look to take something from it. As for paying these dues, and what rights it gives you, none is the answer to that question

cupcake. Entitlement doesn’t exist in this world; those are the dues too.

You want something? Then go get it.

That’s on you, but trust me no body owes you anything. Not because you have a lot of followers, wear the popular brands, put the miles down, none of that. Great, you can ride hard, you can build shit or tune your bike, those aren’t special qualities that you have added to your biker resume, those are qualifications to be here in the first place. Always due, always due!!!!

Now, I’m not asking you to form a revolution around this idea, just a simple reminder. The way we policed our ranks back in the day was that if someone didn’t measure up to those standards, we lost their number, didn’t invite them on the ride or to the party. So, what I’m saying is you should ask yourself about today’s would be heroes. Do they measure up? Are these people truly who we want to put on a pedestal as the best of us or have we all just become too chicken shit to call a spade a spade and speak up?

Seems to me like having a chance at being chopular or making a quick buck comes into play way too often in these scenarios today and a lot of times what gets said in front of the Social Media screen is not what people feel in their hearts and man, that’s about as far away from what this culture has been about than if we all rode vespas. But like I said, I’m just. Grumpy old bastard…

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or years, people have marked Daytona Bike Week as the start of the riding season. While I agree that Daytona Bike Week is an important event on most calendars, for me, the real start of the riding season begins the first weekend in May with the Backroad BBQ Run in Trenton, NC. This grassroots c h o p p e r event has been hosted by Luke and Ronnie Woolard since 2018 and unlike a lot of corporate events when you attend the Backroad BBQ Run it’s like coming home. If you don’t show up already knowing half the people there, you will know at least that many by the time you leave.

Luke and Ronnie like to call it a “family reunion” and that is really a good way to describe it.

It is especially true if your family reunions include a weekend long camping trip with hundreds of choppers, thousands of free beers and a half day competition which

Article And Photos By: Panhead Jim crowns the Chopper King!

We have all heard “location, location, location” when it comes to everything from buying a house to starting a business.

Well, the Backroad BBQ Run definitely has the location part locked in. It takes place on a 30 plus acre wooded campground

bordered on one side by the Trent River and on the other by wide open fields. The fields are perfect for bike games or just ripping around on your scoot and the river can be refreshing if you are not too scared of snakes

and snapping turtles…

Technically the run starts on Friday, but as the event has grown, people have started showing up a day early just to get a prime camping spot. Not wanting to miss out on one minute of the action, I went ahead and rolled in on a Thursday afternoon and the campground was already filled with tents, choppers and dogs.

That’s right, this is a pet friendly event, so everyone was encouraged to bring their favorite fourlegged friend along. I admit I wondered if that was such a good idea, but there were no issues all weekend and everyone was a responsible for their own pets, so it turned out pretty cool.

As you can imagine, Friday was basically a constant stream of motorcycles rolling in, tents going up and people wandering around seeing who showed up.

There’s a good half mile of dirt road that leads to the campground and as each pack of bikes pulled in you could see the dust kick

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up in the distance announcing their arrival before the sound of their exhaust hit your ears. Friday night quickly ramped up into dozens of parties spread throughout the woods as campfires were lit and those free PBR’s started filtering through the crowd.

No matter how hard you partied on Friday night, the smell of fresh coffee wafting through the campground on Saturday morning was enough to get everyone on their feet and stumbling toward a food truck aptly named Mari’s Hella Fat Food to get some hot breakfast. Since “run” is actually in the name of the event, we started things off with a nice relaxing group ride through the local countryside. I grew up in eastern NC, so rolling past freshly planted fields brought me right back to my childhood and made for a great start for what was going to be a long day.

Once we got back from the ride and had the chance to grab some lunch, it was time for something a little different than your typical afternoon motorcycle events. This year Luke and Ronni decided to take things up a notch and crown someone the “Chopper King”. The idea behind the Chopper King contest was to find out who was really the best all round rider, with the coolest chopper and the strength to back it up. To narrow down the field of contestants, points were given if you rode your bike to the event, how you performed in the bike games and where you placed in the bike show.

The top 8 finalists battled it out in an arm-wrestling tournament for the title of Chopper King. Without a doubt everyone enjoyed this part of the event, whether they were cheering from the sidelines or actually going head-to-head against other riders. Of course, no one had a better time than Chris Boyce who was crowned the Chopper King and took home a ton of prizes. Event sponsors donated the prizes which included parts from Lowbrow Customs and Holland’s Super Cycle, a custom helmet from Dave’s Paintworks and Custom Destruction, a tattoo from Black Dog Tattoo and of course a fistful of cash which came from the entry fees.

There was also a special trophy

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given out named the “Local Legend” award. This was another new tradition which honored someone who has really given back to the local chopper community. This award was given in memory of a true local legend named Papa Joe who sadly passed away this year. The first year, the award was presented to Gorgeous George, creator of SmuttButt Magazine and literally the nicest guy you’ll ever meet on two wheels.

Next up it was time for the BBQ and thanks to the hard work of Grillin’ and Chillin’ BBQ, everyone got to load up on pork bbq, chicken and all the fixins’. Then it was on to the raffle which was jammed packed with great prizes from more than 60 sponsors.

There was even a “women’s only” raffle with prizes donated just for the ladies.

When the raffle finally wrapped up, the sun was getting low in the sky, and everyone was ready for that last night of partying. Walking through the woods I could see that every campfire was surrounded with people sharing stories, talking about that next upgrade and just having a good time. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great day going on the ride, watching the Chopper King event and not winning a thing in the raffle, but for me the best part of these events is the time spent talking with fellow riders.

Somehow Sunday morning always seems to arrive a few hours too soon, but like everyone else I was rolling up my sleeping bag and getting ready to head out well before I had planned on waking up. People said their goodbyes and hit the road, turning the campground back into an empty stretch of forest well before noon.

Luke and Ronnie work tirelessly each year to put on an event that really takes you back to why you started riding bikes in the first place. If you are tired of the overblown “trailer week” style events, there’s a place for you around the campfire at the Backroad BBQ Run in 2022.

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Article And Photos By: Daniel Donley

www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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t has been a long winter here in Ohio, and as I sit here and write this month’s tech, there’s snow still on the ground outside. Spring is coming, and we all know what that means; we finally get to enjoy our motorcycles. So, what better time than now to get them ready. No sense in waiting until the last minute.

Take the time now to do any service or repairs. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the upcoming riding season. After some of last year’s shenanigans, I realized that I had broken my taillight. Other than that, all I need to do is a full service on my bike for the spring. This LED taillight has served me well for more than 8 years and is extremely popular within the custom motorcycle community.

Unfortunately, the failure rate of this taillight is extremely high, so for this month’s tech, I will show you how I got 8 years out of my taillight.

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The taillight that I have on my bike is a reproduction of a Ford Model “A” style light. They make this light for use with incandescent and LED bulbs. From my experience, the failure rate of the incandescent is much higher than the LED, which I will explain in a minute. All these taillights are made from thin stainless steel, which does not get along well with our bikes’ vibrations. Here you can see the S.S. body is cracked and broken beyond repair. This being an LED version, the light still functions as it should. This is why I choose LED over incandescent. LED is much more forgiving to vibrations.

The incandescent bulb version does NOT like vibration. As you can see, there is a spring and a plastic disc with a wire running through it to contact the bulb. When the bulb starts vibrating, it loses contact with the wire and eventually destroys itself.

This is why I don’t like this version of this light. Yes, it is cheaper, but you get what you pay for.

Here is my replacement taillight.

Obviously, these are not made in the USA, but they hold up well when installed correctly. You will immediately notice that the colors of the wires or where they go are not typical to what we are used to.

Red is typically positive, and black is typically ground. That is not the case here.

One common issue with this style of light is that it is assembled with ridiculously small screws. These small screws like to fall out due to vibration. Yes, you could just Loctite them, which works fine, but have you ever tried to remove a small screw that has been Loctited when you need to service something? Good luck with that. I like to use some form of silicone in place of Loctite. Pick your flavor here; it will all do the job. I use the silicone as my thread locker as it still allows the screws to be easily removed if servicing is necessary.

You can see that there are 2 little clips inside the light that hold the lens for the license plate illumination. You will want to snug these in place.

Removing and replacing a taillight is very straightforward, but I am going to show you a few tricks that I do to mine to get longevity out of them.

The first thing is I remove the taillight.

Another little trick I like to do is to use a vibration dampening mat, like Dynamat. This is normally used CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE - April April ‘22 - May ‘22

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for the interior of your street rod to reduce road noise and vibration.

Guess what… it will also reduce the vibration inside your taillight, which would typically destroy it. I try to cover as much inside surface area as possible.

The LED version of this light has three wiring connections that need to be made. One is your running light, the second is your brake light, and the third is a ground. Not wanting to have three wires running from the taillight to the main frame of the bike, I ground the taillight internally. At this point, I only have two wires going to the taillight. I use a piece of heat shrink tube where the wiring passes through the taillight body to reduce wiring chafing. I like to use red Loctite on the fasteners that mount the taillight.

I also like to use a zip tie on the inside of the taillight body around the wiring.

This will help keep the wiring from being pulled from the taillight if it ever gets snagged on something. As far as the wiring connections, soldering with heat shrink tubing is the only way to go because splicing style connections are big and bulky and do not look professional.

The lens cover screws are tiny, so I put some silicone on the threads and get everything snugged into place.

Now, we should be good to go for another 8 years!

It’s amazing the number of tools you need to drag out just to change out a simple taillight!

Yep! We just did a tech article on how to remove and replace a taillight; hopefully, some of the tips and tricks I showed you will help get some more life out of yours! If there is something that you would like to see a Tech article on or if you have any questions, please call me or email me.

FB- Pandemonium Custom Choppers IG - pandemoniumc2 happydandemonium@gmail.com www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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hen Garrett Maddalone wanted to build a chopper, he decided to sell his Dyna Low Rider S to fund the new project. While perusing Chopper Swapper, he came across an ad for a 46 Knucklehead engine, and it just so happened that the seller wanted to trade for a

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Dyna. It was kismet. Garrett made contact and made the deal. He drove to New Jersey from Florida and made the trade. And so began the birth of this 46 Knucklehead Chopper that you’re feasting your eyes on right now.

Garrett started riding in his early 20s, and like many young guys, his first bike

was a sportbike. An R6, to be exact. Unfortunately, when Maddalone was stationed in Europe during his Army enlistment, he didn’t have access to a motorcycle.

Garret told his brother (Nick Pensabene of Madpen Cycles) that they would get into bikes when he got back stateside, and boy did they

Article And Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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ever. By the time Garrett came home, Nick was already into the Harley’s. Garrett jumped in and has been riding them since. Garrett started his Harley adventure with a Softail Slim and then graduated to an Evo Chopper. He purchased the Evo as a complete bike, and while it was a cool chopper, he decided he was never buying someone else’s project again.

He got together with Nick for his next bike and built a beautiful 1948 Pan/Shovel Chopper.

He was hooked. Garrett and Nick continued to buy and chop bikes, having a good time building them after hours while running their fence-building business.

Unfortunately, the 1948 Chopper was also sold to complete this Knucklehead Chopper. But, hey, it is a Knuckle, so I think it was worth the sacrifice.

Garrett mated the 46 Knuckle with a 45/46 HD 4 speed transmission and enclosed BDL 1.5” belt drive. He won the tank in a raffle and decided to use it on this build. Garrett contacted painter, Jason Mattox of Time Bomb Kustoms

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and had him paint the rest of the tins to match. The crazy velvet leopard print seat came from Butt Seats in Canada. And I will tell you, that leopard print really gives the bike the feel of those old school 70s Choppers.

The frame is a chopped OG 46/47 Bullneck frame and is complimented nicely by a W&W springer front end. Garrett went with an upsweep exhaust to complete the classic chopper look. He rounded out the flow of this old school chopper with spoke wheels and a rear juice drum brake.

One of my favorite details of the bike is the shifter knob.

Garrett was injured while serving in Afghanistan (Thank you for your service Garrett) and was awarded a Purple Heart Medal. He located a shift knob from V-twin, a Purple

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all In Tech Sheet Owner: Garrett Maddalone City/State: South Daytona, FL Builder: Mad Pen Cycles Year: 1946 Model: EL Value: Time: Engine Year: 1946 Model: EL Builder: Ignition: Points Displacement: Pistons: Heads: Carb: M74B Cam: Air Cleaner: Exhaust: Upsweep Primary: Enclosed 1.5” BDL Transmission Year: 1945/1946 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: 4 Speed Frame Year: 1946/47 Model: Bullneck Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Forks: Builder: Type: Cannonball I Beam Springer Triple Trees: Inline Top Clamp Extension: Wheels Front Wheel: Spool Hub Spoke Size: 21” Tire: Avon Speed Master Front Brake: Sucks Rear Wheel: Spoke Size: 18” Tire: Dunlop K70 Rear Brake: Juice Drum Paint Painter: Time Bomb Kustoms Color: Custom White/Roth Flake Type: HOK Graphics: Smoked Flames Chroming: Accessories Bars: Arie Vee Choppers Risers: Arie Vee Choppers Hand Controls: Foot Controls: Prism Gas Tank(S): Narrow Wassel Oil Tank: Horseshoe Front Fender: Rear Fender: Modified Stock Seat: Butts Seats Headlight: Tail Light: Speedo: Photographer: Missi Shoemaker

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Heart Medal replica. While he considered using his own medal, he decided that he did not want to do a resin mold with his, and ruin it, so he left it hanging on his wall at home for his family to cherish.

Garrett’s wife Wendy and their two littles are just as enthusiastic about this

Knucklehead Chopper as he is. They all tagged along for the photoshoot, and his daughter Valerie is definitely a chopper kid in the making, and I am sure her little brother Garrett Jr. will be too, as soon as he can walk!

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hen Heather and Chris offered me the opportunity to be a part of this year’s Dennis Kirk Garage Build, I jumped at the chance.

When they told me they wanted me to build the engine, I was doubly honored. In my previous life, my friends and I street-raced Mustangs, Camaros, Nova’s, and Malibu’s with little or no substantial financial resources. Back then, everything we did was done out of our garages or in our driveways. During the winter we borrowed spaces heated with a wood-burning stove or a kerosene space heater. These are some of the fondest memories I have. The garage is where some of the best ingenuity is discovered. With necessity comes trial and error. Garage Builders worldwide benefit from the time spent trying to make chicken salad out of what some would call chicken shit.

The engine for the Dennis Kirk Garage Built FXR is going to be based on Harley Davidson’s Evolution.

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Article And Photos By: Jason Hallman Produced from 1984 through 2000 (FXR Only), the “EVO,” as it is commonly referred to, is considered by many to be the most venerable engine Harley has ever produced.

Because of its similar footprint to all big twin engines produced from 1936 through 1999 (except Touring and Dyna) and its massive availability of aftermarket parts, many refer to the EVO as the “small block Chevy” of Harley engines. Available in many sizes and configurations, from 80 cubic inches all the way up to 151 cubic inches, the EVO is easily considered the perfect engine to represent the best opportunity a “Garage Build” would offer the average garage builder using an average mechanical aptitude and average hand and power tools.

Cycle Stop USA is known locally for producing fully restored engines from the crankshaft pin all the way to the last nut and bolt. Based on your budget and your desired outcome, we can build anything from a Knucklehead to the new Milwaukee

8 engine. For this build, Chris gave me full reign to tap into my inner “garage builder” and build exactly the type of engine I would have built for myself, given the limitations most of us have in our home garages. Now this by no means, means that I will not be thorough. In fact, I intend to touch on all of the pertinent tips and tricks that I have learned and show you just exactly how you can build a killer running EVO on a budget with a few friends, a few tools, and (if you are like my friends and I) a few beers.

Any tools I use along the way will be illustrated and any tools deemed “specialty” will be included too. I will do my best to only use tools that you (or a friend) would have access to.

Just because your engine parts may be used doesn’t mean they aren’t any good. In fact, if you spend the time, a “seasoned” part can last just as long as a brand new one.

The cam in this engine was already upgraded to an Andrew’s EV27.

The EV27 is considered one of the best choices from an aftermarket camshaft.

Jim’s lifters were already in the Dennis Kirk Garage Build engine. We will take them apart and clean them before we pump them back up with fresh oil.

The Keith Black pistons were part of the original engine that came with the donor bike. After a quick trip into the Vapor Honing Technologies cabinet, they cleaned up perfectly. If you look very close, you can see where the rear cylinder had experienced detonation. The pistons are still in excellent condition with no scoring to speak of on the skirts, so they will work fine.

The V-Thunder adjustable pushrods will be cleaned up and checked for straightness. If they pass our inspection, another $170 will be saved for something else the engine could need.

Once we determined that the pistons were a “GO” we needed to hone the cylinders. Now…you may not have immediate access to a ball hone, but we purchased one on Amazon for less than $100, and while you would

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likely use a drill motor in your home garage, we used our engine lathe to hone the cylinders to make way for the new rings we will install on the pistons.

When honing the cylinders, I like to use the same oil that will be used for engine break-in. For this goround, we used Twin Power’s 20w50 conventional oil.

The same Twin Power oil was used to prep the ball hone prior to honing the cylinder. The instructions were simple, and the jugs turned out great.

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We lubricated the ball hone using the Twin Power oil before honing the cylinder. Lubrication is critical to achieving the correct “cross hatch” in the cylinders.

Moving the cylinder in and out with the correct speed ensures a consistent finish. The new “cross hatch” will seat the new rings fitted to the pistons and make certain our compression stays in the cylinder to make as much power and torque as possible.

The ball hone instructions call for 60-120 strokes a minute with no more than 500 RPM on the ball hone. When finished, you should have a 45-degree cross hatch in the cylinders to provide your new rings a clean surface to break in on. NEVER REUSE RINGS ON A NEW HONE!

Here, you see the finished product.

The cylinder cross hatch is consistent, and the surface is prepped correctly.

Make sure you use hot soapy water to wash the cylinders and wipe them with engine oil before final assembly So now the cylinders and pistons are ready to go, as are the cases, oil pump, and external engine covers. Our powder coating turned out perfect on non-perfect parts because we properly prepped them.

That is the number #1 takeaway for a Garage Build like this. If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, then an hour of prep should be worth 30,000 miles + on an engine build. Remember this too; just because someone purchases a pile of brand-new engine parts does not mean that they won’t have to make them fit properly. Most engine parts, even used ones, will last a very long time (even in extreme conditions) if they are adequately prepped for the type of abuse they will see during regular use. The fact that they aren’t brand new is not the most limiting factor. Things like detonation, improper break-in, or improper oiling (especially on initial start-up) are of far greater importance regardless of the age of the parts. When you invest time instead of just money, your outcome will be infinitely better, your engine will last longer, and it will [usually] make more power too.

There will always be a point when enough is enough, but the more attention you place on the smaller, more nuanced details, the better off you will be in the long run. When all is said and done, this EVO will have a new valve job, rings, cylinder hone, a performance cam, lifters, and S&S Super carburetor with a performance ignition system and will power this FXR perfectly for many many, trouble-free miles.

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Article By: Marjorie Kleiman Photos By: Marjorie Kleiman & Karan Andrea

acquired my 1982 FXRS Shovelhead in 2017. Since then, I’d only ridden her locally, but I’d dreamed of taking her on a real road trip. So when I heard about the Shovelhead Reunion that was taking place on June 26, it became my goal—to ride her the entire 850 miles to Milwaukee, the home of Harley-Davidson.

My friend, Karan Andrea, joined me outside of Toledo on her 1974 FLH. I arrived at our designated meeting spot first, but not without some Shovelhead drama—my bike was seriously smoking where the regulator connects to the stator. Just as I neared our hotel, that smoke turned into flames shooting out of the case! I shut her down, let her cool

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off a bit, and then limped her into the parking lot.

As I stared at the charred remains of the regulator connector plug, Karan pulled up on her Atomic Shovel, and, true to form, she was fully equipped with every tool you could imagine.

After picking up the necessary supplies from an auto parts store, she proceeded to solder some new connectors onto the wiring. As a final check, I started up the bike. We could see flames inside the case, which told us that the stator was, by now, toast.

Through the magic of social media, I found Thomas Orr, a kind soul from the volunteer group North American Biker Rescue. He towed my Shovel to Keyes Cycle Parts and Service in Toledo, a nearby shop that deals in

Cycle Electric products. Thanks to Jim, aka Wrencher, who replaced both stator and regulator (nice to have a matching set!) in record time, and to Cycle Electric, a fine American manufacturer that goes above and beyond to help its customers.

While I stayed behind to tend to my ailing Shovel, Karan reluctantly continued on to Milwaukee, where she was able to partake in some of the Shovelhead Reunion pre-party activities. House of Harley-Davidson put on a party on Friday, June 25, with live music and beach vacation giveaways. House of Harley was also the official dealership for the Shovelhead Reunion merchandise, which helps support the event charity, the WeCare Fund. This was the dealership where Ron, the

promotor of the Reunion, bought his Shovelhead in the early ‘80s and is also a major sponsor for the Shovelhead Reunion.

Despite the Shovel drama, I made it to Milwaukee only a day later than planned and in just enough time to get to another pre-party Friday evening at the Bad Moon Saloon, where I met the man behind the Shovelhead Reunion, “Ronster” Ron Brefka. I asked him where he got the idea for the Reunion, and he explained, “My daily rider is my ’82 Shovelhead. I’ve had other bikes— Panhead, Knucklehead, a 1913 Harley Twin privateer racer—but my bike is my Shovelhead. I just ride it all the time. When I was growing up, all my friends and I had Shovelheads.

As we got older and life happened, people started not having their Shovelheads out as much. So in 2008, I started a poker run, the Shovelheads Run, in Milwaukee, which got bigger and bigger every year. There’s been Knucklehead Reunions at the Harley-Davidson Museum, a Panhead reunion, so three years ago when I pitched the idea of a Shovelhead Reunion to Bill Davidson, Vice President of the Museum, his eyes got big and round, and he said, ‘We love that stuff, Ron!’ I’m always on my Shovelhead. I’ve had it from coast to coast. I drag raced it at the Milwaukee Mile, and the last two years, I raced it at the High Voltage AMA Grand National Championship in Wisconsin.

When I asked Ron about the WeCare Fund, he told me that he’s a five-year pancreatic cancer survivor, which is rare because 92 percent of people with this type of cancer pass away within five years. He described the WeCare Fund, which was started by Dr. Doug Evans, a worldrenowned cancer surgeon, and researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin. WeCare was formed to fund medical care and research, and all the events Ron promotes benefit the non-profit. However, after five years in remission, Ron’s cancer spread to his liver, and Dr. Evans was instrumental in having Ron’s surgery approved even though most liver cancers are inoperable. Miraculously, Ron rode to Sturgis three weeks after his surgery! He laughs, “When you’re in that situation over and over again, and some friends say, ‘Hey man, let’s go to Sturgis!’ well, there might not be a Sturgis for me next year, so I went.”

It was the same thing when the AMA

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called a few years after Ron started promoting ice races at Milwaukee’s Wilson Park. They asked him to be the promoter for their Grand National Ice Racing Championship, and rather than taking time to consider the offer, Ron immediately said yes.

This year, 2021, was a special Shovelhead Reunion because it was the 55th anniversary of the Shovel, so Ron went all out. Along with the Friday pre-parties, there were two Shovelhead bike nights—one at the H-D Museum, a major sponsor of the Reunion, and the other at the Iron Horse Hotel, which is just down the street from the Museum.

It had been raining most of the week before the Reunion, but on Saturday morning, the weather cleared just before the start of the Shovelheads Run. It began at the Museum and took riders about 15 miles south to the Shovelhead Beer Garden at the Croatian Park in Franklin. The beer garden features a spacious property complete with a bar, food, and covered party pavilion.

Between the bikes from the run and those already at the beer garden, I’d never seen so many Shovelheads gathering in one place, and it was a stunning sight to behold. There were pristine stockers, wild customs, bobbers, trikes—you name it, and someone had customized, restored, or preserved it.

Shovelhead riders ate and drank all day and into the evening while enjoying live music provided by two bands. And the field games were a riot! Later in the afternoon, first, second, and third-place prizes were awarded to the bike show winners in the stock and custom classes. First place in the custom class was awarded to Tyler Elliott from Pittsburgh for his ’75 Shovel, which he built himself. He did all the fabrication, paint, and more. Special awards were also presented to ’71 Shovels by the Chief Blackhawk Antique Motorcycle Club in honor of their 50th anniversary.

Despite Ron’s medical battles, he’s constantly on the go, promoting motorcycle events throughout the Milwaukee area. Four times in 2021, Ron promoted drag races at Milwaukee Mile Speedway. One race took place just a week before the Shovelhead Reunion. He also promotes the High Voltage Half Mile Motorcycle Races at Walworth County Fairgrounds. High Voltage started in 2016 as a vintage motorcycle and

chopper show to benefit cancer research, and in 2018, Ron, through High Voltage, brought back ice races to raise more charity dollars, as well as to bring motorcyclists together for fun and competition.

The ride home from this amazing weekend brought even more excitement to Karan and me. Her Shovel had been running poorly— spitting and stalling nearly all the way to Milwaukee, and it continued its bad behavior throughout the rainstorms that plagued us all the way back to Ohio. During one heavy downpour, while Karan’s bike was bucking and snorting, I had to use my hazard lights to warn cars following us that two old bikes were riding slower than the speed limit ( we had to pull off the highway several times because visibility was so poor), my flashers cut out completely. The next day, as Karan was leading us down the highway, her phone took a flying leap off the handlebars and smashed into smithereens. There was actually some good news too, —no more flames shot out of my Shovel. And since Karan had soldered a faulty connection to the GPS unit I’d mounted on my bars in between

diagnostic sessions in that hotel parking lot on the way to Milwaukee, I was able to take over the lead without getting us lost!

We parted ways early the next morning, each of us heading to our respective homes. It was the first travel day that had no rain in the forecast, so I rode the 582 miles straight home from our hotel, which, due to construction zones and heavy traffic, took 14 hours. It was not a bad run for a 40-year-old Shovel.

Karan made it home without further incident, other than her bike cutting out just as she reached her garage.

Apparently, the Shovelhead gods were not pleased with us on that road trip. That said, we’re looking forward to more Shovelhead Reunions in the future, hopefully without any further drama. Watch for upcoming events at www.highvoltage414.com.

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m

atthew Heck grew up in the small city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, which is the land of maple syrup, beavers, the Loonie, plaid jackets, and hockey. Winters started early and went long, generally from October to May. It was not uncommon to have stretches of several weeks -49°F when Matt was growing up. He grew up skateboarding and snowboarding and started riding motorcycles pretty young.

During those long winters, you had to find things to keep yourself occupied. Matthew says that art was never a choice that

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Article By: Miss Judy he consciously made. It’s just kid. When he was just six, he always been a part of who he would draw his family members as cartoon characters.

Today his mind is constantly coming up with ideas for art projects. He stews over a new idea until he is finally ready to sketch them and bring them to life.

Matthew is blessed/ plagued with the inability to sit still. He is constantly looking at things and try’s to determine what something could be or how he could turn it into something else.

Matt describes himself as having an addictive personality and says that was. He always drew, painted, his vices are motorcycles and and created things as a young art. Once he starts working on

a project, he becomes consumed with it and becomes wholly engulfed in the process. Inspiration for Matt comes from many different places.

He loves tattoo-inspired imagery, especially the clean lines and bold colors from traditional American tattoos. He is also heavily influenced

by Art Nouveau and Renaissance art which is apparent in his work.

Matt and his brother had a set of 50cc dirt bikes that they rode around their family farm. He never stopped riding and eventually merged his two passions. In his 20s, he started customizing bikes. He started building Café racers and brat bikes and then found the chopper community, which seemed to really speak to him.

Matthew was drawn to the motorcycle community because it is like skate and snowboarding.

He says that the bike and art communities are all about being a part of a larger community while you are still individual and are allowed to have your own expression. For him, it is about utilizing the means, skills, and abilities you possess to help each other out. He feels his artwork goes well with this culture because it is all about turning something that is mass-produced into a one-off. He says that when you pay attention to small details, your art becomes an expression of your personality.

Right now, Heck’s preferred medium is enamel paints because it covers so well and levels to a glasslike appearance on helmets and tanks. He feels that he still has a lot to learn about the limits of the paints and how much he can level them.

Matt recently started working with automotive painting and has begun to do some airbrushing, which he really enjoys. Airbrushing has allowed him to do 70’s style chopper paint and complex lowrider panel style graphics. This takes a lot of patience and attention to detail, which he likes about this art form.

When asked what sets his art apart from others in the industry, Heck isn’t sure what it might actually be, but he does hope people will see his attention to detail, his passion, and the unique style he has developed.

He is very critical of his work and makes sure nothing leaves until he is completely stoked on the piece.

Today Matthew is the artist/creator behind Frontiersmen Studio. It is a one-man endeavor that he started in 2018. It has been a part-time gig for Heck for the last three years.

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However, he recently made Frontiersmen Studio his fulltime work, which he tells CS would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of his amazing wife.

As for the future, Matthew would love to open a community garage with a storefront. He envisions it to be a place where you can rent a space, work on your bike, and have the help of everyone else in the community garage. It would have a full paint booth and all the tools you would need to tear down and build up your bike. Of course, Heck would run a weekly art night where artists could get together to learn and maybe collaborate on projects.

Matthew feels extremely humbled and lucky that his art has allowed him to do the things he has done, meet the people, and make new friendships within the motorcycle community. Among his many accomplishments, Matthew has created the trophy helmet

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for the 2021 Biltwell People’s Champ. He painted a sissy bar and an art piece for the 2021 Motorcycle Art Extravaganza and created a helmet for Born Free. He is honored that he is trusted to bring someone’s vision to life and is extremely grateful for everyone that has commissioned his work. When asked, Matthew says that he is super stoked to see what the future has in store for him and is looking forward to working with new customers and pushing himself as much as he can.

For more about Matthew Heck, you can visit his website: w w w. f r o n t i e r s m e n s t u d i o . com or his Instagram at @ frontiersmenstudio_.com

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b

randon Keene is the kind of guy you feel good about giving credit to because he never expects it. Humility is an admirable trait and getting hard to find in this instafamous world, but somehow he manages to put out killer awardwinning builds and not lose his head. When it comes to this bike, well, he not only took it a few steps up the ladder, he set the bar to a level that few could argue has confirmed his place among the national builders.

Brandon started out with a passion for wandering, spending

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a good part of his early twenties just roaming around the country.

He is a carpenter by trade that builds residential houses. So, you can imagine it’s not hard to find work when he would need to.

Keene would just bop from town to town, and when his money would get low, he’d get a job for a while. Perfect make up for the motorcycle life if ya think about it. But he came by that naturally too, so who knows which was first.

He started riding a Yamaha 70 at age six, a pretty big bike for a little guy, but like many of us back then, Brandon wasn’t gonna wait until

his feet could touch the ground.

He’d start off on a milk crate and pop the clutch so the kickstand would spring up, and off he’d go.

When it was time to stop, he’d just fall over and then go get the milk crate again. Suffice it to say that he has been riding his whole life.

When it comes to this build, Brandon had gained some pretty serious attention with his Shovelhead that we featured in this magazine and knew that he wanted to step it up for his next build. He scored a 1984 Softail at a cheap price that fit the bill perfectly. He could have an Evo

Article By: CHris Callen Photos By: Michael Lichter

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with a kicker. This would give him a good starting point to build more on this one. More parts made by hand, more of a chance to showcase his abilities. Being a big fan of the Gooseneck drop seat combination he had done on an old Sportster build once, he decided to go that route to achieve the same lines. Brandon strives to not copy other people’s style, or to follow trends, so he focuses on his vision when he builds. All that

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was kept from that Softail frame was the cradle. From there, he laid out his own structure. As Keene began to get a good base, Rich Pitoniak would be in charge of the mill. He and Rich had become friends a while back, and this was a chance to get a motor built by him. Brandon couldn’t be happier.

It runs great and does the job!

When you look over this little beauty, you will pick up on the kind of details that are apparent from a matured builder. Not that Brandon is old, by any means. I am getting at that once you have done this for a bit, you start to challenge yourself with the little things like mounts and brakes. At first, it’s just a blast to be putting those things on yourself, but later on, like Keene, you start to give them their own personalities as well. You can see that in his pipe mounts, footpeg and shifter perch, and

other little touches everywhere on the bike. The triple trees are his design, although his brother-inlaw is the man at the machine who does the work. Brandon gives him the sketch. From there, it’s about flow. He matched the pipe tips to the trees and then found some CE Rocker boxes with the same finned look. At this level, a lot of building is knowing how much or how little to do of something, and Keene has a good eye for that.

Other features that make this a top-notch Kustom like the radiuses top motor mount, the hung bars, and the killer one-off oil tank add up to a build with tons of class.

Enough that he nearly swept Sturgis, winning almost every day, Two Best of Shows at the Buffalo Chip that ended up putting him in contention for the first-ever “King Of Sturgis” award. From the nine shows that Buffalo Chip held during

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KING OF STURGIS TECH SHEET Owner: Brandon Keene City/State: Traverse City, MI Builder: B Keene Built Year: 1984 Model: Evo Value: Time: 8 Months Engine Year: 1984 Model: Evo Builder: Rich Pitoniak Ignition: Daytona Twin Tech Displacement: 80cu Pistons: Wiseco Heads: S&S Carb: S&S Super E Cam: Andrews Air Cleaner: Speed Dealer Exhaust: B Keene Built Primary: Tech Cycle Transmission Year: 1973 Make: Harley-Davidson Shifting: Jockey Frame Year: 1984 Model: B Keene Built Rake: 30 Degrees Stretch: 4” Forks: Builder: Harley-Davidson Type: 39mm Triple Trees: B Keene Built Extension: None Wheels Front Wheel: Led Sled Invader Size: 21” Tire: Firestone Front Brake: Rear Wheel: LedSled Invader Size: 16” Tire: All State Rear Brake: Exile Paint Painter: Open Throttle Customs Color: Purple, Red, Orange Type: HOK Graphics: Chroming: Saginaw Custom Polishing Accessories Bars: B Keene Built Risers: Hand Controls: Exile Internal Throttle Foot Controls: B Keene Built Gas Tank(S): Narrowed Sportster Oil Tank: B Keene Built Front Fender: Rear Fender: B Keene Built Seat: Leathamy Headlight: FNA Taillight: After Hours Choppers Speedo: Photographer: Michael Lichter

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Sturgis, each Best Of Show Winner was put into a best of the best by the week’s end. Brandon said that standing in the crowd at the Buffalo Chip, he could hardly believe it when they called his name, he is the 2021 King Of Sturgis, and this is the build that took him there.

But this isn’t something he does alone either. Brandon has an incredible support network that starts and ends at home. If you dig all of the leather accents on this bike, from the grips and pegs to the cool little battery pack and seat, that would be his wife, Amy Keene, who started doing leatherwork about two years ago and travels the show circuit with Brandon.

She is his biggest fan, and the two of them are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Good for you both!

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l

ast year Cycle Source announced that the SmokeOut would be returning to the Rowan C o u n t y Fairgrounds for the first time in a decade. Early in my career, The SmokeOut was the “go-to” event for all of us “Chopper kids” in the Midwest and the East Coast.

Back then, social media was nothing like what it is today. The community that we all orbited in wasn’t an online community. We would all look forward to the ride down as much as we looked forward to the actual event. The hijinks along the road to the SmokeOut often provided more fun, more good stories and by the end of the weekend was a large part of the overall experience.

Let’s face it, who remembers that time we did that thing, and nothing happened?

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In 2005, my business partner, was nearly 20-years ago. We Evan, and I built and repaired were the new kids on Detroit’s motorcycles as a full-time “West Side”, and there were some shops around us that were the OG’s, and they got the good work.

Names like Steve Broyles and Gary Milligan are just two that I’d say lit the way for Evan and me to have a craft to hone.

So, needless to say, heading to an event like the SmokeOut was a pivotal move for us to learn more about where we were headed (career-wise), and it would be the place where we could assert ourselves within our peer group.

Back then, builders like Paul Wideman, Pat Patterson, Brian from Black Sunshine, and ourselves were vocation. I had been married for all full of piss and vinegar and 11 years, and Evan was a single were ready to party the entire dude fresh out of university. way to, at, and from the Rowan Fairgrounds.

What We made our living repairing, County welding, and fabricating as happened was an epic story many bikes as the general that I, for one, will never forget. public would send our way. This We left Thursday morning at

Article By: Jason Hallman

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the crack-ass of dawn, headed for what we all hoped would be a life-changing moment. When we rolled home that Sunday, we had made life-long friends and took home memories that no one can ever take away.

Some folks like to paint the readers of The Horse Backstreet Choppers with a broad brush stroke as if we were all the same. Nothing could be farther from the truth! While we all shared a common love of music, motorcycles, and partying, everyone that passed through the gates into the fairgrounds was there for their own reason.

Some were there for commerce, some for debauchery, while others were there for fellowship.

This was a very different party from an Easyriders rodeo or a Bike Week. This was two days (Friday and Saturday) of nonstop, around-the-clock partying, and the fairgrounds weren’t even open around the clock. In those days, the event promptly ended early, which meant that we savages were all set free to terrorize the town of Salisbury, North Carolina…only we didn’t.

The SmokeOut was the perfect size crowd, the perfect size venue, and the perfect amount of fun, and it was all self-governed.

In fact, once the party was over at the fairgrounds, it was getting started in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn. While most hotels would have called the law and sent everyone packing, the Holiday Inn in Salisbury welcomed us with open arms. Burnouts, beer, booze, and broads filled the parking lot until the wee hours of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings.

The debauchery was kept to a minimum while the damage was mainly limited to the parking lot and a few motorcycles that didn’t make it out of the unofficial burnout area due to a blown tire or engine (or sometimes both).

Our voyage there and home was filled with only a few minor problems that, ironically, ended up being little teaching moments

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about the motorcycles we built and then rode across half the country for the privilege, and believe you me, it was (and still is) a privilege to meet some of your hero’s face to face. Dudes like Billy Lane and Paul Cox, Roadside Marty, XS Speed (who I have since become friends with and can tell you an AMAZING and funny story about. If you ever meet me in person, just ask… (I even have photographic proof).

They were all right there having their own SmokeOut experience.

Personally, I am looking forward to The SmokeOut being back in Salisbury. It was a good fit. Sure, there is no longer a Holiday Inn, but who knows…maybe we can all just go there and make some new memories while we look back on all of the old ones!

They say you can’t put the smoke back in the bottle, but with a bit of luck…lightning can strike twice!

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PERFORMANCE MACHINE BLACK CONTROL KIT

CAN BUS SYSTEM GIVES YOU A SLEEK WAY TO HAVE CUSTOM CONTROLS WITH STOCK FUNCTIONALITY

Article By And Photos By: Chris Callen

W

hile I’ve been hard at work on the Evolution FXR for the Dennis Kirk Ride-a-way program, I haven’t realized that while I am building under the new performance banner of sorts, I have been taking a very “Chopper” approach to it. By that, I mean not just grabbing the most expensive parts for the build but looking for ways to match cost with style and performance.

The Performance Machine Black Handbus Control Kit was a solid find to that end.

Not only are these things dopelooking, they are a sleek way to have custom controls but still retain all the functionality of factory controls. It’s a best of both worlds scenario and all for a moderate price when compared to some of the upper-end controls on the market today.

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So what’s this CAN Bus System.

Well, I’m not an expert. CAN Bus is offered on 2014 and later Dressers and 2010 and later Softail models.

It’s a new system, a modern way the Motor Company went with for

electrical componentry. There are much fewer wires compared to the traditional system, and as an example, instead of 13 wires in the handlebars on an Ultra Classic, you only have like five, and it does everything. This system also

communicates with the body control module on your stock bike, so it’s hassle free.

The controls are CNC machined from billet aluminum. The kit I got includes a 9/16” brake master cylinder, brake light switch, starter interrupt switch, left and right side switch housings, dual cable snap-in or electronic throttle by wire throttle housing, clutch side spacer, CAN Bus controller, and your choice of either a cable clutch perch or an 11/16” hydraulic clutch master cylinder.

Best of all, they are proudly Made in the U.S.A. Might be why I could get ‘em in time for this build too....? Go to www.DennisKirk. com today and check them out.

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Article By: Kevin Baxter

m

y top five reasons I believe peak horsepower is overrated.

To start things off, there is no question that there is an ego side to horsepower. Everyone wants to have more than their buddy.

This happens in the car and bike world. We have these bragging rights that we put behind a single number with almost total disregard for all the other factors that matter when it comes to your bike or car, how you ride, and your overall driving experience.

Number one. I think horsepower is overrated because we all simply go with a peak horsepower number. That’s what everyone talks about. But that peak number doesn’t tell you the whole story.

It doesn’t tell you how much average horsepower you’re actually putting down at any given moment. A great, although extreme example, would be to compare a Tesla to a 1000 horsepower supercharged pro street car. The Tesla depending on

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the model, is rated at an average of 300 horsepower but can have a zero to 60 time of under three seconds. Considerably faster acceleration when compared to a car with three times the horsepower, even if they weigh about the same. The Tesla,

because of its electric motor, hits peak torque immediately.

And the car with three times the horsepower takes more time to build it. No question, despite that difference, the Tesla will be the faster accelerating car. So, the whole point is that the entire curve

is very important, and the peak number is not all that important, especially when considering how most of your time driving or riding is spent.

Number two. Horsepower is actually a major contributing factor to a bike or car’s top speed.

So, there’s really two important things for determining how fast a bike or car can go, how much it weighs and how aerodynamic it is.

Weight actually plays a very small role in determining the bike’s top speed.

A heavier bike may take longer to reach its top speed, but it will get there. Yes, less weight could make a small difference in top speed, but not as much as you may think.

For those of us living on public

roads with speed limits and true constraints of everyday driving, top speed is less of a concern than the rate of acceleration. Yes, horse plow power plays a small role in rate of acceleration. But with extremely high horsepower

combined with high RPMs, traction then becomes an issue as well as a limiting factor. Most of the time, you don’t get to go up

to those top speeds. It’s just not something that’s feasible.

So what’s more important?

The rate of acceleration or top speed? For most of you that ride on the street most of the time, you have to ask yourself, what’s the point where you want to be able to accelerate quickly? Do you want to be able to accelerate quickly on the low end? I think if we were all to say in the zero to 80 or 100 miles an hour range, most of us would agree. So, where do you want all that power to be?

Where do you want to enjoy it?

I’m sure most of you street riders will agree that you would prefer to put the power in the lower mile per hour range and not seek a top speed simply because without a track, there’s

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no opportunity to enjoy it.

Number three. Horsepower is heavy. That’s just a fact. When you start adding power, you either need a larger engine, larger pistons, larger valves, heavier weight valve springs, bigger intakes, or you need a turbocharger or supercharger.

You’ll need to beef up your brakes too because you’ll be riding at much faster speeds. This is often why lower horsepower cars and bikes can, in fact, accelerate so much quicker Because all the components are so much lighter.

Number four.

Now I want to talk about acceleration b e c a u s e , obviously, we all enjoy acceleration, and that pull your arms out of the socket feeling when we crack the throttle.

That’s why people talk horsepower. But, I think one of the distinctions we need to make is the initial jerk of acceleration rather than the average acceleration over time. So what’s the difference? Well, velocity is the speed that you’re going right now.

Then your rate of acceleration is the increase in your velocity.

That jerk you feel is the change in the rate of your acceleration.

So what that means is, if I’m not accelerating right now, then I twist hard on the throttle, we’re instantly getting a peak torque that would have a very high jerk, and it pushes you back in your seat. That’s what’s fun and feels good. That response is actually torque, not horsepower. It takes time to build horsepower. Yet,

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torque can be immediate, like in the Tesla example. It’s far more thrilling when you twist the throttle or slam your foot down and immediately get planted in your seat. That’s more exciting.

And that jerk is more about torque response rather than how much peak horsepower the vehicle has.

So it’s not necessarily that you have to have a high horsepower for it to accelerate quickly and have that jerk.

Number five. So really, we’re talking about horsepower versus fun. So let’s think about all the things we enjoy about street performance engines. Some will say they like horsepower but care more about the jerk and the rate of acceleration increase.

You care about braking, you care about steering, you care about how it handles and what it feels like. You care about the grip of

the tires, and so on. There are a lot of things that you care about, and all are the qualities that we want in a bike, and horsepower is just one of those qualities. But the sad thing about horsepower is that if you tend to weigh that value higher, if you say this is more important, you start to sacrifice all of those other factors.

So many people seem to be in a horsepower war and don’t want to break that cycle.

Others are beginning to say, hey, 130 horsepower at the wheel is plenty. Give me a bike that weighs less, handles and rides like a dream, jerks my head when I hit it and accelerates like crazy zero to 80 miles an hour.

It can handle the twisties, stop when it needs to, and last a long time without issues.

Those bikes are a riot to ride. All that said, when you call us for your engine upgrades, take some time to really think about how you ride and where.

Think about all the aspects of your motorcycle and the entire riding experience.

We know and understand suspension, braking, and all the other factors of a total bike build.

And armed with that information, it helps us in our efforts to coach you along in building the perfect machine just for you. It’s not always all about the peak horsepower. But we do know, and we do love torque.

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f you’ve been around as a reader of this fine magazine for any length of time, you can probably recognize a Jeff Cochran built bike at first glance. This fine Shovel is definitely no exception. I’ve been fortunate to call Jeff a friend for over 22 years. My nickname for Jeff has always been “The Renaissance Man” because of his numerous interests, including playing the guitar to photography and everything in between, and he does them all exceedingly well.

We initially met when he had

his company Sin Wear, which produced apparel and jewelry. It wasn’t long after when Cochran and Donny Loos formed Sucker Punch Sally’s and literally changed the landscape of the custom bike scene forever. They took a timeless formula of using stock and custom parts to create a functional and reliable bike that really stood out in a crowd. After Sucker Punch, Jeff struck out on his own and started building bikes one on one for customers as well as building what he calls a “Shop Truck,” which is basically a personal bike that he

and his wife Beverly ride until a potential customer just has to have it, which usually doesn’t take long.

This particular build was done for Matt and Christine McCarthy and has a few extras that Jeff likes to use when he can. He begins every build with a factory Harley frame, so they have a clean Harley-Davidson VIN. Since he’s an authorized S&S dealer, he ordered up one of their 93” Shovelhead motors which came with a Super E carb. Jeff just a Stargazer air cleaner to round it out. For the

Article By: Roadside Marty Photos By: Jeff Cochran

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transmission, he went with another industry leader, Baker Drivetrain, for one of their bulletproof 6 into 4 transmissions with a kickstart that’s got upgraded Baker kicker gears and their own beefy kicker arm and pedal.

On the primary side, Jeff used a BDL electric start belt drive, which really flows with the bike’s lines. Again, BDL is another industry leader who stands behind their product which is why Jeff also used their forward and hand controls on this build. The oil tank is one of my favorite parts, and it happens to be one of Jeff’s SpeedKing parts known as the Torpedo tank. The 1977 stock Harley frame certainly got it’s fair share of Jeff’s attention. Cochran used one of his drop seat conversions which lowers the seat height by 1 inch.

Some of you may not know that stock Harley swingarm frames from 1958 to 1964 had this provision, and with the introduction of electric start in 1965, it was discontinued. This modification,

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along with one of Jeff’s signature series adjustable swing arms allows the rider to lower the bike to a much lower stance than stock. Jeff actually had this frame stashed away for himself as a future personal build and worked on it off and on for months during his downtime smoothing out the sloppy, thick Factory welds and filling in the gouges along the bottom frame rails, but after having a few conversations with Mike, he realized they were both on the same page as far as the bike would be something cool that Jeff himself would be proud to ride. I know by now you’ve noticed the fender struts, and yes, they are another of Jeff’s products, his Sig Series Stainless Struts. They fit the SpeedKing 7.5” fender just right. The dual rear caliper bracket is another of Jeff’s signature series parts utilizing dual 4 piston Performance Machine calipers, with one being activated by the traditional rear brake pedal and the other by the hand lever brake,

which is pretty ingenious. The 39mm front end was shaved and uses a stock Harley single rotor 21” front wheel for a super clean, traditional look, while the Pro One triple tree is a modern look while an 18” rear wheel balances it out.

The SpeedKing narrow bars

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THE SEVENTY SEVEN TECH SHEET Owner: MATT & CHRISTENE City/State: FLORIDA Builder:JEFF COCHRAN Year: 1977 Model: FLH Value: $$$$ Time: 100 DAYS ENGINE Year: 2021 Model: SHOVELHEAD Builder: S&S CYCLE Ignition: DYNA S Displacement: 93” Pistons: S&S Heads: S&S Carb: S&S Cam: S&S Air Cleaner: STARGAZER Exhaust: JEFF COCHRAN/SPEEDKING Primary: BDL ELECTRIC START TRANSMISSION Year: 2021 Make: BAKER Shifting: 6 IN 4 FRAME Year: 1977 HARLEY DAVIDSON/ SPEEDKING Model: DROPSEAT SHOVEL Rake: 30 Stretch: STOCK FORKS Builder: HD/JEFF COCHRAN T ype: 39MM Triple Trees: PRO ONE Extension: UNDER WHEELS Front Wheel: spoke Size:21X2.15 Tire: SCORPION Front Brake: PM/SPEEDKING Rear Wheel: spoke Size: 18X5.5 Tire: PODIUM Rear Brake: PM/SPEEDKING RUSH HOUR RACING PAINT Painter: RONNIE MELENDEZ Color: SPECIAL MIX Type: Graphics: RONNIE MELENDEZ Chroming: MECLAC ACCESSORIES Bars: SPEEDKING NARROW Z’S Risers: VINTAGE/SPEEDKING Hand Controls: BDL Foot Controls: BDL Gas Tank(s): SPEEDKING WASSEL Oil Tank: SPEEDKING TORPEDO Front fender: NA Rear Fender: SPEEDKING 7.5” Seat: RICH PHILLIPS Headlight: 5 3/4 Taillight: AFTERMARKET Speedo: NA Photographer: JEFF COCHRAN SPEEDKING PHOTO

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keep the profile tight and narrow and are a favorite of Jeff’s.

The seat was handled by Rich Phillips out of St. Louis and has a slim profile that flows with the frame. That incredible paint was a special mix made by and laid down by Ronnie Melendez out of New York and just really pops out against the black powder coated frame.

Jeff says he has always built his bikes using a series of mathematics that has often been imitated but rarely duplicated.

Since high school, Jeff has been riding Shovelheads and has the stance and correct, comfortable handling position pretty dialed in. I have to admit I’m a huge fan of this style and how smooth all of Jeff’s builds look. Jeff wanted to be sure to tell me how much this build helped him deal with the illness and passing of his older brother Jon with whom he was very close. Thank you for sharing this build with our readers Jeff and thank you for the years of friendship and guidance!

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Article And Photos By: Panhead Jim

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grew up on the east coast, so when I got into riding motorcycles, the one event my friends and I always hit was Daytona Bike Week. Of course, we were all young and broke, so getting a hotel was out of the question, but there were plenty of cheap campgrounds to choose from, and that always turned out to be a wild time.

Unlike staying at your run-ofthe-mill KOA campground, these places were an event unto themselves.

There was always live music, food, vendors, bars, and crazy shit going on all weekend.

Since then, I’ve been to countless events, and no one has really been able to pull off that same vibe until this year. I finally found an event that got it right. “Run to the Ranch, Invasion of the Green Swamp” was one hell of a weekend-long party that really brought back memories of those days when motorcycle events were just

about riding motorcycles and having a good time.

The event itself took place in Leland, NC, which is just a 30-minute putt from the Atlantic Ocean, so right from the get-go, the June heat felt just like being back in Florida… At the front of the venue, there was the Cadillac

Ranch. This is a roadside bar built back in the 1970s that was recently revived (literally a week before the event) by Chase and Lindsay Hedrick.

Flanking the bar was a host of vendors, artists, and food trucks, providing everything

needed for a weekend-long party/campout plus some things you didn’t know you needed, like custom toilet seats and hand beaded apparel. The main stage was set up right behind the bar, and unlike a lot of biker bars, this wasn’t just an improvised deck but a real stage with legit lighting and sound.

From there, the 20+ acre property turned into thick woods b e f o r e o p e n i n g into a large campground.

As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I could already tell this was going to be a kickass event.

As you would expect, there was a ton of motorcycles lined up in the parking lot, as well as all the folks that rode in on them. Then there was that extra mayhem you get when you add a bunch of “camp vehicles” to the mix. What I mean by “camp vehicles” are all the minibikes, dirt bikes, and four wheelers that are now part of every motorcycle

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campout. Ratcheting things up a notch, I spotted a bunch of choppers, some mini trikes, and even a flamed-out HD golf cart all ripping through the parking lot.

After watching a guy doing some power wheelies down the road on his Dyna and another riding with two chicks on his chopper, I figured I better take a break from the mayhem to grab a camping spot before all the shade was claimed. With a good campsite secured, it was back to the Cadillac Ranch to grab a cold drink and some BBQ from Cattail Q before heading to the main stage to listen to a couple local bands and catch up with some old friends.

Normally live music and cold beer are enough to make for a good night, but the folks putting on the event decided to up the ante a little bit. They got The Rebel Spirit to bring over their mobile burnout pit and let Faster Than Your Mom turn his truck bed into an improvised pool. So just take a minute to imagine the scene unfolding on Friday night.

You had live music, smokey burnouts, people splashing around in the back of a pickup, tons of people partying, and camp vehicles weaving in and out of all of it. Needless to say, it was well past midnight (actually closer to sunrise) when things finally quieted down.

The one thing about camping in the summer in eastern North Carolina is that there is no option to sleep in. Once that sun got up over the trees, every tent turned into a sauna, and everyone was up and about getting ready for another action-packed day. It took a lot of coffee and some hot breakfast sandwiches to get everyone over their hangovers, but by mid-morning, everyone was ready to get right back to it. Things got started with a minibike race on a freshly plowed track. As expected, the competition was fierce, and the riding gear worn by the participants was hilarious. After multiple heats, the checkered flag finally waved for a guy in full motocross gear; clearly, he came to win…

Next up were two bike shows and a raffle. There was April ‘22 - May ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE

a traditional bike show that required actually riding your bike up to the bar to enter.

Then, there was an “unofficial” bike show put on by SRM Paintworks, which included prizes being given out to unsuspecting folks whose bikes were just parked around the venue. Both shows were a big hit, but I think the winners of the “unofficial” show were really blown away when they were handed their trophies.

As things started to cool down in the late afternoon, it was time for more live music.

From 5:00 until after midnight, band after band hit the stage, starting with Martin and the Maniacs and wrapping up with the headliner ASG. I personally had never heard of ASG, but apparently, they used to tour with Motörhead, so you can guess what kind of energy they brought to the stage, especially after being quarantined for the last year. The mosh pit that broke out during their sets got pretty rowdy, and I am sure people living up to a mile away got treated to a free concert whether they liked it or not.

Now usually, things get packed up pretty early the Sunday following one of these events, but a 6:00 AM storm front passing through really got people moving extra early.

There’s nothing worse than trying to pack your bike in a thunderstorm, but everyone managed to get loaded up and rolled out without any issues.

You can probably tell that this was an awesome event, and everyone I spoke with is looking forward to heading back down to the “Green Swamp” next year for more of the same.

Make sure you follow Run To the Ranch on social media so you’ll be in the know for what’s going down this summer. You won’t want to miss out!

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DRAG SPECIALTIES PREDATOR III 2-UP EXTENDED REACH SEATS

Now available in a 2-up version, the Predator III Extended Reach seat moves the rider back 1½” compared to the stock seat, for those with a longer inseam. It features 6 1/2” tall driver support with unique styling covered in high-quality automotive-grade vinyl. The molded polyurethane foam provides maximum comfort and has a narrow driver’s cut for better leg clearance. The thermoformed ABS seat base gives the perfect fit while the carpeted bottom and rubber bumpers protect paint. Available in smooth or double-diamond stitch with black, silver or red thread. Made in the U.S.A. for 97-07 FLHR and 06-07 FLHX models. Suggested retail $357.95 – 427.95. https:// seats.dragspecialties.com/products/?productId=650424

DRAG SPECIALTIES SADDLEBAG RAIL SUPPORT BRACKETS

Go down the road knowing that your saddlebags are secure with the Drag Specialties Saddlebag Rail Support Brackets. These brackets are constructed of a heavy-duty steel that is 15% thicker than stock brackets to prevent breakage. They come in a black finish and mount with existing hardware. Available for the left or right sides of 80-08 FLT, FLHT models. Brackets are sold each and have a suggested retail price of $53.95. https://www.dragspecialties.com/search;q=14130019;r=eJyrVkrLzClJLS pWsoqOrQUAJusFKA%3D%3D

z1r HAGGARD BOOT

Z1R introduces the brand-new Haggard boot. Your favorite pair of riding shoes just received an upgrade. Similar in fashion to popular high top tennis shoes, Z1R puts their own spin on it.

A heavy weight canvas upper construction is matched with a durable and reinforced sole. A durable shift pad covers the toe region to ensure accurate shifts and minimize wear. Don’t be that guy who rides with regular tennis shoes when you have this option. Available in sizes 7-14. Suggested retail $109.95. Head on over to your local Z1R dealer or www.Z1R.com to check these out!

DRAG SPECIALTIES BATTERY CABLE KIT

Bare Knuckle Performance Softail Kickstand Lowering Kit

This complete kit drops your kickstand down 1 1/2” to compensate for taller front and/or rear suspension. Fully bolt on. No cutting or drilling. Includes all stainless steel hardware and new rubber bumper. $130 www.brareknuckleperformance.com

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Increase the starter performance of your bike by supplying maximum battery current to your starter motor with a Drag Specialties Battery Cable Kit. This kit contains all the cables you need to replace your OEM cables. The black 6-gauge cables are manufactured with pure electrolytic-grade 36-gauge tinned copper strands for maximum current transfer and superior flexibility. All cables have ¼” and terminals and are 6¼” long. Available for 09-13 FLHT, FLHR, FLHX, and FLTR models with an MSRP of $82.95. https:// www.dragspecialties.com/search ;q=21130736;r=eJyrVkrLzClJLSp WsoqOrQUAJusFKA%3D%3D

DRAG SPECIALTIES GRENADE GRIPS

Keep your grip comfortable and secure while adding stylish looks to your bike with Drag Specialties Grenade grips. Constructed of die-cast aluminum with a bright chrome finish with black soft rubber inserts for comfort. Sold in pairs and available for 82-17 Big Twin and 82-21 XL models with dual cable throttle control (except models with air assist forks). Suggested retail price is $92.95. https://www.dragspecialties.com/search;q=06302639;r= eJyrVkrLzClJLSpWsoqOrQUAJusFKA%3D%3D

KBS Coatings Motor Coater Kit

The KBS Motor Coater Kit provides your motorcycle engine with a beautiful and protective finish. This all-inclusive and user-friendly system consists of KBS Klean to clean surfaces, RustBlast to remove rust and corrosion, and Motor Coater, which is a durable engine enamel that has deep and rich pigment for excellent coverage. Motor Coater is currently available in 39 colors. KBS Klean is a concentrated, water-based, and biodegradable cleaner that deeply penetrates to remove stubborn dirt, grease, and grime.

KBS Klean is an excellent alternative to flammable solvents and hazardous chemicals.

RustBlast is a powerful rust remover, zinc phosphate pre-primer, and metal etch. RustBlast effectively dissolves rust, corrosion, metal oxides, and tarnish from most metal surfaces while leaving a surface best for paint adhesion. Motor Coater is a high performance and high gloss paint that can withstand temperatures of up to 450°F and is impervious to oil and gas. It matches OEM standards, and with proper surface preparation will not blister, flake, crack, or peel. Motor Coater has excellent spread ability and is easy to apply by brush, roller, or by spraying. Motor Coater offers superb coverage and is selfleveling to provide a beautiful and smooth finish and without leaving brush marks. The Kit also includes #1 Thinner which is used to thin Motor Coater for spray applications.

For more information go to

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id you know that you can turn two beat-to-hell jet ski’s into one bitchin Ironhead? No? Neither did I, but that’s precisely what Billy Rose did with the machine you’re looking at on these pages. Like many afflicted with the motorcycle bug, Billy comes from a long line of motorcyclists dating back to his grandparents.

Maybe it’s genetic? Or maybe, he just wanted to be as cool as his dad, who rode a 650 BSA chopper.

At just nine years old, Billy

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had his first bike, a HarleyDavidson X90, and he hasn’t stopped since.

Fifty-seven-year-old Billy isn’t a professional motorcycle builder. He’s actually a Facilities Maintenance contract manager for Ormond Beach and former lead guitarist and founder of the now defunct thrash metal band Afterlif, who just happens to enjoy building his own motorcycles.

Billy’s first three custom builds included a 68 BSA Chopper, a Honda 550 Chopper, and a 1966

Article By: Heather Callen Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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BSA Chopper. So this being his first Harley build would make it a little different. Rose traded two jet skis for the 1972 XLCH running donor. Despite the Ironhead being a running machine, it was beyond due for an update. The original plan was to just rattle can paint the frame with the engine in place and swap out the tins. Sounds easy enough. Well, the best laid plans start with good intentions. What actually ended up happening was a complete tear down and ground-up build.

Once Billy got the bike down to its bones, the skeleton sat in that condition for more than a year.

Then COVID struck and, for many folks, brought hardships. But during this period, Billy and his sixteenyear-old daughter, Haley, used this time to their advantage. They built a motorcycle together.

Over the next eight months, the father-daughter duo worked together to create a beautiful

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motorcycle and memories that will last them a lifetime. Billy fondly recalls when he got the frame back from powder coat. That weekend, Hayley and Bindi, their 13-year-old shop dog, worked to get it into a roller and the motor placed. Bindi (RIP) was a great supervisor and is missed in the garage. Rose says he didn’t have any one singular source of inspiration for this Ironhead but instead put together a multitude of ideas that had been cultivating for years to bring his vision to life.

Fortunately, there were no real hurdles for the pair, just lessons learned, such as next time he will fix things during mockup instead of final assembly.

Billy Flash handled the motor work to make sure the powerplant wouldn’t leave him stranded anywhere, and based on the fact that Billy rides this bike more than his other three, I’d say he did a damn fine job. Rose, a man of integrity, was quite honest in

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HEAVY METAL TECH SHEET Owner: Billy Flash City/State: Florida Builder: Billy Flash Year: 1972 Model: H.D. XLCH Sportster Value: Time: ENGINE Year: 1972 Model: XLCH Sportster Builder: Billy Flash Ignition: Electronic Displacement: 1000cc Pistons: +20 over Heads: Stock/Polished Carb: Stock Bendix/Zenith Cam: Stock Air Cleaner: Mesh Exhaust: Paughco upswept Primary: Closed TRANSMISSION Year: 1972 Make: H.D. Shifting: Four speed, jockey shift FRAME Paughco Year: Unknown Model: Unknown Rake: 3 degrees Stretch: 2” FORKS Builder: H.D. Type: Stock 33.3mm Triple Trees: Stock/Chromed Extension: Stock length WHEELS Front Wheel: Chromed hamburger drum Size: 21” Tire: Dunlop 404F 80/90-21 Front Brake: Drum Rear Wheel: Size: 16” Tire: Dunlop D404 130/90-16 Rear Brake: Drum PAINT Painter: Del Morte Customs Color: green flake/white pearl Type: cromax ez water based. kustom shop Flake Graphics: Lace, fish scales,pinstriping, etc.

Chroming: Lots ACCESSORIES Bars: Custom one piece ss Risers: Custom one piece ss Hand Controls: HD clutch/Custom right side jockey shift Foot Controls: mid.unknown manufacturer Gas Tank(s): Low Brow/axed Oil Tank: Custom Front fender: None Rear Fender: Low Brow Seat: Biltwell Headlight: Aris triangle Taillight: Custom FU Speedo: Offshore marine GPS Photographer: Missi Shoemaker

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admitting that this project may not have come to full fruition without the help of several talented friends. Billy wishes to publically thank Del Morte Customs for the stunning paint job, Raz’s Mobile Welding, Mike Vasey Engraving, Yogi’s Garage, Florida Choppadero, and Wulfwerks Metal Werks for being part of this build.

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Article By: Charlie Weisel

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hat a ride it has been. What a ride. Since leaving my home in Longmont, Colorado, on December 10th, just one day before a sizable snowstorm rolled in and blanketed nearly every major artery in the state, I have covered 10,828 miles. Of those miles, approximately 400 took place on the Interstate. The remaining 10,428 miles were spent exploring some of this country, and Mexicos, the finest two-lane backroads.

The journey has taken me as far south as Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, back north to Arkansas, West to Kansas, back to Arkansas, back south again to Terlingua, Texas, then West to Tucson, Phoenix, Yucca Valley, and Los Angelas. From LA, I began working my way north, up the Pacific Coast Highway, until I reached the end of the road near Neah Bay, Washington.

From Neah Bay, I cruised over to Seattle to spend a week relaxing and visiting family. It was a welcome reprieve from the cold and damp winter weather of the Pacific Northwest.

I left on this trip with the goal of circumnavigating the globe in an easterly direction, which is what I still intend on doing, although I have

spent a lot of time going in entirely the wrong direction. The reason for this is simple, I don’t want to arrive in Europe too early, and I’ve got time to kill at the moment. So why not spend a couple of months going nowhere in particular?

However, a few days ago, while still in Seattle, I realized that the moment I left Seattle would be the moment I truly started my Eastbound adventure. From that moment on, I would be heading south to warmer weather, then East to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.

The excitement of this hit me like a ton of bricks. It felt as though the real adventure was just beginning. Not that everything else hasn’t been fantastic, but this is what I have been waiting for. I’m looking for the moment I only see the sunset in my rearview mirror and am greeted with the rising sun in my face every day until I return back home.

Now, sure, there will be some zig-zagging around Europe first, but I feel like that’s sort of splitting hairs at this point.

Since that moment, that moment where the task at hand never felt more clear, I have been working my way south through some of the most incredible landscapes. The first challenge, of course, was figuring out the best way of crossing

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over the mountains, someplace in Washington or Oregon, so that I wouldn’t find myself backtracking the way I had just come. I opted to pound out some miles on the Interstate for my first day. I knew that crossing any pass in Washington at this time of year would be difficult, if not impossible, due to ice and snow.

I covered the distance between Seattle and Roseburg, Oregon, with relative ease and opted to call it a day.

Desperate to get off the Interstate and over the mountains, I researched HWY 138 road conditions. It started right I where I was hunkered down for the night. Everything I read said it was clear and dry. Everyone local I spoke to said it was clear and dry.

A local also told me that it maxed out at an elevation of 3,500 feet, a little piece of information I should have double-checked. As it turns out, the road was most certainly not clear and dry, and it topped off at just over 6,000 feet. I won’t embellish and say that the road was a treacherous ice skating rink, but I will say that there were most certainly patches of ice, snow piled up 4 feet high on the shoulders, and enough sand on the road to make your own beach. But alas, I did manage to cover that 75 miles of white knuckle riding at a snail’s pace, often only moving at 25 mph, relatively unscathed other than some rattled nerves.

As quickly as the roads glazed, they turned back to bone dry. Not a grain of sand, not a drop of moisture.

Things were looking up. In fact, things have been pretty fantastic since.

The day of the icy pass, I finished in Alturas, California. The morning I left Alturas, it was 18 degrees but again, dry roads, so I didn’t care how cold it was. From Alturas, I made my way to Hawthorne, Nevada, for no other reason than the fact that the sun was starting to set. I checked into a Travelodge that was across the street from the El Capitan Casino, a place that looks as though it was happening in the ‘70s but not so happening now. Through the veil of cigarette smoke, you could just make out the aging faces of those looking to strike it rich with a cocktail in one hand; the other was shoving quarters into a greedy machine. The restaurant inside this time capsule of gluttony served up a mediocre hamburger which I washed down with a Coke. I paid my bill and decided to see how long it took for a penny slot machine to eat a dollar.

After about ten minutes, I returned, one dollar poorer, to my hotel room.

That was last night.

The next day has to rank as one of the most incredible days on the road in a very long time. I left behind my Travelodge in relatively warm weather, 36 degrees, and looked forward to the prospect of visiting the town of Lone Pine, California, and the nearby Alabama Hills. This area, in particular, is well known for Movie Rd, which, aptly named, is a stunning stretch of gravel road used in the filming of countless old westerns. I’ve seen images of this road for years and figured this was the day to make it happen. What I did not know, however, and this is becoming a theme, is that my route to Lone Pine would send me over an 8,250-foot pass where the temperature would drop to a brisk 21 degrees. Just as quickly as the road spiked in elevation, it dove back to earth, and before I knew it, I was coasting along with a stiff tailwind and 65-degree temps, which brought feeling back into my fingers.

As I pulled into Lone Pine, I quickly topped off the tank then began looking for Whitney Portal Road,

where I knew I needed to make a right-hand turn. From here, it was a bit of a guessing game, but after a few miles, I came across a small easy to miss sign that told me I had found the road I was looking for. At this point, the scenery was already incredible, and I doubted it could get much better, but it did. Mount Whitney was the star of the show.

I meandered my way across the grated gravel, down the hills and up again, through twists and turns until I found a spot which I deemed perfect for a photo. Fortunately, traffic was nonexistent, so it gave me ample time to park my bike sideways in the road, take a few pictures and take a minute to myself to simply take it all in. You have to remember to soak those moments in.

After leaving the majestic backdrop of Mount Whitney, I started south again until reaching HWY 190, which led me deep into another world. Death Valley. From snowlined roads, frigid temperatures, and mountains dotted with Pines, I was now traveling through a landscape of sand, rock, and craggy brown mountains. I watched my altimeter as much as the temperature gauge.

As the day went on, I sank lower and lower into the earth until I finally bottomed out at 245 feet below sea level. The temperature in Furnace Creek was 83 degrees. Death Valley is one of the most fascinating landscapes I’ve been through. There were long straight stretches of road reaching out to the horizon across a barren desert followed by steep, tight, and twisty passes that in turn send you barreling back to the floor at an altitude loss rate, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Simply magical.

Needless to say, it has been a nice start to my Eastbound journey. 8,250 passes in 21-degree temps to 245 feet below sea level and 83 degrees in a single day. I conquered a road in Oregon that I probably had no business being on and stepped back in time at the El Capitan Casino.

So, there you have it, that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to.

Where I am going next is anyone’s guess, but I know for sure that the compass will be pointing towards E.

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Article By: Matt Reel Photos By: Deb Fitch

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lot of us in the motorcycle world have a memory of a bike that is responsible for their 2 wheel passion. It could be something as simple as a picture in a magazine, a scene in a movie, or possibly something closer, like a bike belonging to a friend or family member. For me it was the Candy Red Ironhead in the movie Every Which Way But Loose. It was one that was run

over by the semi in the trucker’s vs Black Widows scene. For Tyler Harman it was a black Shovelhead that lived down the road from where he grew up.

He’d watch that Shovel go by and dream of one day having one like it.

Fast forward 20 years. Tyler has a life, a job, and is running his own shop, Lowlife Customs.

The Shovel had traveled coast to coast going to California with its owner during his military

service and back home to Maryland. Tyler was eventually able to rescue the shovel from its barn retirement home when he traded a 1970 Chevelle for it.

Once Tyler actually had the Shovel in its new home he started going through the entire bike. Little by little the bike was disassembled and had been completely gone through.

Tyler’s goal was to have the finished product look like a bike

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that had been customized in the 90’s.

Luckily, there’s a lot of talent in Tyler’s family.

Throughout the rebuild his father and grandfather stayed busy in the machine shop making replacements for a lot of the missing pieces. When it was time to paint everything, the shovel was handed over to Tony Nery at TCP Cycles, Tyler’s uncle.

After the missing pieces had been made and new paint was down Tyler put the Shovel back together. The motor had been rebuilt before the Shovel went into its retirement, so time was saved and the bike was ready to go, or so they thought. Shortly after they got the engine going it dropped a valve and destroyed a piston.

Now there was a rush on to get the engine going. To be sure no other surprises would spring up, everything was taken apart right down to the crank. The cylinders were bored and fitted with new

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Keith Black pistons. A new set of S & S heads were acquired to save on the machine shop time. The cam chest was filled with an Andrews B Grind cam.

S & S B carburetor supplies the whole thing with a fuel/air mixture. Drag pipes get the gases out and a BDL belt drive ties the whole thing to the stock 4 speed transmission. Tyler got everything back together in time

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BAR HOPPER TECH SHEET Owner: Tyler Harman - Lowlife Cycles City/State: Taneytown, Maryland Builder: Tyler Harman - Lowlife Cycles Year: 1977 Model: FLH Value: Priceless Time: 3 months ENGINE: Year: 1977 Model: Shovelhead Builder: Lowlife Cycles Ignition: S&S Displacement: 1340 Pistons: Keith Black Heads: S&s Carb: S&S B Cam: Andrews B Grind Air Cleaner: S&S Exhaust: Drag Pipes Primary: BDL Belt Drive TRANSMISSION: Year: 1977 Make: Harley Davidson Shifting: Ratchet Top FRAME: Year: 1977 Model: FLH Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Forks: Stock Builder: Harley-Davidson Type: Stock Triple Trees: Stock Extension: Stock WHEELS: Front Wheel: Stock Size: 16 Tire: Shinko Front Brake: Stock Rear Wheel: Stock Size: 16 Tire: Shinko Rear Brake: Stock PAINT: Painter: Tony Nery TCP Cycles Color: Tuxedo Black Type: Gloss Graphics: Letterfly Pinstripe Chroming: Stock ACCESSORIES: Bars: HD 12” Mini Apes Risers: LA Choppers Hand Controls: VTwin Foot Controls: VTwin Gas Tank(s): Fatbobs Oil Tank: Stock Front fender: Stock Rear Fender: Stock Seat: Swap Meet Headlight: Stock Taillight: VTwin Speedo: HD Police Photographer: Debbie Fitch

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to take the Shovel to Gettysburg Bike Week.

There it caught the eye of the Cycle Source Crew and they snagged it up for the feature shoot you see here.

So, keep those memories of what got you into this crazy way of life close. You never know when that “One

that started it all” will pop up in front of you.

Who knows, maybe I’ll build that candy Ironhead one day. After all, I always pause the movie at that same spot every time I see her.

Either way get out there, build something, and we’ll see you at a Cycle Source Event.

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Article By: Chip Parisi @chipakid

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or most of my life, I knew little of Daytona, Florida. Most of what I knew was gleaned from a then-respectable Tom Cruise in the fictional NASCAR movie, “Days of Thunder.” The rest was from looking at t-shirts at the local ‘Hot Leathers’ store in Pawtucket, RI, one town over from where I grew up, just outside Quahog.

I got my first look at this aged beach city in late 2001, on the second to last day of my east coast bicycle trip to Orlando. Honestly, it

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didn’t make much of an impression on me then. I do remember that it

was the place that we got off A1A

to start heading inland and that I’d never seen so much checkered flag print anywhere.

Flash forward to today, and I’m getting ready for my 11th Daytona motorcycle rally.

I have actually hit Bike Week in the spring and Biketoberfest in the fall, each of the last five years. In many ways, going to Daytona now feels like a homecoming, or at least as much as anyone place can, while living such a nomadic lifestyle. I’ll put it this way, it’s nice to be somewhere that

you know roads, know the shortcuts and know the people.

This diverse little city earned its place in my heart way back in 2017.

I was just free from the chains of middleclass conformity, and mostly because of the timing of Bike Week, March, chose it as the destination for a semi openended, motorcycle trip: (which lasted about a month, took me through 30 states, and added 7,500 miles to my 2004 Road Glide).

Those uncharted days of newfound independence were good for the soul, but I didn’t know anyone there and kinda felt like a kid in the cafeteria who has nobody to sit with.

I sought out and met Joe “The Wandering Sparrow”, while he was working for J&P Cycles at Daytona International Speedway. I got my first glimpse of his iconic Goldwing, which, at the time, had some 600,000 miles on it, and found my mind wandering to what those miles looked like, what they meant, and what it would be like to be Joe! That meeting was quick, because Joe was busy helping the crowd of customers, but it left a mighty big impression on me and really motivated me to find a way to make the fantasy of life on the road a reality, just like Joe

had for so many years. Since October of 2018, I’ve been working just a few tents away from Joe, and really

appreciate our enduring friendship and little interactions throughout the

rallies (which is mostly me running over to see if he has parts that I need for my customers, and which he almost always does!).

Eager to socialize with others that shared my passion to ride, I met up with a half-dozen guys that were from a Road Glide group on Facebook. That morning was chilly, but since I had left New England in very early March, I had all the cold weather gear I needed, and thought little about clearing thick frost off of Gloria’s cracked, stock saddle, when leaving camp.

I’m still in touch with a few of those Road Gliders, but none more than Chris Schwerdt. At the time, he was a Sales Manager at one of the highest volume dealerships in the world, Space Coast HarleyDavidson, which is about 90 miles south of Daytona.

The following spring I kicked-off my first full season of rally work down there. I became a temporary salesman. Chris not only offered me the job and was one of my bosses by day, but he also gave me his family’s spare bedroom, and was my host by night.

Those 14 hour days went kind of slow for the first half of the rally, mostly because I sold zero bikes and earned zero dollars. Thankfully, as I got better, the last 5 days moved quicker, April ‘22 - May ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 87

and in the end, I was happy with the money I earned from the 6 bikes I sold.

The Biketoberfest before that, the fall of my fantasy tour in ‘17, was one to remember.

After working my first rally that August, out in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, I spent the next 2 months, and every penny I had made, tramping across the best of the west with my new road brother, Bomber Mike Mchone. We made our way back east in time for Daytona, and rendezvous’d with a few others from our camp back in Sturgis.

Linking back up with Scorpio, who had been chasing rallies for years, was a key part of these great memories. He was working in the leather shop that used to be setup across from the Boot Hill, and though not sanctioned, we all poached a little piece of real estate behind the shop to call home.

I now know what a luxury it was to camp right on Main Street, especially at no cost, and loved being able have as much fun as I wanted with no concern of having to lift the kickstand to go home. Except for the three hours I spent working as an employee for my boss from Sturgis (I had walked by him and was half in the bag.

He offered too much cash to say no, so I worked). it was my last major rally as an attendee.

In the fall of ‘18 I was devastated

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to learn that I didn’t have a job for Biketoberfest, which was less than 2 weeks away. The speed shop I

worked for that summer in Sturgis was getting out of the business, and

I was left in the lurch. After having a taste of working in service I really didn’t want to go back to retail or food vending, so I started making calls. Thankfully, within a day, I was on the horn with AMSOIL Adam Halstead, owner of X-Treme Bikes.

Although I had seen him months earlier in Panama City Beach, on the same vendor lot where I met my girl Laura I didn’t actually meet him until Sturgis. As fate would have it, he needed a guy for Biketoberfest and was willing to give me a shot.

Thankfully, things went well, and I’ve been with them ever since, draining and filling bikes with AMSOIL, installing Love Jugs V-Twin cooling systems, and doing as much general maintenence as time allows.

The spring of 2019 brought with it a real change of pace. After spending the winter with Laura, we hit the road separately, but together. She was in the kidnapper van with travel trailer in tow, and I was on old Gloria.

As has been the case ever since, we parked the modest, utilitarian rig on (or near) whatever lot she’d be vending on.

Usually we are up in Ormond, across from the Iron Horse Saloon, although

we did spend one October haunted by the ghost of Aileen Wuornos, at “The Last Resort”, in Port Orange.

That first show of cohabitation had a chance encounter best summed up by myself, in a post I made at the time: One morning at about 6AM I pulled back the curtain of that monstrous windshield and saw a very familiar old bike, about 50 feet away. I could see that it had a springer front end, no front fender, and beatup gray paint, but not much more. To confirm my suspicions, I walked over in the dawn’s early light, and found none other than Panhead Billy Burrows sleeping on the ground, under the roof of a small patio. Are you kidding??? What are the odds? It was almost as crazy as the time I went to a random indy bike shop in New Mexico and found Billy sitting out front. After shooting the shit for about an hour, and making plans to get together later, Billy rolled away on his million mile hardtail, and the beautiful Miss Laura and I listened to the radio, enjoying some coffee and breakfast at “home”, soaking in the last few serene moments before 2 weeks of long, exhausting days. Life was good. Since then, I half expect to run into Billy wherever I go, and often think about how there’s hardly any routes I ride that he hasn’t already traversed.

The past few years have included “the end of the world rally, in March of 2020, and a one-time change of venue for X-Treme bikes, who is going into year 13 at the Speedway.

Due to the ridiculous state of the country that fall, our home at the Speedway was shuttered, so we found some room at the popular Cacklebery Campground. This cow field, turned festival grounds, knows how to party, but it was an off year for business, as our regulars didn’t know where we were, and the lot isn’t known for its service vendors.

It’s always fun to work at the party, right next to the stage, but I’ll take those busy “day lots” over late nights at party central anytime!

For the past couple years Daytona has become routine, but a routine that I love! Now I usually get into the vendor appreciation buffet up in

a suite atop the Speedway, which includes trackside access to the Supercross racing, and the chance to walk past the monster fence, and onto that legendary banked track!

Sipping a beer on that checkered finish line never gets old!

The Tuesday night block party “at the corner of Good and High”, with so many racing legends, world class bike builders, chill industry people, and diehard bikers, mingling among all the vintage bikes covering the lawn, has become a staple.

Likewise, I try not to miss a Thursday at Coeville, where I get the chance to not only spend a little time with the brilliant Steve Coe, but also get to walk wide-eyed through his impressive collection of horsepower in his sleeper of a museum. Being welcome at these long standing, annual gatherings is a true honor, much of which I owe to Billy.

The rest of my Daytona routine, aside from the ten, 11 hour work days, has boiled down to hitting Main Street once or twice to say hi to some bartenders and rally circuit friends, a lot of time all over Ormond, especially at whatever lot is “home” that week, and a few concerts at the Iron Horse.

I skip the steak tips, but always visit my friend Walter, who runs a huge sticker shop, and is always really good to this self-admitted sticker slut.

If you look close enough, you’ll see some of Walt’s stickers on my bike, going back to early 2018, when we worked next to each other in Myrtle Beach.

Someday, I’ll go to Daytona to spend money instead of make money. I’ll get to finally take in the chopper show at Willie’s Tropical Tattoo, and get to try my hand at the some of the bike games and rodeo stuff so passionately produced by this fine publication. That will not be this year, though, so come find me at the Speedway to say hi, and maybe let us make your bike run cooler, shift smoother, and last longer! See ya in Dirtona!

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Article By: Lullabelle Rose

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tacy’s mom has got it goin’ on…” and so does this bike for its creator Joshua DeBenedetto it also won Best of Show for the Dennis Kirk Garage Build July thru December 2021 contest. TwentyNine-year-old Josh is the owner/ operator of JD Motorcycle Repair in Greenville, SC. DeBenedetto had his first motorcycle experience younger than most.

As a baby, Josh’s dad would strap the toddler to himself so he could take Josh for motorcycle rides! At just age two, Josh was on his first bicycle, then just six years later, he was piloting dirtbikes. For the next ten years, DeBenedetto raced motocross. Motorcycling was in his blood. When Josh

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retired from racing at 18, he started wrenching on motorcycles and finally got his first street bike, a 1996 Honda Shadow 600.

DeBenedetto also got his first Harley-Davidson when he was eighteen, a 1977 Shovelhead that was a hot mess that he used the Honda Shadow as a downpayment for. It was also the beginning of the motorcycle that you’re looking at right now.

When he first got the Shovel, the charging system was so bad that he kept a BatteryTender on the bike so he could plug it in every time he stopped. Man, that’s dedication and an excellent education. Which is precisely what he hoped for when he made the investment. He wanted to

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STACY TECH SHEET Owner: Joshua DeBenedetto City/State: Travelers Rest, South Carolina Builder: Joshua DeBenedetto Year: 1996 Model: Harley-Davidson Value: Priceless Time: 10 years ENGINE Year: 1996 Model: Evolution Motor Builder: Joshua DeBenedetto Ignition: Points and condenser Displacement: 1340cc Pistons: stock Heads: stock Carb: S&S Super E Cam: stock Air Cleaner: Lowbrow Customs Exhaust: Handmade Primary: Open-belt TRANSMISSION Year: 1979 Make: Harley Davidson Shifting: 4-speed, ratchet top FRAME Year: 2019 Model: Paughco Rigid Straight-leg Rake: 30 Degrees Stretch: Stock length FORKS Builder: Harley Davidson Type: Narrow Glide Front End Triple Trees: 39mm Narrow Glide Extension: WHEELS Front Wheel: Spool Hub Size: 21” Tire: Avon Speedmaster Front Brake: none Rear Wheel: Harley Davidson Size: 16” Tire: Avon MK2 Rear Brake: Harley Davidson Softail PAINT Painter: Charlie Tyre Color: Orange/Gold Type: 70s style Graphics: Lace Pattern & Pinstripes Chroming: none ACCESSORIES Bars: Handmade Z-bars, 10in tall Risers: Offset Dog Bone, 6in tall Hand Controls: none Foot Controls: Jay Brake Gas Tank(s): 2 Gal Peanut tank Oil Tank: Chrome hexagon Front fender: none Rear Fender: Handmade Seat: Biltwell Diamond Stitch Solo Seat Headlight: Drag Specialties 5 3/4 Taillight: LED Speedo: none photographer: Katie DeBenedetto

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learn how to work on Harley’s. For the next five years, the old girl was his only form of transportation. As Josh’s skills and knowledge grew over the next ten years, the ‘77 went through multiple transformations until it finally arrived in its current state.

Wanting something a little more reliable for a daily rider, Josh put the Shovelhead motor on a temporary sabbatical and dropped in an Evo

motor that he scored for just $500 on FB Marketplace. Josh handled the motor work himself, along with the necessary fab work. DeBenedetto says that a good majority of the parts on this current iteration are from the 77 over the years, excluding the front wheel, gas tank, and front end.

Joshua’s biggest challenge throughout this build was time. As a one-man self-employed shop owner, this project took place after hours and when the workload wasn’t quite so heavy.

Josh says he built this bike to ride.

And ride it he does, daily. He even put 1300 miles on it in one trip when he rode to and from Daytona Bike week in 2021. Josh knows that this bike will probably see a few more transformations in the future, but it will always be his. He says that “Stacy” has been with him through his darkest times and some of the best times in his life. It also helped pave the way for him to own a successful motorcycle repair shop.

Josh just finished his second custom build, a Shovelhead he calls “Split Decision,” which we are looking forward to taking a gander at. He’d like to be sure to thank his wife for being so supportive and letting him realize his dreams and being at the shop for extra long hours while he works on his own project.

1. Missing Stripe On Fuel Tank. 2. Colored Oil Cap. 3. Missing Stripe On Rear Fender.

4. Extra Spring Wraps On Rear Shock. 5. Missing Logo On Carb. 6. Extra Pushrod Tube. 7. Oversized Starter Knob. 8. Missing Logo On Cam Cover. 9. Colored Footpeg Rings. 10. Colored Kicker Pedal. EXTRA CREDIT A. Missing Pipe Mount On Bottom Of Frame. B. Extra Fins On Front Head. C. Longer Shifter Peg

NO THERE ISN’T ANY REAL PRIZE, JUST SOMETHING TO DO WHILE YOU’RE IN THE CAN.

FIND TEN DIFFERENT THINGS ON SEVENTY SEVEN

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Article And Photos By: Erick Runyon

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any of us can look back to the “good old days” of high school and remember that one person or friend who was special. Someone who had that “something,” and we all knew they’d grow up to become overwhelmingly successful or even famous. Be it a star athlete in basketball or football, or even a dancer who went on to become part of the Rockettes. Motorcycle builder Ray Llanes was fortunate enough to go to Southwest High School in Miami where he

had a couple friends there by the names of Billy and Warren Lane and Caleb Owens of Crow Customs. I guess it’s pretty easy to understand who the people are in his life that motivate him to do what he does today.

Though Ray has ridden, built, and wrenched on his own rides with his buddies his entire life, it wasn’t until he made the move to Ormond Beach, Florida, five years ago that he decided to start building custom builds for clients. Though many builds are the combination of

brainstorming with a client on every detail from the ground up, this bike didn’t get its start that way. In 2020, Ray was introduced to a gentleman who had just proudly purchased a “freshly rebuilt” 1959 Panhead and asked Ray to give it a quick once over to make sure all was well and in good working order.

He also mentioned that he had problems getting it started.

Being proficient in Panheads, Ray was sure he’d get the bike up and running in no time. The motorcycle was on his lift for

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only a short time before it became pretty evident that this particular Panhead was far from being a freshly built machine.

Besides a couple small things like oil in the heads and the frame being compromised, there were so many things wrong with it that this basic “check-up” turned into a groundup rebuild. As Ray explained it, everything was wrong with it. He kept the stock motor, frame, drivetrain, and front end, but everything else needed to be scrapped and replaced. Since the bike was being blown apart, a complete makeover was also in the works.

In the decision making process, the bike’s owner asked Ray to design and rebuild the Panhead as if it were his own. For a boy who grew up in Miami, a city known worldwide for its elegant ocean-

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inspired design and art deco style, it was pretty easy for Ray to draw inspiration from his surroundings.

This super clean build has an Art Deco style of its own, from the derby

cover to other details. The paint and pinstriping were meticulously laid down by Mo’s Image Custom in Tampa, Fl. To most of us, it is a simple seafoam green in color,

but Ray explained that he was so locked in on a particular shade of green that it took many, many samples before they came up with the perfect combination of green and gold pearl that upon first glance has an old porcelain enamel feel to it.

This beautifully done bike may not have a lot of bling to it at first glance, and that was a conscious style design of choice. His goal was for the quality of the work put into the bike to speak for itself.

Meaning he didn’t want to go with a crazy “bass boat flake” and lots of chrome to distract from the time he spent literally going over every nut, bolt, and valve cap from the ground

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MAMBO NO. 2 TECH SHEET OOwner: J.R. Crawford City/State:Miami Builder: Ray Llanes Copper Top Garage Year: 1959 Model:FL Value: Time: 6 Months ENGINE Year:1959 Model: Panhead Builder: Copper Top Garage Ignition: Points Displacement: 74Ci Pistons: HD Heads: HD Carb: S&S Super B Cam: Stock Air Cleaner: Moon Eyes Exhaust: Stock Primary: Stock Chain Drive TRANSMISSION Year: 1959 Make: HD Shifting: Jockey FRAME Year: 1954 Model: HD Wishbone Rake: 30 Deg Stretch: None FORKS Builder: HD/Replica Type: Springer Triple Trees: Extension: WHEELS Front Wheel: Stainless Spoke Size: 19” Tire: Firestone Front Brake: None Rear Wheel: Stainless Spoke Size: 16” Tire: Firestone Rear Brake: 67-72 HD Juice Drum PAINT Painter: Mo Diaz (Mo’s Image Customs) Color:Sage Green w/ Gold Pearl & Black Type: Tropical Glitz Graphics: Mo’s Image Customs Chroming: Hialeah Platers ACCESSORIES Bars: Cro Customs Mini Speedway Bars Risers: Hand Controls: Exile Cycles Internal Throttle Foot Controls: Stock HD (Modified) Gas Tank(s): Modified Cole Foster Tank Oil Tank: Modified Oil Tank Front Fender: Rear Fender: Ribbed for her Pleasure Seat: Adam Croft Headlight: 3.5 Bates style Taillight: Motone Speedo: Photographer: Erick Runyon

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up. His goal was for other builders and bike enthusiasts to really notice and appreciate the hard work, details, and craftsmanship that went into finishing this beautiful machine. Judging from these images, it’s pretty easy to see that he superseded that goal. Ray built an art deco style work of art on two wheels that will be appreciated by many for years to come.

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orty-three years ago, James Abrams snuck off against his parents’ judgment and threw his leg over his friend’s Yamaha YZ 80. That was it, the very moment that Abrams fell in love with motorcycles. He was just

ten years old and knew then that he needed the thrill of speed and openness that came with motorcycling in his life. This was all despite growing up in a very conservative family where performance motorcycles were frowned upon. In the

long run, that obviously didn’t impact James too much.

Fairly early in his motorcycle years, Abrams raced Ednuros to fill his need for speed which also brought him his first “real” bike, a 1988 Hondo CR 125

Article By: Heather Callen Photos By: Zech Browning

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dirt bike. His penchant for dirt and speed has stuck with James over the years. These days, he finds himself as a member of the Florida Trails Riders and still involved in an Off road Enduro Race series.

Despite being an auto mechanic since the ‘90s and having worked on and modified numerous motorcycles over the years, this KZ440 that you’re looking at is his first ground-up build.

After having restored classic cars and hotrods in the past, even an award-winning 1971 Mustang Mach 1, James figured that it was about time to finally build the custom motorcycle that he had been waiting for years to take on.

So with that, Abrams began to scour the internet for his donor bike. When James found the 1981 Kawasaki,

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he says, “That search turned into a rescue operation. It was a depressed, neglected pile of ash in a bucket. But, when I looked closely, I saw a dying ember holding on for life…I knew it was time to go to work.”

Over the next year, James set out to complete the challenge set before him. He readily admits that he did have a few struggles throughout the project, such as custom building the rear of the bike on the new hardtail frame

finding the perfect location for the tank. He knew that the seat, rear fender, and rear wheel placement had to be perfect. As you can see here, none of it was anything that Abrams couldn’t overcome.

James handles almost 100 percent of every process by himself, although he did send it out to a local company to expertly apply the powder coat.

Having recently completed the bike at the time of this article, James says that he is still working out a few minor details like carb jetting and tuning. Having only a few short rides so far on it, he still wants to double-check and go over the whole bike one more time before taking it on longer cruises. But, Abrams says it was built to be reliable and functional and has no doubt it will be a daily rider

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LUCKY 13 TECH SHEET Owner: James Abrams City/State: Tampa Florida Builder:James Abrams Year: 1981 Model: KZ 440 Value: 10k Time: ENGINE Year: 1981 Model: stock Builder: stock Ignition: Power Arc optical trigger Displacement: 443 Pistons: stock Heads: stock Carb: Mikuni VM 32 X 2 Cam: stock Air Cleaner: Uni Foam filters Exhaust: drag pipes/brass tips - Brass cycle works Primary: chain TRANSMISSION Year: 1981 Make: stock Shifting: FRAME Year: 1981 Model: Voodoo Vintage Hardtail Rake: 27.5 degrees Stretch: 3.00 inches FORKS Builder: stock forks shortened 3 inches Type: stock Triple Trees: stock Extension: WHEELS Front Wheel: stock alloy Size: 19 inch Tire: 100/90 19 Kenda Challenger Front Brake: stock single piston caliper Rear Wheel: stock alloy Size: 16 inch Tire: 130/90 16 Kenda Challenger Rear Brake: stock drum brake PAINT Painter: powder coat Color: black/white Type: Graphics: Chroming: ACCESSORIES Bars: Biltwell Keystones Risers: TcBros 2 inch Hand Controls: TcBros vintage hand controls Foot Controls: TcBros custom forward controls Gas Tank(s): Throttle Addiction custom HD Spory Oil Tank: TcBros custom houses electronics Front fender: custom fork brace Rear Fender: TcBros custom fender Seat: LowBrow Custom Harley Solo seat Headlight: TcBros headlight and cage Taillight: TcBros vintage tail and brake light Speedo: wind in my hair Photographer: Zech Browning

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before too long.

We sure are glad that James decided to give custom motorcycle building a shot.

We look forward to seeing the 2019 KTM 500 EXCF that he’s transforming into a SuperMoto street demon.

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women throughout the company’s history—from women-owned dealerships, to advertising and events directed at women riders, as well as women riders featured in their Enthusiast magazine.

This sponsorship is but one facet of the depth of the company’s support for women riders.”

Andrea adds, “Chix on 66 will be a rolling history of Harley-Davidson and the evolution of the American Big Twin. Those who travel Route 66 while we are passing through will feel as if time has compressed when they see historic landscapes populated by motorcycles from bygone eras. But the best part? The power and strength of those classic V-twins piloted by thoroughly modern women.”

If you’d like to be part of Chix on 66, applications may be submitted at www. chixon66.com/apply. Registration is limited, so don’t delay!

Hey,It’s crazy nuts out there. It’s time for all brothers and sisters to stay alert and open. We all know the news is twisted, but with the help of books and the internet you can find the straight skinny. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the staff at Cycle Source or Bikernet.com if you have a question about anything. Let’s hit the news: Chix On 66 Welcomes HarleyDavidson As Title Sponsor The Riveter Chapter of the AMCA warmly welcomes the HarleyDavidson Motor Company as the title sponsor for the Chix on 66 event to be held June 10-26, 2022.

The event will be known as Chix on 66, presented by Harley-Davidson.

Chix on 66 is an event centered around a 14-day cross-country ride that follows Route 66 from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. As a result of HarleyDavidson’s title sponsorship, Chix on 66 participants will be afforded some fabulous perks, such as the ability to bring on Athena “Vagabond Chickie” Ransom and Vivian “Gypsy” Charros as the all-women motorcycle tech crew.

Athena and Gypsy will be joining us for the entire length of the trip, and providing support for the ride along the route.

Another exciting perk: the event will now start a day early, on Friday, June 10, when Harley-Davidson hosts Chix on 66 at the Harley-Davidson Museum. The day’s

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schedule will include rider registration, motorcycle tech check, meet and greet, dinner, riders meeting, and optional Museum tours. On Saturday, June 11, riders will depart for Chicago, setting forth on Route 66 on Sunday morning.

Riveter Chapter President Karan Andrea says, “Harley-Davidson is the iconic motorcycle manufacturer. There is nothing more American than a Harley, and there is no road that is more American than Route 66. When Harley-Davidson agreed to be our title sponsor, we were thrilled—not just because of what the sponsorship brings to us financially, but what it does to deepen the journey.

“Harley-Davidson has supported

First Immersive Livewire Experience Center Opens - LiveWire Announces Future-Forward Financing Purchase Option for LiveWire ONE Motorcycles - MILWAUKEE, WI (Feb. 23, 2022) – The first LiveWire™ Experience Center, designed to offer a fully immersive experience centered on the all-electric LiveWire ONE™ motorcycle, has opened in Malibu, California. Inspired by the soulful connection of riding LiveWire ONE, the Experience Center looks to introduce the electric riding experience to visitors while also creating a community space for LiveWire riders.

“California is one of the most established electric vehicle markets in the world and is an ideal location for the first LiveWire Experience Center,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO of Harley-Davidson. “The LiveWire ONE motorcycle is designed for the pursuit of urban adventure and the Malibu area offers superb riding in a variety of environments, both urban and beyond. The Experience Center will give both riders and non- riders a chance to engage with the LiveWire brand and ultimately experience the thrill of riding the most desirable electric motorcycle available today.”

The LiveWire Experience Center was created by LiveWire in collaboration with London-based designer Steve Lidbury. The interior expresses cool

urban adventure, with polished concrete, engineered wood, perforated steel and detailed textures. The 1,766-square-foot space incorporates a virtual showroom to support live video chats with LiveWire representatives, displays of LiveWire technology and design, a collaborative showcase featuring displays by LiveWire partners, socializing and event space and LiveWire One motorcycles available for demo rides. Customers can place an order for a new LiveWire ONE motorcycle online and take delivery at home or locally, courtesy of an authorized LiveWire dealer*.

Visit the LiveWire Experience Center at 3848 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, Calif, 90265. https://www.livewire.com/ Progressive IMS Outdoors Announces 2022 Tour Schedule - The second annual Progressive IMS Outdoors tour will span eight cities across the U.S., bringing more opportunities for attendees to engage with Powersports culture.

Tickets will go on sale on March 24 at www.motorcycleshows.com.

Santa Monica, Calif. (February 11, 2022) – Progressive IMS Outdoors, the nation’s leading motorcycle tour connecting enthusiasts with a wide array of Powersports brands, today announced the dates and locations of its 2022 tour. Produced with Progressive Insurance as the title sponsor for the 13th consecutive year, the eight-city series will revisit three markets that hosted the indoor version of the International Motorcycle Shows (Colorado, Arizona, and New York) and return to five markets that IMS Outdoors visited last tour (Chicago, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, and Northern and Southern California).

Heading into the sophomore year, the experience-focused event will bring back the popular two-wheel and fourwheel demo programs, eBikes, shopping, custom and vintage bikes, and music, while also offering more chances for enthusiasts to engage with brands and their riding community, from ride-ins and races to speakers and charitable efforts.

“The launch of IMS Outdoors was an exciting challenge that armed us with learnings we look forward to applying on the 2022 tour, including an expansion of the highly successful demo program, growing our electric footprint, and adding

more experience-focused offerings,” said Tracy Harris, SVP of Progressive IMS Outdoors. “The Powersports industry is amid a transformative period in time as new brands emerge, such as bespoke and electric companies, and we welcome an all-new generation of riders. We are so proud to cater our event to the changing needs of the industry and reunite everyone from new riders and kids to lifelong enthusiasts.”

2021 Tour Results: More than 35,000 motorcycle demo rides were taken across the eight-city tour ; Nearly half, 44%, of attendees were new to riding or prospective riders; IMS is a catalyst for industry-wide growth and is driving new customers for exhibitors and event sponsors; The introduction of SxS and

eBike demos were well-received and indicated the community’s growing interest in adjacent products; Influenced

by IMS’ award-winning Discover The Ride program, three different programs put more than 1,600 adults and teens on a motorcycle for the first time; Nearly 1,700 kids rode two-wheeled balance and battery-operated bikes with Strider, Harley-Davidson, and Husquvarna Harris continued: “We could not be more excited to announce this year’s tour schedule, which was built in partnership with the industry’s leading OEMs. Our team is working diligently to produce an even more robust event that brings the love of riding to life and look forward to sharing more details regarding activations and participating brands with our community soon.”

IMS 2022 Schedule: COLORADO June 17-19, 2022 / CHICAGO - June 2426, 2022 / PENNSYLVANIA - September 16-18, 2022 / NEW YORK - September

23-25, 2022 / ATLANTA - September 30 – October 2, 2022 / NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - October 21-23, 2022 / ARIZONA - October 28-30, 2022 / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - November 4-6, 2022 Tickets go on sale March 24 – save the date on your calendar and visit www.motorcycleshows.com for more information on the 2022 tour. Follow Progressive IMS Outdoors on social to join the conversation #IMSOutdoors #RidersUnite Vance & Hines, Suzuki Motor USA, And Mission Foods Partner To Create Powerhouse NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Team - Santa Fe Springs, CA –Vance & Hines today announced a partnership that brings three legendary brands together in a quest for the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) Championship.

This triumvirate of performancefocused, industry-leading companies make the Vance & Hines/Mission Foods/Suzuki Factory Pro Stock Motorcycle Team an early favorite for the top spot.

Suzuki, a global leader in motorcycle performance, plans to add to its NHRA PSM legacy in 2022 when it dubs Vance & Hines as its “premier drag race team.” The two companies have a storied relationship dating back to 1978 with the launch of the GS 1000. That year, Vance & Hines began operating Suzuki’s factory drag racing team, with racing programs under several sanctioning bodies. In the years that followed, they earned numerous victories and championships with company cofounders Terry Vance as rider and Byron Hines as tuner. Ultimately, the collaboration established Suzuki as the fastest and winningest brand on the drag strip. Their success paved the way for the emergence of PSM racing as a professional sport.

When the NHRA, established the PSM class as full-fledged national championship in 1987, Vance won its inaugural race in Gainesville on a Suzuki GS 1150E, and later in that season set a Pro Stock milestone as the first motorcycle to run a 7-second ET. Since that time, Vance & Hines-built Suzuki powerplants have won five NHRA national titles, including three consecutive championships on bikes April ‘22 - May ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 107

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piloted by Byron’s son, Matt Hines.

The Vance & Hines/Suzuki partnership is a multi-year program which will allow racing fans to see the performance of a 6.3 second, 200+ MPH Hayabusa model in the world’s premier form of motorcycle drag racing. Additionally, fans will be able to experience a Suzuki presence at many of the national NHRA PSM events and V&H/Suzuki team members will meet with fans in the paddock area at every race.

Mission Foods continues its sponsorship of the team in 2022 and has become a significant presence in racing, with partnerships and sponsorships in IndyCar and several racing organizations in powersports.

Mission Foods, the largest manufacturer of tortillas in the US and a worldwide leader in Mexican foods, joined the Vance & Hines NHRA PSM effort in 2021.

“Suzuki has a tradition of competing at the highest levels in motorcycle racing,” said Kerry Graeber, Suzuki Motor USA, LLC Vice President, Motorcycle/ATV Sales and Marketing. “Given our history and success in drag racing it’s fitting that we take a high-profile role in NHRA PSM.” Graeber added that “one of the specific goals of this program is to showcase Suzuki’s all-new, third generation Hayabusa sport bike and Vance & Hines is without a doubt the best partner for this initiative. We’re thrilled to be reuniting with Vance & Hines in NHRA to show the extraordinary capabilities of the Hayabusa.”

“We’re happy to expand our partnership with Vance & Hines for NHRA racing and are overjoyed to have Suzuki on board. This is a great expression of our #2FAST2TASTY campaign,” said Juan Gonzalez, Mission Foods Chief Executive Officer.

“NHRA with Vance & Hines and Suzuki, IndyCar with Arrow McLaren SP and our sponsorships in American Flat Track will make 2022 an exciting year for all race fans.”

“Vance & Hines was born on a racetrack and has a passion for high performance,” said Mike Kennedy, President of Vance & Hines. “That’s why partnering with organizations with equally strong cultures of winning is perfect for us. We are overjoyed to have Mission Foods return to our program, and to begin a long and successful strategic partnership with Suzuki. This is already a great start to the 2022 racing season.”

Additional details of the Vance & Hines/Mission Foods/Suzuki racing program will be released in February as the team prepares for the first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle race of the season in Gainesville, Florida.

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The season includes 15 PSM races and its finale takes place in November in Pomona, California at NHRA’s Auto Club Finals.

SBS Brakes Partners With The S&S Cycle Racing Dynasty - Racing, whether it be on a road course or a dirt oval is a delicate balance of horsepower and braking, so it’s no surprise that the S&S Cycle racing program has partnered with the high performance braking experts at SBS. “Building some of the fastest machines in both the King of the Baggers and American Flat Track fields has meant quality braking is that much more important to us and we look forward to collaborating with SBS Friction in the coming year” States S&S Race Team Manager Dean Young. The American Flat Track as well as MotoAmerica King of the Baggers seasons kick off during the 2022 Daytona Bike Week with double headers and arguably the most competitive race programs in the US, we suspect the pairing of these two brands will add to the excitement.

You can follow the S&S race program efforts through their social media channels and their Performance Times blog and podcast.

https://info.sscycle.com/performance-times Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race.

Announces Partnership With Parts Unlimited - Parts Unlimited, the world’s largest distributor of aftermarket accessories in powersports, partners with 2022 BTR programs in American Flat Track and MotoAmerica.

Royal Enfield’s Build. Train. Race. program is delighted to announce a partnership with worldwide distributor of powersports aftermarket accessories Parts Unlimited. Both the BTR Road Race and Flat Track programs will be supported by Parts Unlimited throughout the 2022 season.

Parts Unlimited will be an essential part of the program providing a parts and gear allotment totaling over $100,000. Each BTR program participant will receive a credit to order parts needed to build their Royal Enfield INT 650 and Continental GT 650 motorcycles into proper race machines. On top of this generous stipend, Parts Unlimited is going a step further and providing all the participants with Alpinestars boots and gloves.

“The Build. Train. Race. programs have both grown in size and attention since we started in 2019,” said Breeann Poland, Marketing and Communications Lead – Royal Enfield Americas. “The number of resources needed to run these programs and for participants to build their motorcycles is more than what we alone can provide. Parts Unlimited took notice of the growth and popularity of BTR and stepped up with a big partnership. Their added support will not only help cover costs but will allow the creativity and talent of the BTR women to truly shine in 2022. We couldn’t be happier to have them on board; this is going to be an incredible season.” of aftermarket accessories in powersports, partners with 2022 BTR programs in American Flat Track and MotoAmerica.

Royal Enfield’s Build. Train. Race. program is delighted to announce a partnership with worldwide distributor of powersports aftermarket accessories Parts Unlimited. Both the BTR Road Race and Flat Track programs will be supported by Parts Unlimited throughout the 2022 season.

Parts Unlimited will be an essential part of the program providing a parts and gear allotment totaling over $100,000. Each BTR program participant will receive a credit to order parts needed to build their Royal Enfield INT 650 and Continental GT 650 motorcycles into proper race machines. On top of this generous stipend, Parts Unlimited is going a step further and providing all the participants with Alpinestars boots and gloves.

“The Build. Train. Race. programs have both grown in size and attention since we started in 2019,” said Breeann Poland, Marketing and Communications Lead – Royal Enfield Americas. “The number of resources needed to run these programs and for participants to build their motorcycles is more than what we alone can provide.

Parts Unlimited took notice of the growth and popularity of BTR and stepped up with a big partnership. Their added support will not only help cover costs but will allow the creativity and talent of the BTR women to truly shine in 2022.

We couldn’t be happier to have them on board; this is going to be an incredible season.”

If you have a hankering for more news, don’t miss the weekly news and Bikernet. com. And don’t forget to join your local motorcycle rights organization. Ride fast and free forever, goddammit. --Bandit

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ADVERTISERS INDEX 5 Ball Racing Leather.............95 Arizona Bike Week..................31 Battery Outlet.......................113 BikerNet.com.........................110 Bling’s Cycles.......................109 Chop Cult...............................110 Cycle Source Gear.................39 Cycle Stop USA.......................35 DB Custom Leather...............110 Dennis Kirk............................115 Denver’s Choppers.................93 Drag Specialties.......................9 Drag Specialties Seats...........15 Dutchman..............................113 Fandango................................51 Feuling...................................111 Garage Built Podcast..............91 GEICO.....................................27 High Seas Rally.......................45 Hijinx Apparel.......................101 Hot Leathers.........................105 5 Ball Racing Leather.............95 Iron Horse Saloon..................29 Law Tigers................................2 Led Sled..................................63 MC Creations.........................113 Mikuni......................................79 Motion Pro..............................89 No School Choppers..............35 Pandemonium........................69 Paughco.............................19,57 Progressive Insurance.............3 Providence Cycle Worx........109 S&S Cycle.............................116 SmokeOut Rally...................5,99 SpeedKing..............................49 Sporty Parts...........................113 Spectro Oils............................21 Steel Pony Campground........85 Tech Cycles............................29 Twisted Tea............................53 Tropical Tattoo........................46 Twin Power................................4 Twisted Choppers...................17

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arlier today, I saw a bumper sticker that said, “I’m a veterinarian; therefore, I can drive like an animal.” Suddenly, I realized how many proctologists are on the road.

Send Your Gut Buster to: cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

A

pastor entered his donkey in a race, and it won. The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the next race, and it won again. The local newspaper read: PASTOR’S ASS OUT FRONT. The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race. The next day, the local newspaper headline read: BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR’S ASS. This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey. The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent. The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN. The Bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10. The next day the paper read: NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10. This was too much for the Bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild. The next day the headlines read: NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE. The Bishop was buried the next day. The moral of the story is: Being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery and even shorten your life. So be yourself and enjoy life. You’ll be a lot happier and live longer!

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woman awakes during the night to find that her husband is not in bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.

She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

“What’s the matter, dear?” she whispers as she steps into the room.

“Why are you down here at this time of night?” The husband looks up from his coffee, “It’s the 20th Anniversary of the day we met.” She can’t believe he has remembered and starts to tear up. The husband continues, “Do you remember 20 years ago when we started dating, I was 18, and you were only 16.” he says solemnly. Once again, the wife is touched to tears.

“Yes, I do.” she replies. The husband pauses; the words were not coming easily. “Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?” ‘Yes, I remember.” said the wife, lowering herself into the chair beside him. The husband continued.

“Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, “Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to prison for 20 years!”’

“I remember that, too,” she replied softly. He wiped another tear from his cheek and said, “I would have gotten out today.”

Jason

Tom

n old man is met by his attorney and is told he is going to be audited. He rides to the IRS office with his attorney, and when he gets there, he begins to talk with the IRS agent. “I bet $2,000 I can bite my own eye!” The IRS agent agrees to the bet, believing it is an impossible task. The old man laughs, pulls out his glass eye, and bites it. The IRS agent is dumbfounded. The old man bets $3,000 he can bite his other eye.

The IRS agent knows there’s no way possible to do this, so he once more agrees. The old man cackles pulls out his dentures, and bites his eye.

Then the old man finally wagers, “I bet $20,000 I can stand on the far side of your desk, pee over the desk, and get it into your wastebasket without missing a single drop. “ The agent knows he won’t be able to, so once more, he agrees. Indeed, the old man misses, peeing all over the desk and on the paperwork. The IRS agent jumps for joy but notices the attorney over in the corner moaning.

“Are you all right?” asks the agent.

“No! On the way over here, he bet me $400,000 he could pee on your desk, and you’d be happy about it!”

O

Aaron

perator: 911, what’s your emergency? Chris: A guy just got hit by a car, I need and ambulance. Operator: What’s your location? Chris: I’m on Eucalyptus St. Operator: Can you spell that for me? Chris: (long awkward pause) Operator: Sir? Are you there? Chris: I’m gonna drag him over to Pine St, and call right back!

Chris

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