Cycle Source Magazine- Issue 291 June-July 22

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December‘10 CYCLE SOURCE

CYCLE SOURCE JUne JUne '22 - July '22 7

BIKES Junk Pile

Three Two Choppers 1980 Shovel ................................................................ 22

First Timer

Justin Tittle's 99 Sporty Chopper .................................................................40

Francene

Alleyway Kustoms 51 Panhead ..................................................................... 58

Devil's Obsession

Frank Rocco's 1967 Generator Shovel .........................................................70

Tequila

Hammer Studios Raw Evo Bobber .................................................................80

Sahside Slider

Chris Callen's 1988 FXR Evolution .................................................................94

The Outlaw

Dallas Fletcher's Garage Build .......................................................................98

FEATURES Lone Star Rally 21

Everything Is Bigger In Texas, Even The Party .........................................10

BelgiumFest

Grass Roots Rally With A Cause ..................................................................... 32

Cool Hand Speedco

Billy Lanes Newest Offering ............................................................................ 38

Why SmokeOut

Steve Broyles Take On How It Changed The World .............................. 46

N.O.T.T.

COVID Couldn't Stop A Good Time ................................................................. 64

The Last Crocker

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History Of The Crocker From The Klein Collecetion ..........................102

TECH Shop Life

A Few Things To Make Shop Life A Little Easier ...................................... 18

Evolving The Evo

Rebuilding The FXR Evolution Engine - Pt 2 .............................................. 28

FXR Side Covers

Chris Handforms Side Covers - Pt 1 .............................................................. 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

Erick Runyon, Panhead Jim, Jim Arborgast

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

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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SPARE PARTS Product Spotlight

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

In The News

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

DEPARTMENTS

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

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From The Editor’s Desk .................................................... 8 Pin-Up Of The Month ....................................................... 16 Killin' Time With X ............................................................ 51 Chopper Charlie ............................................................... 76 Great American Road Chip ......................................... 86 Photo Hunt ........................................................................... 97 Gut Busters ........................................................................ 114

The Cycle Source Magazine® (ISSN 1935-0287) is published 6 times a year by The Cycle Source Magazine with Offices at 118 Dellenbaugh Road Tarentum, PA 15084, 724-226-2867, www.cyclesource.com. U.S. Subscription rate is $24.00 for 6 issues. Canadian Subscription rate is $36.00 for 6 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 ® 2022. 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.

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ABOUT THE COVER Fish is an incredible talent, but a solid human being as well!

He kills it on everything from music to art to motorcycle paint, but when it comes to custom bikes his build Francene is on another level. We are super proud to have it on this cover and to carry his story inside this issue.

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eems like a pretty weird title for an editorial, right? Well, dear reader, just stick with me here. You know, sitting back today as I write this, I am at the 25-year point with the magazine and over 30 years as a motorcyclist.

I’ve seen more than my share of the “come and go” that the old-timers talk about. The rising stars, the next big things, but it never ceases to amaze me when the newbie who just last month was so honored to meet us all, so proud of his first build, so grounded and nice to be around comes down with a case of cranial rectal inversion. You know… head up the ass syndrome. Look man, let’s set one thing straight right now.

There was a total of five, count them, five minutes where motorcycles were ever flush with cash. About those same number of minutes where anyone truly became famous. Sure, there were errant stars like Larry, but mostly motorcycle people only become famous in circles of other motorcycle people. The point is, we don’t sell lottery tickets here! If you picked this magazine up for the first time and are already thinking, “Yeah bro, I’ll get a welder and build a bike and then get invited to……” SLAP….

Stop it.

You probably all know the type of cat I’m bitchin’ about. Did pipes and a peanut tank on the first bike. The second bike had a hardtail frame. By the third, he’s pontificating about how he would have done the “Chain Of Mystery” differently if he’d have done

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it. The real question would be, could you have done it despite everyone telling you it would fail? Would you have done it not knowing if it would have cracked in half just to see if you could? Would you have done all that even if nobody was watching, if there wasn’t a social media button if you weren’t getting your fill of likes and shares?

Now, on the other hand, if you can’t sleep at night for thoughts of what tool you might buy next, what project you might like to challenge yourself with. If the idea of dying in a mountain of debt from investing in machines you may never get to build before the day you die appeals to you…. Well then, you’ve come to the right place. Not long ago, a friend of mine called this a “makers magazine.” What an honor! As it truly is the spirit of creation that drives everyone that has anything to do with this magazine, and that goes from the canvas to the computer to the welder to the filming and photography right to the printed page. This thing we all share here is a time-honored but ever fleeting proposition. You see, you may get your chance to hold the reigns, you might even get a mention in the history books of motorcycling, but I’ve only ever seen that from those who have dedicated their lives to it, sacrificed again and again for it and wouldn’t change a thing if they could. A pound of flesh, no more, no less, that’s the bargain, you dig?

Do this, and the stories of your

life will be filled with fond memories and great friends. The kind of life that dreams are made of. Do it not, forget for one second that this is a fickle master, and you will be miserable because there isn’t a lot of money here, fame either. What I can tell you after 25 years of Cycle Source is that I look around this room, and yes, I see that the walls need painted, could use some new carpet, and it usually takes an hour to get the whole place prepared for a visit, but I have lived a lifetime in motorcycles. I’ve shared in the laughter, and the sorrow, gained access to the inner circle, and have had the time of my life, especially when no one was watching. I have intentionally left some of the best parts off social media because the doing was more important than the showing. The garage is still my most sacred place, and I know some can do things better than I can, some not as well. Few, however, can approach it all with the intensity that I will, for the simple fact that I feel truly blessed and lucky to have it all in my life.

So there ya have it, slick, at least you won’t be able to say you weren’t warned. You can put all this silly motorcycle bullshit outta your head now and go find some nice career where everyone gets a trophy, and they all make great money and all that, or… you can start turning the pages and dive in head first, just don’t expect to win!

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Article By: Chirs Callen Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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k, so COVID kicked the motorcycle events’ asses for a solid year and a half, some of them for two. For Lone Star Rally, this would be the first year back, and up until a short time out, no one even knew if it would be allowed to proceed. The fact that not everything was status quo didn’t matter as much as the fact that the streets were packed, the sound from motorcycles filled the air, and it was perfect weather from start to finish.

The simple fact that they managed to get the event off meant that we all won before it even started.

So, longtime readers know that this is officially our favorite way to close the year for motorcycles as much as Daytona is our official opener. As I mentioned above, it was only weeks before the event that most of the vendors and entertainers got the notice that the city of Galveston had given the rally the green flag. We had high hopes, and the expectations were that if there was a rally at all, it was good enough. Upon rolling

into the small island city, you couldn’t tell that anything was different. I mean, the stage in the center of town was a little less in stature, but everything by and large seemed to be on track. As the course went on, the streets filed in every nook with the usual suspects who make up the ranks of the Lone

Star Vendors.

Thursday, was the official first day of the rally, but I was tied up in the studio with the fellas, so I sent the girls ahead to Galveston to check out the lay of the land and the overall vibe.

Once on the scene, Heather reported back that despite the

cooler temps for Texas, the party was on like it was 1999! During their unsupervised trip to The Strand, they had to opportunity to meet Lee Greenwood, think “God Bless The USA,” who was on hand to kick off the event with his iconic song, and help launch Soldier Valley Distillery and, of course, she scored herself a bottle!

Friday would be our first Texas performance bike show for Torque, to which the event gave us prominent placement net to Sangerfest Park. We helped Jason get set up and then turned him loose so we could split to the Sea Wall to get ready for Bike Games.

Oh, excuse me, Texas, the Rodeo.

The Torque show, while not an incredible total number of bikes, did have some excellent examples of the performance scene from that region. One stand out was the Top Fuel Drag bike sponsored

by Law Tigers. The whole team showed up early to get the best spot and having that thing front and center killed it for the feel of the show. You can see some of the other bikes on our YouTube

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channel in video feature form. The best of show winner, John “Dirty” Sanchez, got $500 and a feature in Torque Magazine.

Over at the Beach Central, the day got cooking early. This event never ceases to amaze me. Before we even got the lines painted on the street, the crowd started to line both sides and quite a few many deep.

It was rodeo day at Lone Star, and in Texas, anything with that word is for real. The level of competition is real for this thing, and we ended up having to cut off a couple events by the close of the day, just like every other year. We did manage to get Slow Race, Barrel Roll, Ring toss, and everyone’s favorite; The Weenie Bite. The amount of comic relief that comes from weenie bite alone is worth the time you might spend there. People literally ran outta breath from the antics. I can only try to explain as quotes like “Slapped In The Face,” Jerked It Off,” and Took The Whole Thing” are the only accurate descriptions I can pass along here. By the end of the day, it would be “Kid” that walked away with the Championship belt, having earned enough total points through all events to become the 2022 Lone Star Rally rodeo champ.

That night the preverbal shit hit the fan in Galveston. People had been penned up and were ready to party, and brother did they ever. Hairball was the headliner at Beach Central, and the streets were alive like the AC was broken. We decided to take in one of our other favorite past times at LSR and stuff our faces.

Of course, our regular haunt would be the Original Mexican joint, but as luck would have it, they were closed by the time our duties ended. We hit another spot, not as good, but it gave us the occasion to spend more time out on the street where to our surprise, the Slingshot crowd had decided to take things to the next level. Now on top of boogie lights, many of them have added scrolling led message boards to the back of their rigs. One that sticks out read “SBF looking for a good time,” with a phone number and instructions to flag down if nothing else. Ok, I didn’t say it was a great addition. I’m just the reporter here.

The next day was the Cycle Source Custom Bike Show on Seawall this year in conjunction with the Perewitz Paint Show. Rather than have people choose which

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show to attend, you could pull into the same spot and sign up for one, the other, or both shows. It really packed the street, and I think it will be a better way to do the show moving forward. For us, there were nearly thirty classes that we handed out awards for, but only one best of show. Who also cashed a prize of $500 and a feature in Cycle Source that went hands down to Clinton Wallace.

So later that night, my band, the Black Smoke Sinners, were playing, and as stoked as I was, I also was in heaven watching the great lineup before us. Whey Jennings being one of the highlights. What a great entertainer. We were opening for Hairball, which is truly an honor.

These cats are among some of the most accomplished musicians I’ve ever met. It was a blast! By the end of the night, we were treated to Hairball’s new stage show that had added a 60-foot video screen wall.

These cats make me miss the late eighties and early nineties when music production was big. No matter how good a band is, there is just something missing when everyone is on stage with little combo amps and no monitors.

That night on The Strand, it was what my grandfather used to call assholes to elbows. You couldn’t get a place to stand, let alone park, so we hustled our way in and got some shots for the mag before. We headed off with the boys and caught a killer steak at “The Steakhouse” at the San Luis Resort. Somehow, Cameron managed to secure us a last minute reservation. Still not sure what trickery he used to get that done, but it was a blessing. We were treated to stellar service and an even better three-piece band that had everyone smiling and singing along.

Sunday was our day to regroup and reflect on the events of the weekend that closed out our rally season. All in all, we couldn’t have found a better way to sign off another year in the books. If you haven’t been to the Lone Star Rally, I suggest that you do, you won’t regret it, we never do!

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Article And Photos By: Daniel Donley

www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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pending as much time in the shop every day as I do, the hustle is real. I am always looking for a better way to do something, whether quality or efficiency. Every once in a while, you run across something you never realized you needed. For this tech, I am going to show you a few tools and supplies that have made my shop life much better.

Motion Pro Dowel pin puller part # 08-0604. I work on a lot of vintage engines, and removing the dowel pins without destroying them has always been an issue in my shop.

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Dowel pins are used to locate engine parts when they go together. Over time electrolysis can happen, and the steel dowel can rust into the aluminum case and make it extremely difficult to remove. Let me tell you, this dowel pin puller works great! There are notches in the sides of the puller for the use of a wrench. There is also a supplied T handle for the really stubborn ones.

A slide hammer is included in this kit as well. The kit contains 8, 10, 12 & 14 mm dowel extractors. There are also other sizes available on their website. When working on these old bikes, this tool is a must have.

EMPI Carburetor flow meter part # 43-5712-0. Boy, these things have been around forever! I remember when I was a kid, my dad used one to synchronize the dual carburetors on my Volkswagen engine. Why I didn’t buy one sooner, I have no idea! I use this on every engine build I do here at the shop. It works great for quick ballpark adjustments when you first fire a fresh engine. It is also great for fine-tuning them as well. This tool provides a quick visual method of balance setups and does not restrict any airflow. It has a number scale for reference for properly balancing your

daily. That happens when you mess around with these old motorcycles.

Is hand cleaner a tool? Well, it is in my shop. I have been using Full Bore hand cleaners for the last few years.

some. You will love it!

So here are a few things that make life in my shop easier, and maybe they can help you out too!

EMPI https://empius.com/ Motion Pro https://www.motionpro.com/ Full Bore Products https://www.fullboreproducts.com/

multi-carb setups. When the engine is running, place the flow meter on the carb and read the number scale.

Adjust the carb accordingly till the number scale matches. This carb tool is super easy to use and will make you look like you know what you are doing.

Full Bore Hand Scrub. Ultra-Flow Hand Scrub. I am in grease and oil

Hands down, they are the best. Most hand cleaners are solvent-based.

The solvent is what dries and cracks the skin on your hands. It is not good for you or the environment. Full Bore hand scrub has no solvents and is to be used with water to clean your hands. With this hand cleaner, you will not have dry, cracked hands. In my book, that is a win. This is my favorite hand cleaner, period! Try

If there is something you would like to see a tech article on or have any questions, please call (419-576-6812) or email (happydandemonium@ gmail.com) me at the shop.

Pandemonium Custom Choppers Facebook: Pandemonium Custom Choppers Instagram: pandemoniumc2 pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com

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henever I am in Texas, the one stop I always try and make is a visit to Three Two Choppers.

Jimmie Lee and J.C. Cohen are two of my favorite people in the world, mainly because they are talented, and Jimmie Lee is a total wiseass, and I love his approach to life and motorcycles.

Anyway, on one of these last trips across the map, I popped in and found this incredible

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little Shovelhead, and I knew it had to be in the magazine.

Once I heard the story, that was confirmed.

Like the name says, it’s just a junk pile. Like most of my favorite projects start, the sum total of what you see here was just bits and pieces lying around the shop. Ok, lets back up a bit. Bill Conway, the owner of Junk Pile and a friend of the shop, got tired of just hanging around the shop

and asked if he could just get stuff outta the junk pile and build something. Part of it was a donor bike that came to them when three guys with an old FXB in the back of their truck stopped by trying to make a sale. There were asking for $6,500. Jimmy managed to get the deal done for $2,000, a steal by any measure.

The idea was to clean it up and make it simple. Bill wanted to keep it Harley, but Jimmy

Article And Photos By: Chris Callen

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stated that as long as they were building it, they should keep it Harley but make it special.

The oil tank was a Moon tank that was lying around the shop but was dented. They cut it in half and narrowed it to fit the frame better. To keep everything in line and clean takes work. To keep things so simple takes way more time. This is one of my favorite parts of this build.

As you look down the lines, you will notice simple additions to solve the need for things like the oil tank mounting, the shifter, and routing of the oil lines. But each of these is executed in a very specific manner to make it look like it’s supposed to be that way, not just an afterthought.

The hand controls are actually both brakes. A foot clutch and jockey shift with the option of rear brake control of the rear brakes on the bars.

The pipes are a signature of 3-2. Slotted inserts that hide the seams. A nice touch with some of its own design elements,

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the pipes slide into the collars, and then a nice weld can be placed around the outside with no worry about any noticeable transitions.

Gary Queen from Other Side Customs outta Dallas did the Paint and knocked it outta the park. He’s painted for the guys for nearly 20 years, and that’s an accomplishment since Jimmy is particular when it comes to the finish. The Matte Gold adorned with the Gloss black flames gives it immediate hot rod cred and ends up being the perfect amount of color.

Specific stock attributes included, like the stock headlight mount, sit in perfect contrast with other slightly modified items such as the coil mounting location. Just by dropping it down a bit fits the lines of the bike better but also indicates that it’s still where it should be.

A forty-spoke 21-inch wheel is never a bad idea on a bike like

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junk pile Tech Sheet Owner: Bill Conway City/State: Fort Worth Texas Builder: Three Two Choppers / Bill Conway Year: 1980 Model: FXB Value: $1 Time: 1 year ENGINE Year: 1989 Model: Shovelhead Builder: AMF Harley Ignition: Dyna S Dual Fire Displacement: 1340 CC Pistons: cast Heads: cast Carb: S&S Super E Cam: Stock Air Cleaner: Moon Eyes Exhaust: TTC Primary: BDL Kick only 1.5” TRANSMISSION Year: 1980 Make: AMF Harley Shifting: Jockey FRAME Year: 1980 Model: FXB Rake: 30° Stretch: 0 FORKS Builder: AMF Harley Type: 35mm Triple Trees: AMF Harley Extension: -2” WHEELS Front Wheel: 40 spoke spool Size:21x2.15 Tire: Avon Front Brake: None Rear Wheel: 40 Spoke Size: 16x3 Tire: Avon Rear Brake: TTC Dual Single Piston PM PAINT Painter: Other Side Customs Color: Flat Gold/Gloss Black Type: Paint Graphics: Flames Chroming: None ACCESSORIES Bars: TTC Risers: TTC Hand Controls: PM Foot Controls: AMF Harley Gas Tank(s): Peanut Oil Tank: Narrowed Mooneyes Front fender: None Rear Fender: TTC Seat: Ebay Headlight: AMF Harley Taillight: TTC Speedo: None Photographer: chris callen

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this, but the spool is the way to go on a chopper. There are a thousand other little details, and if you can’t see them all here, go check them out on our YouTube channel where we have a video feature of Junk Pile.

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n the first installment of the Garage Build EVO engine rebuild, we talked a lot about prep. If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure, then a little preparedness will go a long way. The most important thing to consider for this build wasn’t the budget, mostly because we weren’t lacking the budget.

What was most important to Chris and I was that we actually did run into a few issues along the way, but we overcame those obstacles in true Garage Builder fashion.

Some engines go together

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Article And Photos By: Jason Hallman fantastically while others fight you here and there. When working under the gun (as all garage builders do from time to time), we wanted to draw from each other’s past experiences as much as possible when issues did pop up.

Now that all of the parts were cleaned, prepped, and then cleaned in a secondary parts solution, each part was given a final inspection before they were wiped down with Twin Power’s aerosol Contact Cleaner and lint-free disposable shop towels.

These towels are critical during reassembly.

Want to try something? Grab a brand-new red shop towel and swipe it across the tee shirt you are wearing. See all of the lint left behind? That lint will end up in your engine if you use red shop towels. So, the Garage Builders Rule #1 for re-assembly is “No red shop towels during re-assembly.”

Blue shop towels are inexpensive insurance that your engine parts

won’t grab the towel and cause a problem inside your oil passages.

Breaking a few eggs: Our cylinder heads were given the fullon Garage Build treatment, which meant removing all the hardware and then into the parts solution for initial cleaning. Once cleaned, the heads were sent into the Vapor Honing Technology’s VH1000 vapor honing cabinet for blasting.

The threaded holes were washed, and we placed the heads in the secondary parts washer for a final rinse. This was when we noticed the crack in the combustion chamber

from overtightening a spark plug.

This meant we had to grab another EVO head from our parts pile and start over. Thank God I’m a hoarder.

So just like a shampoo bottle, it was wash, rinse and repeat. The new(er) head was good as gold, so we lapped the valves, made certain they were within acceptable spec, and reassembled the cylinder heads.

Now on to the rotating assembly.

In the last installment, we chronicled honing the cylinders and prepping the other parts like the valve train.

We cleaned, vapor honed, prepped the engine cases for assembly, and grabbed some Hondabond to seal the cases. A little goes a long way, so watch your application when sealing the cases. The crankshaft

went in like it was born there. We installed a new crankshaft spacer and seal and torqued the case bolts. The next part to go on was the oil pump.

A little egg on my face. When I am building an engine, it is always best for me to be in a calm state of mind, and I need to be free from distractions. Having said that…I made an error, and here it is in print to forever remind myself that when doing important things, I need to follow best practices, not the red dot on the floor like a Pitbull!

Somehow I forgot to install the 1/8” pipe plug in the backside of the oil pump body. This meant that when the bike went to Franklin Church Choppers for wiring and

firing…it pumped oil all over Tom’s lift. An easy fix? Sure…but definitely a little egg on my face. It is all good though. My ego needs a little checking here and there, and this was a minor issue compared to what could have happened. When building an engine, find your Zen (whatever that is) and stay there until it is done.

Now for the rest of the cam chest.

The breather gear and bore were in perfect order, as were the Jim’s roller lifters. We disassembled the lifters, cleaned all of the old oil, inspected the rollers, reassembled them with assembly oil, and installed the remaining parts without any bumps in the road.

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Evolution engine cases (certain years) are prone to stud pull when torquing the cylinder heads. The problem is that the entire engine is assembled before you find out that the block has weakened over time, so you need to carefully inspect your block in the area the studs are threaded into. Check them to see if they are loose. If they are…you may need to Time-sert the holes (Heli-coils won’t hold), and that is not something you will want to do while the engine is assembled.

Our heads and pots went together perfectly but not before we verified the ring end gap for the top two rings in both holes. We followed the factory specs for end gap and used the factory manual to index the rings on the pistons. Make sure you oil your piston pins with a sticky engine assembly lube and wipe your cylinders with a bit of engine oil to ensure you have ample lubricant at start up. Also, NEVER REUSE SPIRO LOCKS! Spiro locks are designed for single-use, so don’t be “Captain Saveabuck.” This is likely one of the least expensive parts in an engine, so buy new ones.

Once the heads were on and torqued, we could now install the rocker boxes and adjustable pushrods with the tubes. As I mentioned before, inspect your used parts closely. Upon final inspection, we discovered one of the pushrod tubes had some damage near the oiling hole. We do not require adjustable pushrods since the Andrews EV27 is a “bolt-

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in” camshaft (meaning it has the same base circle as a stock cam).

Again, because I am a hoarder, I had a full set of “like new” pushrods from a stock Evo engine that we could use. This saves us time too, as the pushrods will not need to be adjusted, and the motor will also be more maintenance-free for the long haul.

Once the engine was assembled, Chris installed it into the frame, and it was ready for wiring. The entire bike was delivered to Franklin Church Choppers so that Chris

and Tom Keefer could wire it and heat cycle the engine before it was to be stress-tested in the Arizona desert (which I can proudly report it handled with flying colors)!

Building a Garage Built engine was fun, and knowing that someone is going to get a killer bike in Sturgis (courtesy of Dennis Kirk and Cycle Source) makes it even better! – Jason Hallman

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Article By: Matt Reel Photos By: Matt Reel & Brittany Tate

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iving here in West Virginia gives me the opportunity to enjoy some of the most s c e n i c riding this country has to offer. The downside, at least for motorcycle enthusiasts, is, of course, w i n t e r .

Winter does, however, provide some downtime that will allow you to maintain your bike or even build a new one, perhaps that’s why some of my buddies call it repair or build season!

While there are ways to make the daylightdeprived days pass, nothing seems to fill the void of riding the beautiful mountains with your brothers and sisters.

Several years back, this need to spend time with the motorcycle family brought

about an unofficial event known as Social Saturday.

Social Saturday started out as a meeting of friends at a local tavern one Saturday a month during the winter season. This eventually grew to one Saturday a month, year-round, rotating to different watering holes and even the local Harley dealership.

Like every gathering of comrades, a multitude of topics gets gone over. It often goes like this: “How’s the family?

What are you building?

A n d , eventually, we should start a band.” Then one day in 2018, a new topic came up.

Let’s start a Rally.

It wouldn’t be just any Rally; it would be a Rally to bring people to

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the community, say “Thank You” to our Vets and First Responders, and give back to local children’s organizations.

Unlike most “Great Ideas,” the Rally idea took immediate traction.

Plans were made, the property was acquired, and contracts were made. Everything seemed to be moving along smoothly, and then the world took a crap, and the “C” word hit. At first, it was decided that the show would go on as planned, but eventually, restrictions forced the decision to postpone for a year. Instead of letting this take the wind out of their sails, the event organizers took it as an opportunity to plan in better detail.

When the summer of 2021 hit, the plans were set, and the event was on. The September 11th weekend came, and the gates opened.

Vendors were ready, food was cooking, the swap meet was set up, and the vintage bike show was packed. The libations flowed as the weekend went on, and the bands entertained the crowd. Throughout the days, many rides took off to take in the sights the area has to offer, including a Veteran’s Ride sponsored by the area VFW’s and a Vintage Bike ride. In the evenings’ everyone kicked back, listened to music, forged new friendships, and reminisced about old friends.

When all was said and done, the first BelgiumFest was successful and set the tone for many more to come. Recently, the Board of directors and many involved in the event gathered to give out several thousand dollars in scholarships to local students and donations to multiple charities. Plans for BelgiumFest 2022 are already in the works, so keep an eye out for updates on their social media @ belgiumfestwv. There is sure to be more rides, more bikes, more fun, and more giving back to the community.

Special thanks are sent out to the BelgiumFest Board of Directors: Patty Saunders, Satch Satterfield, Blake Ross, and Bobby & Kelly Turoczy. Without your hard work, none of this would have been possible.

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t

hough not everyone is directly involved in the arts, it is something that affects everyone every single day. Art is all around us, from the shows you watch on TV to the local magazine you pick up at the grocery store. Some people, however, discover art later in life and pick it up from there, just like this month’s artist, Ronnie Melendez.

39 years old and originally hailing from North Jersey near NYC, Ronnie wasn’t always creating art. He spent seventeen years working for good old corporate America as an insurance appraiser for motor vehicle accidents. Fun, right? 2017 is when everything changed for Ronnie. He decided one day that, for fun, he wanted to try his hand at

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Article By: Killer Rose painting a helmet. He enjoyed it so chips. You can’t have just one! much that he decided to do another However, what made it special was knowing people appreciated the art he created and wanted to see more. When someone actually wanted to buy it, man did that make his heart soar, and that was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. After that, he decided it would be a small side business: he would paint things from time to time.

Never in his life could he have imagined turning it into a fulltime career.

Despite working a “standard” desk job, Ronnie had always been involved in the motorcycle scene and started riding in his 20s. Part of his job had him working with body shop owners one, and pretty soon it took over his and different motor technicians, life. It was kinda like tattoos or potato so it was certainly something he

was familiar with. With the motorcycle community being so close to him, it only made sense that his newfound art would follow in a similar direction.

Ronnie started taking serious commissions back in 2018. He decided to make things official the very next year, and Weights and Paints was born! 99% of his projects are motorcycle related, so he uses automotive-grade urethane paints/clear coats as his medium of choice. Most of his materials come from his awesome friend over at Tropical Glitz in Florida, where his buddy Manny makes some of the coolest base colors and high-quality flakes.

When he starts a new project, his biggest goal is to just paint something cool! He carries the strong belief that less is more when it comes to painting and just lets the colors do the talking.

He is also honest in acknowledging that there isn’t a whole lot of new stuff that can be done with painting. His goal isn’t to reinvent the wheel but to have clean, easy to look at pieces that can stand the test of time.

For a mentor, Ronnie says that though he has been given tips and tricks from excellent painters and artists over the years, nothing helps more than trial and error. Lots of error. But that’s what makes it fun! He believes in trying new things, learning what works best, and finding the solution to different problems. If he were to offer any sort of advice to younger artists, it would be to accept the fact that there will be a lot of mistakes, and they should embrace them and learn from them.

Through his art and working in the industry, Ronnie has met so many people and made some pretty great connections, like Jeff Cochran of SpeedKing Racing, whom he has actually painted a few pieces for! He’s also been able to meet and work with Paul Sr. from OCC! Despite having met big names, he still stays humble and is honored to have been given the chance to work with them both. And it must be mentioned that all of this incredible work is created by himself in a shed in his backyard, which is absolutely unbelievable.

As for his plans for the future, he just wants to continue to paint as much as possible, keep growing his brand and build strong relationships with other people in the industry. For him, consistency is key! It may sound cliché, but he believes his life is a marathon, not a race.

If you want to see more of Ronnie’s incredible work or maybe commission a piece for yourself, you can find him on Instagram @weights_and_paints, Facebook Weights, and Paints, or email him weightsandpaints@gmail.com.

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Article By: Chris Callen

d

uring Daytona this year, we had the chance to see Billy Lane of Choppers Inc. fame launch a new effort for the motorcycle industry. After years of nurturing his love for antique and vintage motorcycles, he put it all on the line with the now incredibly successful Sons Of Speed Races.

While this has been an incredible journey, it still didn’t tie his two worlds together as symbiotic as his latest effort; Cool Hand Speed Co. At his Daytona International Speedway Location, along with a new acquisition to the program, Andy George, Billy let it quietly circulate that something new was happening in the Chopers Inc. camp. Then, with all the media and influencers present at the beginning of the week, he unveiled the plan.

Under the new name “Cool Hand Speedco.” Lane will be building a limited production run

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of 50 of the motorcycle you see pictured here. They’re all hand serialized, this one being number 00. They are all based on a 1941 Crocker. Crocker is one of the rarest and most sought-after motorcycles in the world, and with good reason. There are almost none in existence, and of those remaining, they are rarely up for sale.

They only made about 60 Crock-

ers to begin with, so you can imagine the excitement around the idea of a Crocker-styled bike.

Not only are these bikes a close physical representation to the Crocker, but Billy stated that it is along the lines of what Al Crocker was doing in the 30s and 40s.

He did overhead valve conversions on Flatheads because the only motorcycles out there were

Flatheads back then. The conversions were to make horsepower and to make them fun to ride. Billy uses Harley Davidson, Indian 74 cubic inch bottom ends, Flathead bottom ends with handmade overhead valve conversions with ductile iron cylinders with Iron Head, and overhead valve open rocker conversion. It will be 74 cubic inches, probably making 65 to 70 horsepower.

Each of the 50 handcrafted motorcycles will come with a clean title, whether Indian or Harley. For instance, if you bought one based on a 46 Indian, that’s what you’re going to have on your title, 1946 Indian. Sorry folks, number one is already sold, but whichever number you buy, the number will be on the tank badges, hand-tooled on the leather seat, on the handmade rocker boxes, and neck badge.

These bikes have a short wheelbase and 19-inch Kelsey Hayes wheels like what they put on the Indian or Harley-Davidson, VL, or Knuckleheads from the 30s and 40s. Billy will use a replica Harley Davidson four-speed kickstart only transmission. Lane says each Cool Hand Speed Co machine will start easily and idle smoothly. He intends to set them up for simple operation and fun.

They feature Druid style girder front forks, Flanders handlebars, and everything is reminiscent of the 40s and 50s bobber style.

Billy says, “This is something I’ve wanted to do for over 20 years. I’m lucky enough to get to that point in my career where I can actually do it. I’m really, really excited about it. I hope you are too. You’ll be able to pull up to a show next to Knuckleheads and Panheads and know that you’re still gonna have the coolest bike there.”

I’m sure there will be a ton of information coming out about these bikes, but having seen them up close, knowing Billy and his passion for old machines, you can take it from us that you’ll wanna get in line fast. Check them out today at billylane.net.

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t

he Harley-Davidson Sportster is always a popular choice when it comes to building your first custom motorcycle.

Between their cost and availability, it’s hard to go wrong with a late model Sporty, especially considering how well they run and ride. The problem is, building a good-looking custom Sportster is a lot tougher than you think. When I spotted Justin Tittle’s Sportster at the Twin Rivers Chopper Campout, I knew right away that I had

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found one of those rare builders that got everything right.

Justin has been riding motorcycles almost his entire life, starting out with a Yamaha PW80 when he was just 8 years old. Since that tender age, he has always owned some kind of motorcycle, but it wasn’t until recently that an old roommate talked him into building a Sportster chopper.

That kicked off a yearlong build of a 1999 883 Sportster that he transformed from a bone stock machine to the full-on custom

you see pictured here.

This was a complete frame up build, so instead of just adding some bolt-on accessories and calling it good, Justin went straight to completely disassembling the bike until all that was left was the engine and the forward controls. Everything else was packed up, sold or junked, which left Justin the freedom to rebuild the bike without any styling cues left from the factory.

To get the stance he was

Article And Photos By: Panhead Jim

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looking for, Justin called Jason Kidd at Flyrite Choppers in California, where he ordered a custom frame to serve as the foundation for his build. Justin knew he wanted to run a six-over springer but wanted the bike to sit level, so after some discussion with Jason, he went with a hardtail frame with a 30-degree neck that was two up and two out.

Rolling on Shinko tires with a 21” front wheel and a 16” rear, the bike has that old-school look without being angled like you are always riding up hill. Justin finished the chassis with subtle touches like custom engine spacers, internal fork stops on the Mick’s Chop Shop springer, and a weld on kickstand from WJ’s cycle in Johnson City, TN. Justin says, “After seeing it as a roller, he got nervous about messing up the bike. In his opinion, the best a bike will ever look is when it’s a rolling frame with a motor mounted. At that point, he felt like it was his job not to mess up the bike.” Justin went to Lowbrow Customs for his sheet metal to make sure he didn’t mess things up. He picked up a Wassell-style peanut tank and Manta Ray rear fender. He also grabbed an oil tank from Gasbox and got Mama Tried Customs to fab up a sissy bar to fit his rear fender.

Justin’s background as a machinist kicked in, and it was time to start fabbing up mounts for all those parts. The frame was drilled and tapped to mount the gas tank.

He made mounts for the fender, license plate and box taillight. The oil tank was modified to a side fill,

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and a custom top motor mount was constructed to hold the ignition switch and coil. Even the battery box was made from scratch using some scrap metal Justin had lying around the shop.

With the bulk of the fabrication work done, Justin sent a cardboard template out to B&C Cycles to build a custom seat and pan while he worked on the handlebars.

He picked up a set of Silverback Moto T bars and set them up with cables from Barnetts, controls from Biltwell, and mirrors from Pangea Speed. Once the seat was back and installed, the bike was sent to Willard’s Hawg Pen for custom stainless steel oil lines and a oneoff wiring harness.

Justin put a couple hundred shakedown miles on the bike in the dead of winter before bringing it back inside and tearing it all down for chrome and paint. He also made significant upgrades to the motor, transforming that 883 into a real fire-breather using a 1275 Hammer Performance Kit, a Mikuni carb, and

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FIRST TIMER TECH SHEET Owner: Justin Tittle City/State: Johnson City, TN Builder: Justin Tittle Year: 1999 Model: Harley-Davidson Sportster Value: $16k Time: 1 year ENGINE Year: 1999 Model: 883 Sportster Builder: Justin Tittle/Willard’s Hog Pen Ignition: Daytona Twin Tec Displacement: 1275cc Pistons: Hammer Performance 10:1 Heads: Stock Carb: Mikuni HSR42 Cam: Stock Air Cleaner: Bison Motorsport Short Velocity Stack Exhaust: Paughco Upsweeps Primary: Stock TRANSMISSION Year: 1999 Make: Harley Davidson Shifting: Foot FRAME Year: 2018 Model: Flyrite Rake: 30 Stretch: 2 up 2 out FORKS Builder: Justin Tittle/Mick’s Chop Shop Type: Springer Triple Trees: Mick’s Chop Shop Extension: 6 Over WHEELS Front Wheel: Moto Iron Size: 21” Tire: Shinko Front Brake: UNKNOWN Rear Wheel: Mid-USA Size: 16” Tire: Shinko Rear Brake: 2001 HD Sportster PAINT Painter: Michael Dotson Precise Auto Color: Teal Type: Custom Mix Gold Pearl/Blue Pearl Graphics: Chroming: East Tennessee Chrome Plating ACCESSORIES Bars: Silverback Moto T Bars Risers: UNKNOWN Hand Controls: Biltwell Foot Controls: Stock Gas Tank(s): Lowbrow Mid-Tunnel Wassel Oil Tank: Gasbox Horseshoe oil tank Front fender: UNKNOWN Rear Fender: Lowbrow Manta Ray Seat: B&C Cycles 2 Up Cobra Seat Headlight: Aris Style Headlights Taillight: Prism Supply Box Chopper Light Speedo: None Photographer: Panhead Jim

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a Daytona Twin Tec ignition. All that new horsepower and torque gets to the rear wheel via a Barnett clutch and a TC Bros chain drive.

Once all the parts were chromed and painted, Justin hauled everything down to Willard’s Hog Pen for final assembly. With the crew’s help at Willard’s, Justin spent the next five days doing final assembly, and after a few test rides and minor adjustments, it was ready to go.

Even with the pandemic keeping everyone inside, Justin has already placed in a couple of shows,

bringing home “Best Sportster” from the Twin Rivers Chopper Campout and scored a second place in a local show before he even had the paint and chrome finished.

Needless to say, the custom motorcycle bug has bitten, and he is already working on his next machine. If it is anywhere near as good as his first build, I am sure you will be reading about it in a future issue of Cycle Source.

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i

was asked to write an article to answer the question, “Why the SmokeOut?.” Having been involved in S m o k e O u t for most of its history, I have some insight to add here. It’s undoubtedly been an important part of the culture, a great party, and an incredible platform for The Horse magazine readers. But what real contribution was made from the 20 years it ran before this new launch…. Well, I’ll tell you.

As I sit back and reminisce about SmokeOuts past, I think about this event’s influence on the custom motorcycle scene. You see, at the time, the Custom Motorcycle Industry was going in a very different direction, at least the more popular and well-publicized parts of it. It seemed like everywhere you looked, the high-end choppers and manufactured customs were king. But there was still a very real undercurrent from garage life, and that’s when SmokeOut started. At first, it was raw and basic. It grew

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Article & Photos By: Steve Broyles almost overnight once everyone where you could just be yourself figured out what was going on and and hang out with the people became a pillar in the foundation of around you who had the same interests because you knew they enjoyed the things you built and the things they built.

Mutual respect and inspiration h a p p e n e d that formed camaraderie.

Everyone was always down to earth. There was no one there that was untouchable. You could get ideas, talk about other people’s thoughts, and what was the best direction you could go in.

It became fertile ground for the expression of the build itself and finding your niche or “your look,” as one would say. This was all happening when the biker build off craze was going on, and people were deep into wanting to make something different. Everyone what custom motorcycling would was looking to get into the custom be for the next two decades, and experience, so many poured with good reason. through the gates at SmokeOut. You see, more than just the party, With a national magazine attached the SmokeOut became a different to it, the only one at first that was type of event that reminded me paying attention to this sub-culture of the venues and events of the of the custom world, it was an 70s chopper craze. It was a place excellent opportunity to get noticed

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and get some shine for the work you did. Because of that, careers were launched for the new builders at the time, and the established builders were etched into the history books.

Young faces like Jeff Cochran and Donny Loos came up through the ranks of SmokeOut. Veterans like Indian Larry and Hank Young stood side by side with them to show the world their latest creations. I was the beginning and the end for anything chopper related. If you wanted to see or be seen, you had to be at the SmokeOut! So, when I heard that Cycle Source would be taking over as the next caretakers for this historic event and that to pay homage to its traditions, they would have a Legacy Invitational feature, I knew it would be in good hands. In case you don’t know what that is, let me explain.

Some of us were the first to bat if you will. What Cycle Source has called the SmokeOut O.G.s, or more specifically, the original builders from the early days of the SmokeOut. They have invited us to be featured builders for this first year back to Salisbury this September and have asked each of us to make our own invitation to a builder that is either new to SmokeOut or new to bike building. It’s a cool way to point out what SmokeOut has always been and ensure that it remains on that same track. Of course, I threw my hat in the ring right away, but the list is impressive, to say the least. Below you can see the names of the OGs followed by their Legacy invitation.

I’m proud to have been selected and glad to hear this event will still be a place where custom is king and ideas run wild.

Jeff Cochran - Clinton Wallace Billy Lane - Xavier Muriel Steve Broyles - Dan Toce Donny Loos - Rick Bray Bill Dodge - Johnny 99 Paul Cox - TBD Pat Patterson - Mike Schrickel Roadside Marty - Dan Starkey Be sure to check this one out.

While every SmokeOut had great memories, for some reason, this stands to be one for the ages. www.smokeoutrally.com

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Article By: Xavier Muriel

h

ello, lovers of the highway.

Man, do I have a lot to tell ya. Let’s not mess around and get right into it. Ok, so Daytona Bike Week 2022. After what seemed like the longest uphill battle ever, I finally made it to Daytona with my newest build. A 1990 FXR that I didn’t do much posting about, probably because I wanted to avoid as much hate mail as possible. I took what I found out is the holy grail of FXRs and did what I do. I chopped the shit out of it. Isn’t it why they call them choppers in the first place? I had a few purists in the beginning when I started the process telling me I was insane, that it was sacrilege and that the flood gates of hate mail would come flowing in. Well, since all this began for me, my attitude was and has remained F#@k em! I’ve

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never been one to follow the norm.

I’ve been taught by some friends in this industry that if I can’t be true to myself, then get out now! I had a lot of help along the way to get

it to Daytona. So, I’d like to take a moment to thank Rick Bray, Jason Hallman, Tony at Ram Jet, Frank at Speed Dealer, Paul Cox, Cam Edwards, Pat at Led Sled, Marty at NAMZ, Fab Kevin, and KDaddy for

the paint. Stay tuned for tech articles and videos that the mighty Chris Callen is putting together that show in detail the RamJet Racing Twin Cam Conversion Kit that I used.

So, back to Bike Week. Gotta be honest.

It felt a little weird this year. It could have been the not-so-great weather or just overall odd vibes. I thought that it might have been just me, but there were similar feel-ings from some other folks as I asked around. Now, don’t get me wrong, any reason to gather in the name of motorcycling is a welcomed one, especially after a long winter break. Guess they can’t all feel like the first time. Even with oddness and weather, the coolest and the most bitchin event still went off without a hitch. I’m talking about the one and only Willie’s Chopper Time show which was jam-packed again this year. If you’re not hip to

this show, make yourself hip. It is a staple during both Bike Week and Biketoberfest. Tons of killer sleds come out to support the show and the Veterans Support groups that keep us hydrated and upright. My FXR took home the MO’s Custom Image award, which is totally cool.

The High Seas Rally booth was set up once at Destination Daytona and had a killer week of giveaways and signing folks to set sail this October from Port Canaveral. You can get all the info ya need at ww.HighSeasRally. com. It’s gonna be a killer time.

I had the honor to be contacted by Paul Yaffe, one of the greatest builders out there, to bring my FXR to the Law Tigers ‘’FXR Friends Throwdown’’ held at Arizona Bike Week 2022. He had seen a post of my bike from Daytona and asked Rick Bray and me to crash the party. Well, you don’t say no to that kind of invitation.

The invite was to ride from Winslow, AZ (yes, just like the Eagles song) to the opening day of Arizona Bike Week. We jumped at the opportunity to be around like-minded folks.

The “FXR Friends” in-cluded Jeff Zielinski of NAMZ, Curtis Hofmann of a Hofmann Designs, Nick Trask from Trask Perfor-mance, Paul Yaffe, Jason Mook of Deadwood Custom Cycles, Brian Klock of Klock Werks, Ari from Law Tigers, Flash from Bikers Against Bullies, Steve Reed, and Chris Callen. If you want to see more of the shenanigans, head over to Cycle Source’s Facebook or YouTube page and watch the interview. What a bunch of characters!

The ride left Winslow on a chilly Wednesday morning and headed

to Scottsdale. Your next question is ‘’Did they all make it?’’ Let’s just say, never once in my life have I seen a display of rider taking care of rider like I did that day. When one would have a problem, a few would stop to help out. When that prob-lem was solved, they continued the ride, only

to stop a few more times to make sure all were ok and ac-counted for. Yes, there were some that didn’t finish the ride. But I, for one, have never been around a bunch of dudes that did everything possible shy of selling

their soul to the Devil himself to get a bike and rider to the finish line. I must say, I learned so much about these men and their outlooks on life that I walked away from it all with a completely newfound respect for them. For me, it’s always been about the ride, but this time it was all about the experience that made it so awesome.

Pass or fail, win or lose, new bonds and friendships were made, and I am truly grateful for that.

On Friday, Cycle Source held their first ever bike show in Arizona, and for being the mag’s first venture into AZ Bike Week, the turnout was stellar. Rides in all classes were present and abundant. I’m so proud and honored to say (I still can’t believe it as I’m writing this) that my FXR was chosen by the fellas that put on the FXR Friends Throwdown as “Builders Choice.”

I’ve gotten a lot of accolades in my years as a professional Drummer, but this ranks up there with my Platinum records, Easyrider Bike of The Year, and Cycle Source Builder of the Year. So, to them, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As I drove a thousand miles home, I reflected on the laughter, comradery, and overall learning experi-ence.

It is something I will cherish forever. This is why I love this industry so much and vow to do what-ever I can to carry on what those men that weekend and countless others have taught me. Until the next time. God Bless. X.

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RAMJET RACING FXR CONVERSION KIT RELOCATE YOUR FXR STOCK OIL PAN TO GIVE A CLEANER, SLEEKER LOOK TO YOUR RIDE

Article By And Photos By: Xavier Muriel

t

oday, we’re going to do a product review on a really cool kit that I found. It’s been around for a bit but it’s new to me and I’m super, super excited about it! It is offered

by RamJet Performance Cylces in Phoenix, Arizona.

Tony Mei, President and Founder, was kind enough to send us over a kit to install it on my FXR. Basically, it allows you to take an FXR or EVO style motor and transmission and do a Twin Cam conversion.

Now, if you know anything about FXR’s or if you don’t, this is a stock oil bag from an FXR. It goes right up in here. The conversion allows you to run an EVO FLT style transmission which has the transmission case along with the oil bag in it. So therefore, you get rid of

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the stock oil bag. You have all of this nice open space, and the bags sits under here. Now you can do it with Twin Cams. And you can also do it with Evos You just have to use an EVO FLT style transmission with an EVO motor.

Obviously, for mounting purposes, the kit comes with everything you need. The crossmembers the back support system. The new Dyna mounts get rid of the old FXR ones Dyna mount kickstand, and if you

know anything about FXR’s then you know they’re horrible. They bend they break, your bike falls over, you’re in having a beer and pfft there you go. It truly comes with everything you need to make the conversion possible. However, there is a lot of cutting and a lot of welding that has to be done. So, we’re going to get into that in the next couple of issues.

But I wanted to show you guys this kit, and it’s pretty cool.

So, if you’re interested hit up www. ramjetracing. com. That kit retails for $350 So check them out.

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Article And Photos By: Chris Rosenberg

W

ith the performance scene moving towards more and more customization there is a real conversation going on as to how much of that carries over from other custom motorcycle segments. One such aspect is, in varying degrees, the use of age old methods for hand forming sheet metal. Last month as we worked on the Dennis Kirk Garage Build Give-A-Way bike, the FXR Evolution, we came across some new tricks that may provide better results for those in pursuit of these skills. It came up as I began working on custom side panels for the FXR.

Some of you may remember my “War Pony” build where I hand formed side

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Article And Photos By: Chris Callen covers. Well, as good as they turned out, I wanted to take that a step further and had began to research a way to better model the insert area where those covers are installed. Luckily, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, my daughter is into Cos-Play and has been using this material called EVA Foam. It is a soft and pliable, but quite dense, foam that they use for making costumes. It comes in sheets and different shapes and is relatively inexpensive. Ok, so how does this fit into building a custom bike?

Let’s first look at the traditional method of taking a piece of cardboard and making a simple template. This one is from my last set of FXR side covers and yielded nice results but was quite archaic.

EVA foam would provide a third dimension for modeling this space and cut down on the time of fitting the covers once they have been rolled over. That leftover edge can be compared against the form and adjusted easily, if this works.

The tools needed to work with this material are pretty basic.

The cliff notes on this are as follows.

Cut and place your section of EVA Foam.

Using a heat gun, heat the EVA foam thoroughly. About three inches away will keep it from burning but you must get the heat to saturate the piece for it to become moldable.

As the foam cools get it into position and form it by hand. Taping it in place helps.

Once the form cooled and the glue dried I had a real 3D model of the space where I want the covers to sit.

I found that a second heat cycle after it cools helps to ensure it stays in the intended shape. I repeated this step with the rest of the perimeter of the shape. Each was Shoe Goo’ed to the others as we went. Once the whole shape was in place I performed a third heat cycle.

This makes it a ton easier to transfer a more accurate shape to the paper pattern. Later we will discuss the advantage of using the foam mold throught the project to continue to check the shape of the inset as well.

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With the pattern cut ou,t I transfer it to the 16 gauge steel. After measuring my forms I get the exact ammount of overlap I need to make the flap, also indicating the cutouts.

The next step will require a solid vise, a stand at mid chest level and a set of T-dollies and slap hammers. I believe these were also an Eastwood product.

With a good general fit, I move to the shaping stand. These are SnapFab hammers, bag and stand. I draw three circles to indicate different depths and slowly work out.

The next step is the Eastwood Rotary Shear. Can’t even say enough about this tool! Got it close with some electric shears and nailed it.

Using the slap hammer, I slowly start to indicate the bend in the material.

As I go, I work it over to a proper 45 degree bend.

When you first see it after the hammering it looks totaly shitty, unless you have way more time at this than me. Stick with it here.

Quick stop at the band saw for the notches where the frame has mounting bosses. Not using them, but not cutting them off either.

Once the bends are complete without warping the face of the material I use a rubber mallet to work the corners closed on the rounded end of the T-Dolly.

This is where the magic happens in my process, the planishing hammer.

This is from Mittler Brothers and I love it! You just have feel your way into using this tool.

Here you can see my starting piece.

Flaps made, cutouts in place and lines drawn to indicate where the bend happens. I did a quick cleanup with a flap disc just to keep the edges from being a pain in the ass for the rest of the operation.

This is a part you will spend a lot of time for. I set my work station up right next to the bike so I can go back and forth a thousand or so times to make sure I am heading in the right direction. You’ll see this throughout the project. Trust me, better to catch a mistake sooner.

Ok, so before we wrap for this episode, you see I am at the point where I have some shape in parts but other parts are still wrong. Tune in next month to see how we adjust that.

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f

or James “Fish” Alcorn, Francene, the 1951 Panhead on these pages will always hold a special place in his heart. It symbolizes the culmination of almost a decade of his work building bikes, and James considers it part of a big break for Alleyway Kustoms.

Fish never really intended to build Francene, but fate had other plans. Back in 2017, James and

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one of his friends were traveling around Florida collecting a handful of bikes that he’d just purchased when his wife called and told him about an estate sale that she’d heard about from a friend that included what turned out to be the motherload. After perusing a few dark, dingy photos of piles of parts, he could make out parts to Panheads, Knuckleheads, frames, motors, transmission, and even a

1972 FXE. The only hitch in the deal was that whoever bought the parts had to buy the whole shebang. Fish went through some haggling and a few price changes, but eventually, a deal was struck.

Without further ado, Alcorn and his buddy Tom jumped in the truck and headed north to South Carolina to collect their bounty. Score! Well, kinda, on his journey, the seller received several more offers and,

Article By: Heather Callen Photos By: Jim Aborgast

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in turn, doubled the price they were willing to let James take the lot for.

After a few more photos revealed a set of Knucklehead gas tanks and springer front end. He was confident that he could recoup his cash by flipping some of what he didn’t want. He agreed to the deal and pressed forward.

Once back in his Jacksonville, FL, shop, Fish started selling off what he didn’t want and going through what was for keeps. It turns out the 1951 Panhead motor had dropped a valve and been parked.

The motor had never even been opened up, but the transmission was in good shape, and the frame was pristine.

The original plan for the ‘51 was to build a Bobber style and eventually restore it. For a few years, Alcorn and his buddies had been collecting all sorts of 1951 cars and indirectly had been looking for a “matching” bike. Fate.

Over the next year, Fish moved forward with the gradual restoration.

He started by having the motor and transmission rebuilt while he

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restored the wheels and devised a plan for the final finish. Then it all changed. Alleyway Kustoms took on an apprentice, who proceeded to educate Alcorn on the ins and outs of the People’s Champ Competition.

Said apprentice kept encouraging James to enter the competition, if for no other reason than to promote the business he had been building on a national scale. Until that point, Alleyway Kustoms had focused on working with the local Harley dealer,

painting for a handful of people locally, and building the type of bikes they preferred.

Reluctantly, Alcorn through his hat into the People’s Champ ring. He never thought he would get selected for the final 13 builders out of the hundreds of entries. But he did. It was then that he decided to commit 110% to build a show bike that would wow the masses. And, as you can see here, that’s precisely what James “Fish” Alcorn did.

Now, he didn’t have a solid plan except that he knew he didn’t want to cut the frame if he didn’t have to and wanted to build something that would be reminiscent of would have been done in the late 50s to early 60s. he also knew that there wouldn’t be any metal flake, engine turning and would stick with candy, peal and hand pinstriping.

James says that one of the biggest challenges throughout the build was seeing what all of the competitors were doing and how they were stepping up their own game. It meant that he had to really push his own envelope even further.

Throughout building Francene, Alcorn honed some of his skills and learned new ones. For instance, he had made a handful of things out of stainless before, but nothing as intricate as the foot control and clutch control set up, which had tight tolerances for the pressed bushings in the pivot points. He also began working with some friends on sand casting

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FRANCENE TECH SHEET Owner: James “Fish” Alcorn City/State: Jacksonville Florida Builder: Alleyway Kustoms Year:1951 Model: Panhead Value: Unknown Time: 8 Months Engine Year:1951 Model: Panhead Builder: Gary’s UMC /Alleyway Ignition: Points Displacement:74” Pistons: Stock Heads: Harley Carb: S&S Super E Cam: Andrews J Grind Air Cleaner: Alleyway Casting Co. Exhaust: Alleyway Chromed Steel Primary: BDL Belt Drive/ Mod Enclosed Tin Transmission Year:1951 Make: Harley Shifting: Standard Frame Year: 1951 Model: Wishbone Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Forks: Builder: Mid Usa Type: Springer Stock Length Triple Trees: Bronze Cast Fabre Cycle Narrow Sterling Hellings Extension: None Wheels Front Wheel: Alleyway Laced / SS Buchanan’s Spokes Size:21” Tire: Bridgestone Enduro Knobby Front Brake: Say Wha?!

Rear Wheel: Alleyway Laced / SS Buchanan’s Spokes Size :18” Tire: Firestone ANS Rear Brake: Stock Mechanical Drum Paint Color: 1/2 Candy Tangerine,1/2 Candy Root Beer Type: Tamco/ HOK/Paint Huffer Graphics: Airbrushed, Pinstriped Mural / Variegated Leaf Chroming: Hialeah Plating Engraving: Von Zipper @Graver_Werks Accessories Bars: Flanders Style - Faber Cycle Risers: Cast Bronze Narrowed Stellings Hellings - Faber Cycle Hand Controls: Internal Throttle / Resin Grips - Freakshow Fab Foot Controls: Alleyway Stainless /Cast Aluminum Pegs / Pads Gas Tank(S): Mod’d Alien Sectioned & Tunneled Oil Tank: Stock Repro Front Fender: No Thank You Rear Fender: Early Sportster Seat: Alleyway Headlight: Alleyway Casting Co. Taillight: Alleyway Casting Co. Speedo: Boxers Photographer: Jim Arbogast

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and designed, final machined, and polished both lights, kicker pedal, and footpegs and pads in house.

On top of all the fabrication, James handled laying down the impeccable paint job with

a combination of airbrush, variegated leaf, and pinstriping.

I can honestly tell you that you have to see it for yourself.

Throughout the entire build, very little was handled by others.

Faber Cycles made the bars, and Freak Show fab made the one-off handlebar ends, grips, matching valve stem caps, and gas cap inlay.

Despite the People’s Champ being delayed due to COVID, Francene has seen her fair share of shows and justifiably taken home some impressive hardware.

However, the process and all she brought to Alleyway Kustoms will keep her in such high regard.

Keep your eye wide open for what Fish is up to. I promise he won’t disappoint.

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Article And Photos By: Josh Elzey

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C

ovid-19 wasn’t going to put a stop to ‘Night of the Troglodytes!!’, which was

organized by Harley and Mel during the infamous ‘The Race of Gentlemen’ vintage bike beach racing at Wildwood, NJ. The chopper exhibit bikes were handpicked from the many entries and were intended to provide the best of the best of the pre-1976 motorcycles.

All bikes in the show were period correct styles from the ’60-‘70’s and included style survivors, choppers, outlaws, and right up to long bikes.

The NOTT show kicks off the weekend festivities on Friday evening and starts the “big party.”

Spectators come from all over the world to participate in the merriments, hang out with old friends and make new connections with like-minded

Harley carefully placed each bike people.

The courtyard of the Bonita to maximize the display area.

Hotel, a vintage doo-wop This would allow thousands of people to walk around and enjoy the overall experience to the max. It was exciting to see the bikes arrive one by one throughout the day. It made the anticipation of the evening’s celebration all the more titillating.

When the final showpiece was placed, the artfully p l a c e d machines were surrounded by the Bonita Hotel, which b o a s t e d several levels of balconies to take everything in!

era Wildwood motel, makes the perfect backdrop for the throwback scene and gives the entire experience a cool vibe.

To u r i s t season was nearly ending, which meant that quite a few vacant streets were taken over by chopper jockeys and vintage motorcycle enthusiasts alike. Several custom vans and vintage trucks were on display and were used to create

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a unique barrier. The grass roots show would go on late at night and made it very hard for the racers to leave. Most of them needed to be ready early to prep for hitting the beach on Saturday morning for their “playing in the sand race.” ‘O.C. Ripper’s and ‘Goons!’ bands rocked into the night, providing a perfect atmosphere and making the ideal Chopper Party!

Nearly fifty bikes were on display, showcasing survivor paint on tanks, custom tins, and long pipes everywhere! It was quite a sight to see such a wide array of old and rusted to shiny, metal flake, candy, and pearl adorn the nostalgic machines. The Best of Show award went to Frank Rocco with his ’67 HD, which boasted tins painted by the incomparable Ron Finch.

Frank’s custom touch could be seen on every detail of the bike. The American Metal bike was on display with a very steampunk brass-type theme that grabbed the attention of many. Speakeasy Motors ’48 Panhead was easily the shiniest bike on the lot, not to overshadow their recently debuted Arlen Ness Digger styled ‘Cipher’ in a unique brown and gold combo with gold leaf from front to back. There were even a few Triumphs among the Harleys that stole the show!

While most of the bikes this year were local due to the lack of time to prepare because of the COVID regulations in flux with the town, there was still a different arrangement of motorcycles on display that kept everything interesting. The streets around the venue were filled with bikes and hotrods. There was a plethora of nice-looking Pre-Units, Panheads, and Shovels to look at over and over again. Each time you took a gander, you would catch different modifications under the glow of the neon lights as the sun set! Once again, ‘NOTT’ set the bar high for another weekend of fun!

NOTT’ continues to provide a unique experience on the East Coast, displaying choppers and the culture of the era!

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Z1R Reverence Jacket

Z1R introduces the brand-new Reverence jacket. The Reverence jacket is a go-to jacket for any riding season or occasion. A high abrasion 600D textile shell combined with full grain leather panels in impact zones assure durability and protection. Reflective piping to increase nighttime visibility, interior back, shoulder, and elbow pockets for armor (armor not included), and two concealed carry pockets are also featured in this new jacket.

Suggested retail $119.95-129.95. Head on over to your local Z1R dealer or www.Z1R.com to check these out!

DRAG SPECIALTIES ROD SET

When the time comes for a major motor rebuild, get quality that you can trust with a Drag Specialties Rod Set. These heavy-duty replacements are perfect for stock motors and meet or exceed the OEM specifications.

Comes completely fitted, ready to install and includes crankpin, aluminum retainers, bearings, nuts and forged heat-treated tapered end steel rods.

This set fits ’07-16 FLHT, FLHR, FLHX, FLTR models, ’07-17 Softails and ’07-17 FXD, FXDWG models. Suggested retail price is $472.95. http:// assets-static.lemansnet.com/sites/flippers/2022-Drag-Specialties-FatBook/694/

Sprocket Shaft 10 to 24 Offset Inserts

BDL specialty offset inserts for the older 10 spline sprocket shafts from 1955 to 2006, allow the use of an older kit with the newer 24 spline sprocket shaft that HD uses today. BDL offset inserts retail for $90.50. Part numbers for these special inserts start with IN- for Insert then in decimal the size of offset like ½” = IN-500-CTC which the CTC stands for Convert to Twin Cam. The inserts start at Zero, BDL’s standard insert Part # IN-STDCTC, then it goes to ¼” so IN-250-CTC then we have one at 3/8” which is IN-375-CTC then it goes to ½” so IN-500-CTC. After that it is every ¼” up to 2” www.beltdrives.com

BikeMaster Mirrors for Metric and V-twin

DRAG SPECIALTIES CLUTCH SHELL

Replace your worn clutch shell with this high-quality clutch shell from Drag Specialties. Comes with a starter ring gear, center bearing and snap rings. Fits ’11-17 Twin Cam models and has a suggested retail price of $299.95. http://assets-static. lemansnet.com/sites/flippers/2022-DragSpecialties-FatBook/862/

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BikeMaster announced a new line of mirrors that hit the mark on quality, price and style. The new lineup includes four styles, each can be a perfect match for a custom or classic look on a metric and V-Twin motorcycle. The mirrors come in both round and oval shapes and most are available in both chrome and matte black finish. They fit most bikes on the road today. All of the mirrors feature metal construction and all of the styles come with a swivel arm, which allows them to be used on the right or left side. MSRP varies based on style from $22.95 to $59.95

Diamondback 2-1 Performance Exhaust System for Touring Models

The Diamondback 2-1 Exhaust System is a perfect example of their commitment to true performance. Beginning with a stepped header for maximum flow and a merged collector specifically engineered to prevent exhaust gas reversion, this system wraps up with a 4” full stainless muffler that ends before the rear axle. The Diamondback is not for your daddy’s bagger, but purpose-built to make big power and sound, have excellent cornering clearance, and just the right look. It also provides clearance for taller shocks and is available in a brushed Stainless or Guardian Black finish.

Check out the new Diamondback Exhaust as well as the entire line of exhausts from S&S at: https://www.sscycle.com/feature/ exhaust/s-s-cycle-diamondback-2-into-1-exhaust-systems

DRAG SPECIALTIES CHARGING SYSTEM KITS

A charging system is the lifeblood of your bike and make sure yours keeps running smoothly with Drag Specialties Charging System Kits. Included in the kits are an OEM-style rotor, three-phase stator and regulator. The regulators come in either a black or chrome finish. The 48-amp systems fit ’17-21 FLHT, FLHX, FLHR, FLTRX, FLTRU, FLTRK, FLHTCUTG, and FLRT models. Suggested retail price is $429.95.

CARDO UNVEILS THE ALL-NEW PACKTALK GENERATION – The PACKTALK EDGE

Cardo Systems is proud to announce a new generation of the world’s best motorcycle communications system, the all-new PACKTALK EDGE. Key highlights include: New slim modern design with no external antenna; New magnetic Air Mount for effortless and secure attachment of unit to helmet; Second-generation Dynamic Mesh Communication with faster and easier pairing process and wide-band intercom; Most advanced Bluetooth 5.2 Technology with “Live Intercom“ support and improved universal connectivity; Upgraded Natural Voice engine, enhanced JBL Sound, improved noise-cancelling microphone; Additional new features include over-the-air software updates and fast charging via USB-C . The new small, slimline, antenna-free unit, has been completely redesigned, boasting a whole host of new features as well as benefiting from all the user-favorite attributes of the previous generation, to make the world’s best motorcycle communications device, even better. Other features include 13-hours battery life, USB-C and fast charging as standard – a quick 20-minute charge gives users two hours of ride time and 1.5-2 hours offers a full charge. It can be ordered directly from www.cardosystems.com now

Vance & Hines New Backslash 450 Exhaust

DRAG SPECIALTIES SADDLEBAG SUPPORT BRACKETS

The Drag Specialties Saddlebag Support Brackets. Fasten to your fender struts to hold your throw-over saddlebags away from vital components. The brackets are finished in either chrome or gloss black and fit ’18-21 FXBB, FXBBS, FXST, AND FLSL models replacing the OEM PART #90201777. They are sold in pairs and include all necessary mounting hardware.

MSRP is $93.95. http://assets-static.lemansnet.com/sites/flippers/2022-DragSpecialties-FatBook/239/

Vance & Hines revealed its new Backslash 450 slip-on exhaust during Daytona Bike Week and riders clamored to be one of the first to claim the coolest new pipes in town. The massive 4.5-inch diameter, spin-formed slip-ons deliver an eye-catching style with an exhaust tip that is a perfect match for the angle of the Harley-Davidson saddle bag. The matte black finish provides a stealthy look and the pipes deliver a rich sound from the patent-pending LS-275 baffle design.

Backslash 450 pipes are priced at $499.99 and designed specifically to fit Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee 8 powerplant (2017 to 2022). For more information visit www.vanceandhines.com June ‘22 - July ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 69

e

very year after the infamous NOTT (Night of the Troglodytes), Frank Rocco starts planning his next motorcycle project.

Frank’s latest project would be influenced by the outlaw biker genre. He began the process of gathering or making the parts so that everything would be ready for him to focus on the assembly process.

Frank scored an engine and transmission in North Carolina as a combo deal. Fortunately, it had been rebuilt and was

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almost finished. There was, however, a slight problem with the package; the engine did not have a title. The only reasonable option was to buy a frame that had a title. Titling didn’t start on frames until the seventies, so it was not too hard to find a titled swingarm Shovelhead from that decade to use. While Frank pulled the motor apart to verify the rebuild, he sent the frame to 47 Industries in Somerville, NJ for a hardtail conversion.

The tranny was an easy conversion for this build and

provided the tin vs. aluminum primary that Frank wanted.

Rocco had to hunt for an authentic Indian girder which, after a bit of searching, he eventually located out west.

When the girder finally arrived, it looked like a pretzel and was promptly sent to 47 Industries, where they would work their magic to make it absolutely perfect again.

Frank thought this would be a great way to deviate from the usual standard. The only problem was modifying the vibration riser to use apes to

Article And Photos By:Josh Elzey

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accentuate the length of the front end to make it appear even longer.

There was too much leverage allowing the bars to move. To correct this, he welded a solid but hidden mount to give the same impression without the nuisance of the vibration. Frank added a knock-off early teens HD kill button that he made, and he just used a blade to ground out ignition on the bar. Rocco opted to use a unique solution for the ignition switch by repurposing a switch from a vintage International Harvester truck. Once the fabrication was complete, the bike just needed chrome!

An earlier Ron Finch survivor build that Frank liked led to him having a conversation with Ron. As this developed, Ron mentioned that he would paint some tins for Frank! Frank’s only request was that Ron use a black base. As you can imagine, when Rocco opened the box, he was amazed. He knew that whatever Ron did, it would be over the top! Like all of Frank’s builds, it’s all in the details! Given the history of outlaw choppers being built from police bikes that were run to the ground and cobbled together out of junkyards and parts on the cheap, it was no surprise that Frank would take the time to source many of the accessories and some components such as oil tank, generator, and voltage regulator mounts.

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The frame would come back with not only a hardtail but was a tad wider so Frank could modify hydraulic brakes with spacer adjustments to accommodate the larger drum using laser levels.

A Model ‘A’ fender with a ’56 Chrysler taillight with a Ron Finch light was used. Loving the art deco style, Frank opted to use a pair of ’50 Cadillac driving lights for headlights. However, finding NOS parts with glass intact took a while.

A Bates style seat was made by River Seat Co. to sit over the now fully tuned motor. Frank built his own sissy bar using 2 in 1 WW2 Gar and bayonets. This was his

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DEVIL’S OBESSION TECH SHEET Owner: Frank Rocco City/State: Hope, NJ Builder: Owner Year: 1967 Model: Harley Davidson FLH Generator Shovelhead Value: Time: 11 Weeks ENGINE Year: 1967 Model: Generator Shovelhead Builder: Owner Ignition: G-% Morris Magneto Displacement: 12000cc Pistons: Stock Heads: Stock Carb: S7S GBL Cam: Andrews Air Cleaner: Special Exhaust: Special Primary: BDL belt drive and clutch TRANSMISSION Year: 1956 Make: HD Shifting: BDL belt drive and clutch FRAME Year: 1976 Model: HD FLH Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock Hardtail added by Mike at 47 Industries Forks 1946 Indian Cheif Builder: Owner Type: Girder Triple Trees: 1946 Indian Extension: Stock WHEELS Front Wheel: Aluminum Drop Center Size: 2.5 x 21 Tire: Firestone Front Brake: Hallcraft Mini Drum Rear Wheel: Aluminum Drop Center Size: 3.00 x 18 Tire: Firestone Rear Brake: HD FLH Juice PAINT Painter: Ron Finch Color: Black Type: House of Kolor Graphics: Finch Flames Chroming: by Lou at Marra Plating ACCESSORIES Bars: 18 inch Ape Risers: 1946 Indian Hand Controls: Bates Foot Controls: Harley Gas Tank(s): Harley Sportster Oil Tank: FHL Police Front fender: none Rear Fender: Model A cut to size Seat: Bates Headlight: 1950 Cadillac Driving Lights Tail light: 1956 Chrysler Imperial tail light Speedo: None Photographer: Joshua Elzey

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way of paying homage to the scads of outlaws that were veterans. This was the cherry on top and ended the eleven weeks of building and wiring that led to a running chopper. Frank wanted the challenge of building an outlaw bike that stood out from the crowd and one that would be different from other

chopper builds. There is one hidden modification, a knife on the reverse side of the gas cap, which allows him “free gas!” No worries, it’s just a joke that Franks likes to tell when talking about his creation.

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art 1

After living what felt like a reality TV show for teenagers at my Hostel in South Beach, Miami, I was more than thrilled to finally be boarding the plane for Amsterdam. I’m not going to go as far as to say that the experience in Miami was terrible, but it is most definitely not recommended for anyone over the age of 25. Constant noise, drama, and a complete lack of anything interesting in the area made for a rather stressful situation.

When the cops were called on an older guest for being inappropriate with a younger guest, I knew I was cohabitating with a crowd that did not fit my lifestyle or ethical standards.

As you can imagine, when the day came to check out and head to the airport, I did so with enthusiasm. My Uber driver picked me up bright and early, hours before necessary so that I could spend my day at the airport

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rather than one more minute in that cesspool. It rained the morning I left, which seemed appropriate.

Twelve and a half hours after the tires of the airbus left the runway and a quick layover in Stockholm, Sweden, I found myself back in my comfort zone. Holland welcomed me with open arms, and more specifically, the Beerepoot family welcomed me into their home. “Beer” picked me up at the airport, and after a quick stop to pick up his daughter from school, we were on the way to his home in Opmeer, a 30-minute drive north.

I’d met Beer once before, so I knew I would be in good company for the undetermined amount of time I would be spending in his home. The first few days were spent sightseeing the area, eating local fish, and meeting other local chopper enthusiasts, but soon my attention was directed to when my motorcycle would be available for pickup. I chose to have it flown over as opposed to the more

thrifty method of sending it by sea primarily for timing reasons. Sea freight would have taken 6-8 weeks, if not longer, given the current issues with shipping, but air freight got the bike to Amsterdam and ready for pickup in a mere 13 days.

I’d like to say that things went perfectly smooth, but they did not.

At the last minute, US customs was demanding a signed and notarized Power of Attorney form, which proved to be a logistical nightmare given that I was now in a foreign country.

However, after some leg work, I was able to get it figured out. The bike was successfully loaded onto the airplane and made its way across the Atlantic Ocean. Upon its arrival, I anticipated that the bike would be released nearly the same day based on what I was told. That did not happen… Three days later, for reasons that no one knows, the bike was still not cleared for release. A dozen phone calls and countless emails later, it was finally

Article By: Charlie Weisel

ready for pickup. That elusive customs stamp had finally made its way onto the right piece of paper.

Within moments of hearing that the bike was released from its capture, Beer and I quickly made our way to Schipol Airport, full of excitement.

Part two of this adventure was just moments away from beginning. After about 20 minutes of driving around the warehouse complex, we finally found the door we had been looking for, and there she stood, my lonely motorcycle patiently waiting to be woken from its two-week slumber. It took a bit of effort, but I finally got the motor cranked over, and she came to life. That familiar roar reverberated throughout the complex.

The warehouse employees watched with looks of bewilderment.

I returned to the Beerepoot home for one more night, excited to hit the road the following morning. I reorganized my gear, looked over the bike, and hit the rack early. As the sun began to rise, so did I. I climbed

into my riding gear for the first time in two weeks, which felt a bit like returning home and climbed aboard my motorcycle with only a general direction in mind. I knew I wanted to head south, but the destination was

irrelevant. Somewhere in southern Holland or northern Belgium would do just fine. My first night found me in Kasterlee, Belgium, at a quiet and relaxing campground. I laid out my sleeping bag and nestled in for a good

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night’s rest. I anticipated it being a bit cool, but I was definitely surprised when I woke up to find ice on my sleeping bag. That morning I was welcomed by a gentleman who had seen where I was on the internet and brought me warm coffee and pastries. People can be amazing, and that is just one more example. Thanks, Rob. It was great meeting you!

Day two took me into northern France, where I finally found the roads I had been looking for. The narrow tarmac, the width of a bicycle trail in the United States, provided endless miles of no traffic, beautiful scenery, and the occasional small village to explore. I am now sitting in Peronne, France, where I decided that a day off the bike to catch up with some writing and to be a tourist was a good idea.

I’ve decided to ease into this part of the trip and plan as little as possible. The reason for this is because my original goal of circumnavigating the globe, I fear, is off the table. Russia is off-limits.

Much of the Middle East is off-limits, and the countries open to exploring don’t connect much beyond Turkey. At this point, I am aiming for Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia to likely be as far east as I can get without having to continue shipping my motorcycle from point to point. If Azerbaijan opens its borders in the next month or so, that will provide access across the Caspian Sea into Turkmenistan, but at this point that feels like a long shot. The Azerbaijan borders have been closed since the start of Covid. The only other way to the “Stans” is through Iran, which technically is allowed but only with a guide. Even that feels highly questionable for a guy with an American passport. I will continue to explore all feasible options but am starting to resign myself to the fact that I may not accomplish what I set out to do.

That is not easy for me to admit. I am a pretty stubborn person when it comes to achieving what I’ve set out to do. So the idea that this trip might not go as planned crushes me. I say that, knowing that the reason for that is tragic. People are fighting wars they don’t want or believe in. Innocent people are losing their homes and loved ones. Lives are being uprooted. My complaining about changes in the plan of a motorcycle trip is laughable compared to what other people are dealing with at the moment. That is what really needs to be remembered.

Part 2 Nestled in a cozy warm hotel room in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, I watch it snow through the window. I left San Sebastián yesterday morning in the rain, which immediately turned to hail, and when the roads were too covered in ice to ride, I ducked into a gas station to wait it out and let the streets return to wet, which took about 45 minutes.

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After deeming the conditions to be rideable, I remounted my machine and pressed on, south. Valladolid was the intended destination for the day. I knew the weather was moving in, I anticipated cold and wet, but I figured with enough stubbornness, I could punch through the weather system and get back to warmer and dryer weather in a day.

I was wrong. Soon after leaving the gas station, the rain turned to snow and then to heavy snow. However, the roads remained wet, so I pressed on, frequently brushing the slush from my helmet visor. The snowflakes increased in size, and the road began to flood. The puddles got deeper, and the tire ruts turned into rivers. The amount of water around and under me was incredible.

It felt like swimming at 50 miles per hour which was all I felt comfortable moving at. In addition, with the temperature only at 33 degrees, I was doing my best to decrease the wind chill factor as much as I could.

The issue with all of the moisture, and this is how I know it was extreme, was that I was pulling it through my air filter, which made the bike run like absolute garbage.

This is rarely an issue with my bike. It was a good indicator that things were getting serious. If I let off the gas, the bike would die. If I maintained throttle position, the bike would pop and sputter, occasionally only running on one cylinder. I really had no option but to continually crack the throttle open to keep the motor running even remotely well. It should also be noted that if I didn’t crack the throttle occasionally, the butterfly mechanism on the carburetor would freeze in place, leading to at least one spine-tingling situation. In general, it was an absolute struggle to keep the bike alive and was beginning to get frustrating. It’s one thing to deal with cold and soggy conditions or a motorcycle that is not cooperating. It’s something else to deal with both at the same time. Because of all this and the fact that I hadn’t felt my fingers in well over an hour, I pulled into Vitoria, stopped at the first cafe I spotted, and called it quits. Something I rarely do.

I’m willing to push through just about anything, but that was too much even for me.

I’m painting a rather bleak picture, I know, so it should be noted that the rest of this last week has been anything but bleak. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

I’ve spent the better part of the last six days exploring some of France’s most incredible and remote parts. Hopping from one small village to another along traffic-free single-lane roads took me through some incredible landscapes, past castles, farms, pastures, and vineyards. As I dipped south in France, the terrain became more rolling, and the open fields turned to forests. A couple of notable stops were OradourSur-Glane, where I spent a couple of hours walking through a village that was bombed by the Nazis in 1944, killing all but three residents. The town has been left completely untouched and is now a historical site. This is an incredibly powerful experience to walk through, so brace yourself if you decide to visit.

You’ll find the remains of homes, cafes, auto repair shops, and the old church.

On the south end of town is the cemetery where the residents are buried. Inside the buildings, you will see bed frames, bicycles, cars, sewing machines, and countless other artifacts that have stood the test of time and weather. When I say the town was left as is, I mean it. This is truly a moving experience that I would recommend to anyone.

The other experience that I wanted to share is a little more upbeat and a reminder of just how small this world can be. It was midday, 11:30 maybe, and I started to get a hankering for a coffee and possibly a bite to eat. It was one of these days where I was truly sticking to some very, very small and desolate roads with no destination in mind. I was simply keeping my compass pointed south to southwest. I pulled into a tiny village with only a handful of stone buildings and, of course, a church which all of the towns have. As I pulled up to the intersection, I found myself directly in front of a little cafe. I hesitated, then decided to stop at the next one. About a

mile down the road, I changed my mind, flipped a U-turn, and headed back. I parked my bike in front of the church and walked across the street and into the cafe. I immediately noticed motorcycle memorabilia scattered around on the bar and the walls, which surprised me, and caught the eyes of the couple who own the place. They were giving me the same inquisitive look that I was giving them. I ordered a coffee and took a seat at the old wooden bar next to a 1:10th scale replica of a HarleyDavidson. As the gentleman handed me my coffee, he said, “I’ve seen you on YouTube.” “Really?” I responded with disbelief. As it turns out, he had seen one of the YouTube interviews I recently did and knew all about where I’ve been and what I was doing. Obviously, this led to a lengthy conversation about riding, traveling, and his coming to own this cafe along with his wife. My takeaway from all this, because it isn’t the first time I’ve been approached by people in the most random places saying they recognized me, is that we live in a global society. In this day and age, with the power of the internet, we are more easily able to stay connected with people worldwide. It also reminded me of just how tight the motorcycle community is and how good the people in it are.

As cheesy as it sounds, there is definitely an immediate sense of comradery when we see someone else out on a bike, especially when traveling and seeing someone else cruising down the road with the bike fully loaded. Add inclement weather to that scenario, and you are basically instant best friends.

I left that cafe highly caffeinated and with a refreshed sense of purpose. You need that sometimes. I’d be lying if I said that, on occasion, I didn’t wonder what I was out here doing, but then I’d meet the most wonderful people in the most obscure places, and I’d remember that that is the reason. I continued my way southwest to San Sebastian, where the wheels came off the weather train and led to me now being only 70 miles further in Vitoria-Gasteiz. I plan to be out of here in the morning regardless of the weather because I know damn well that the sun is shining only 100 miles south of where I’m sitting now. I will find that warm sun again and continue my journey toward Portugal.

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k

asper Branski of Hammer Studios built this beautiful raw metal S&S 113 Evo Softail with the intent of leaving it bare metal to show off his metalwork skills. He started with a custom Softail frame and handmade the aluminum gas tanks, oil tank, rear fender, forward foot controls,

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and stainless seat. Kasper is a fabricator by trade, not only building motorcycles but also custom hot rods. He spent the last several years in Europe and completed this build in Sweden, shipping it to the US when he returned in the fall of 2021. Branski didn’t waste any time setting up shop in Bradenton, FL.

How did he end up in Europe?

Well, Kasper’s parents are Polish emigrants who decided to move back to Poland after living in the US for about 20 years. Kasper tagged along to help them get their house built and get settled back in their homeland. After about a year, he decided to venture to Denmark for a spell. Branski

Article And Photos By: Missi Shoemaker

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spent the next seven years in England, followed by stents in both Holland and Sweden.

Growing up in Wisconsin, Kasper says he’s basically been around bikes his entire life, but after his father was in a terrible motorcycle accident, his parents didn’t want him to ride at all.

His dad even threatened that he’d run it over with his truck if Kasper ever got one. Kasper ended up getting his first bike when he was just 16. He had saved up his money, and one day, while checking out Ebay listings, he came across a Ninja ZX6R that had two days to go on the auction. He hit the “buy it now” button and was now the proud owner. He’s built a few bikes over the years, and like many, he told me his favorite was a Shovelhead he had built a few years back where’s it, you ask? Well, it got left behind in Sweden.

Kasper started working with his hands in high school and has always had an interest in anything with a motor. In 2013 he unofficially started Hammer Studios. Branski had been working at a shop outside of

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England that was closing its doors, so he decided to take off and do it on his own. He is primarily self-taught when it comes to metal shaping. He had picked up some basic principles and went on from there. He says somewhere around 2011, he started feeling comfortable with heavy fabrication and was fascinated with shaping metal.

He didn’t “know” how, but he picked up a hammer and just started shaping. He has since realized it’s more of an art than anything. Over the years, he has built several high-end sports car bodies, including a Maserati 300.

If you get a chance to sit down and talk to Kasper, take

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TEQUILA TECH SHEET Owner: Could be you!

City/State: Bradenton,FL Builder: Hammer Studios Kasper Branski Year: 1999 Model: Custom softail Value: Make an offer Time: lost track of it ENGINE Year: 1999 Model: EVO Builder: S&S Ignition: dynatek Displacement: 113 Pistons: Heads: Carb: Super G Cam: Air Cleaner: Exhaust: Short Primary: Open Chain TRANSMISSION Year: Make: Jims Shifting: 6 speed FRAME Year: no idea Model: custom softail Rake: stock Stretch: stock Forks Builder: HD Type: wideglide Triple Trees: Extension: WHEELS Front Wheel: stainless Size: 19 Tire: 100/90/19 Front Brake: none Rear Wheel: stainless Size: 17 Tire:200/55/17 Rear Brake: PM PAINT Painter: Color: Bare Metal Type: Graphics: Chroming: ACCESSORIES Bars: mid apes Risers: Hand Controls: HD Foot Controls: custom forwards Gas Tank(s): Hand made aluminum Oil Tank: Hand made aluminum Front fender: none Rear Fender: Hand made aluminum Seat: stainless Headlight: W&W triangle Tail light: W&W cats eye Speedo: None Photographer: Missi shoemaker

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the time to do so, you won’t be sorry. Make sure to check him out on Instagram @ hammer_studios and if you want to see some of his auto work, do a google search!

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Article By: Chip Parisi @chipakid

t

he 80th Myrtle Beach Bike Week had just ended. Work would resume a month later in Laconia. I was off to the motorcycle playground known as the Smoky Mountains.

Though I prefer the Cherohala Skyway, the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Moonshiner 28, I have returned to the masterfullymarketed Tail of the Dragon every year since my first five passes in 2016.

This time, in May of 2019, I met the man they call Poncho.

According to my own words, here’s how it went down.

“After riding it a few times yesterday, probably topping 25 passes now, I stopped at Deals Gap for some wifi and a couple stickers.

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While there, I met a young guy, 25ish, on a Softail, who said I looked familiar.

He asked if I knew Scooter Tramp Scotty, and we quickly determined he had recently seen me in one of

Scotty’s posts. Ha! It’s a small world (wide web).

After shooting the breeze for a bit, I invited him to come camp with Wandering Joe Sparrow and me at a nearby motorcycle campground.

Despite representing three different generations, we sat around all night, talking like old friends.

Chris “Poncho” Miller is on a twoweek trip from North Dakota and is clearly not ready to return to his real life.

I just hope Joe and I didn’t infect him with our incurable drifter disease, as he already seemed very susceptible!”

From the start, the entire experience seemed surreal. There was something about a carefree dude in a sleeveless black t-shirt on a grimey Harley that looked like it only ever gets washed by rain, escaping reality

by cheating death on those famous rollercoaster roads, that seemed very familiar! Within moments of leaving the Killboy store, I knew this guy was legit when I couldn’t shake him from my mirrors!

The following morning we snapped a couple pics, traded phone numbers, and parted ways.

Something told me that wouldn’t be the last I’d see of Poncho and that it was just a matter of time until our paths aligned again. I’m glad to say I was right!

It took over a year and was on the other side of the country, but it finally happened in Sturgis 2020. I was flying solo, as my nomadic girl Laura had taken a camp host job in West Yellowstone that summer of canceled and delayed rallies.

It was an ideal time for some old fashion debauchery. I got my first glimpse of Poncho’s diverse crew at The Iron Horse Saloon, which included northern Minnesota scooter trash like Cody Lindland to Brooklyn industry staples like Ken Mad Stork and Cindy Pan. They were a bunch of solid people who, like me, lead lives that, in some way, revolved around motorcycles.

Later that week, Poncho came up to the shop to tinker on his ragged Night Train while I finished a very busy day. That iced box of beer was anemic in no time, and after getting seriously sidetracked watching a spectacular South Dakota sunset, we both eventually made camp inside Amsoil Adam’s stacker trailer.

Once Sturgis was over, we finally got a chance to see some miles together. My plan was to meander back “home” to Laura, out in West

Yellowstone over another month or so, and this incorrigible young buck

was game! The following days were chock full of the good stuff, and I’m happy to have documented them while in the moment: Although there were a handful of other escape options, in a misguided attempt to take a fun and unique route out of town, we ended up bombing down twenty miles of unpaved roads, on the first leg of the trip west. I was by no means trying to test this “new guy,” but I would be lying if I said I didn’t light up when he didn’t flinch as the pavement ended and stayed right in my back pocket, eating dry dust for 45 minutes of loose dirt.

The next day, we set sights on a cherry camp spot I’d field-tested previously.

We packed up our hammocks and headed out of our makeshift camp near Sundance, Wyoming.

As Chris optimistically predicted upon waking up, it WAS a good day!!!

Although it did have some hurdles.

Around 5pm, on a long, desolate stretch across an Indian Reservation, I noticed that my tail gunner was no longer in my weathered mirror. I soon found him less than a mile back, untangling a thick flannel shirt out of his back wheel.

The shirt was now swiss cheese, but we were both happy it gave, instead of locking up his wheel.

Unfortunately, as he lay that plaid rag to rest, he noticed his tire looked low and realized it was completely flat. The rogue shirt broke his valve stem in half, evidenced by the red threads June ‘22 - July ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 87

wrapped around the remaining stump of a stem. With no roadside service available, we got to work devising a plan while we each cracked one of the final two cans of Budweiser. With the help of spotty cell service, he found a shop within 20 miles, and our goal was clear: get there without a costly tow, but how??

Fortunately, my compact 12v compressor was able to bite the stem nub and pressurize the tire. With no valve core, it would be tricky, but I surmised that our only chance would be to over-inflate the tire and then quickly install the rubber cement-filled stem cap before losing all the air. I was happy to have accomplished this on the first try but disappointed to see a tiny bubble growing on the side of the cap. I immediately mixed some two-part JB Weld and pressed that magic putty around the capped stem. After holding it in place for a minute, I applied a generous amount of lagerflavored saliva to the volcano-looking fix and saw no bubbles!

SUCCESS! Without further incident, we pulled up to the shop just as they were closing the gates to the lot. After a quick conversation, the gates were reversed, and Chris and I got to work removing his wheel with the help of a borrowed flat jack. The shop owner, Josh, had the tire off, new stem in, and back on the rim in no time, and we had the wheel back on the bike without too much trouble.

Everything went way too smoothly, so I was hardly surprised when we couldn’t get the brakes mounted due to stripped threads in the swingarm!

An hour later, Josh was done drilling

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out the remaining threads and installing a heli-coil, and we were on our way for pizza and suds.

The following day we had a blast

carving up Beartooth Pass and loitering around Red Lodge and

Cooke City like a couple dirtbags.

The weather was perfect that August, although we did catch a ferocious thunderstorm while looking for a place to sleep, and Poncho may or may not have slept inside the world’s cleanest vault toilet that night.

A couple nights of cowboy camping later, we arrived at the campground where Laura was working, which included a 30 amp, full hookup site, and that air conditioning never felt better! Poncho hung out for one night, literally. It took some doing, but we managed to string his hammock from her bumper to his bike, which got all sorts of looks from the sea of retired, khaki-wearing RVers that were golf carting around the park.

Fast forward 2-3 weeks, and we rendezvoused at his buddy’s house, outside St. Paul, Minnesota, with NYC in mind. I had crossed through the entirety of Wyoming, spent a night at Randy’s Sturgis Swap Meet on Lazelle, and spent the morning doing a brake job with Billy supervising my successful attempt at replacing my rear pads without removing the wheel. Quick tip: do NOT flush your brake fluid into a beer can, have a brain fart, and take a big swig 15 minutes later!

Blech!

Poncho rolled in from his home near Fargo, and our wheels were in motion once again. The first day saw us go due north into Duluth, with a

quick stop in Superior, Wisconsin, to see the AMSOIL World Headquarters.

Soon we were headed east on US-2 through the top of Wisconsin. At some point, Poncho got a message saying that we were close to the “Plywood Palace” and that it was the perfect place for a couple guys like us to find some icy fermentations. Neither of us knew what to expect but were thrilled with what we found! The Moquah Bar is little more than an oversized shed with a bar built some 50 years prior and was manned by the same guy since day one. It’s officially the diveiest dive bar I’ve ever hung my hat in.

It’s the kind of place with no set hours and just opens when the town’s only barkeep is there and closes when he is not. The beer was as cheap as we were, and the one-horse-town locals were as genuine as they come. If you’re ever in the area, don’t pass it by!

Not far from there, we found some free, primitive camping in a desolate state park next to a large ravine and gushing waterfall. We shared a fire and stories with a solo female traveler who was camping out of her pint-sized SUV. Staci Scribbles was her name, and through hours of conversation, we learned that she was an author and in the middle of her personal quest to visit 50 states in her 50th year of life. Each of us took something different from that encounter, but all of us took good memories and inspiration.

With farewells behind us, we rumbled out in the morning, continuing our eastward trek into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It had been a few years since I first crossed this unique slice of the American landmass, and it was even better than I remembered. Just across the daunting Mackinac Bridge, we dove into the woods on an overgrown Jeep trail, searching for a great lakeside place to camp. We found a dirt road after bushwhacking through a seemingly abandoned deer path and camped in a clearing not far from the water’s edge. Dinner was a rusty can of clam chowder, long lost in the bottom of my saddlebag, served at the same temp as the beer.

The following day was a bomb ride south, down the east Michigan coast, around the bottom of Lake Erie, and up to see my friend Justin Krol in Pennsylvania. While at his friend’s shop, I realized my Sturgisfresh rear tire was cracked and needed immediate replacement.

Justin helped me with that the next day while Poncho punched out a few repairs of his own.

We really wanted to make our destination in Brooklyn by noonish the following day, and though it made

little sense, we left that welcoming little refuge at almost 6pm. Three hours in the biting cold was enough, so by 9, we camped on the ground, off a dead-end dirt road, in the middle of New York State. The campfire was thawing us out in no time, primarily due to the old Boy Scout trick of dunking a rag into the 5-gallon tank of firestarter bolted to the top of my bike.

By the time we rolled into the Indian Larry Block Party, a bunch of layers had come off, and we were greeted with a warm welcome by our friend, photographer and writer, Marjorie Kleiman, Poncho’s homegirl and allaround badass, Jacole Buzzette.

When we finally declined the offer to camp in the back lot of that iconic shop, Jacole gave us a place to crash.

A week later, after I zipped up to Rhode Island to see my folks, I found Poncho still on Jacole’s comfy couch when I pit stopped there on my way to work the Myrtle Beach Fall Rally.

I think he ended up staying there about three or four weeks and can totally understand why; Jacole and her biker family of daily riders kept a busy schedule, with rides, meetups, and bike events pretty much every night! After blasting around with Mad Stork and JJ, I found it hard to leave!

In 2021, Poncho bombed down to Daytona Bike Week from Fargo in March! Brrrr!! My work schedule kept me from most of that fun, but lost time was made up for when he once again bombed from Fargo two months later to camp behind my shop at Myrtle Beach Bike Week. We rolled out of that show together. We headed back to where it all began in the Smoky Mountains, then went on to the Tennessee Motorcycles and Music Revival, with an unplanned Kid Rock show in Nashville, along the way. That week at the Loretta Lynn Ranch was a blur of old-school biker campout vibes and the best chopper show these eyes have seen!

Our paths crossed again a few months later, this time in the middle of nowhere Iowa, for the ABATE Freedom Rally, over the 4th of July weekend. I only dabbled in that show, as Laura was there working outside the grounds, but it still holds the title of my favorite rally ever. A lot of that has to do with people surrounding me, all of them ultimately brought into my life by that chance encounter two years prior, on the TN/NC border. You meet the nicest people on clappedout Harleys!

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2

022 is a banner year for Cycle Source Magazine. A quarter of a century is a long time to do anything, and in that time, Cycle Source has featured over one thousand custom motorcycles, been to at least a thousand motorcycle events, and worked with almost every single aftermarket company you can think of in one way, or another be it marketing, advertising or project development.

Dennis Kirk is an online retailer that has provided retail parts from the largest manufacturers since 1969.

They are steeped in the history of

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Article By: Jason Hallman Photos By: Missi Shoemaker and work to celebrate the “Garage Builder.” What do I mean by Garage Builder? I mean, the “everyman.”

From the guy you knew growing up in your neighborhood who always had his garage open late at night and repeatedly woke everyone up when he finally had his project done at 2 am. To the guy that methodically planned his project and ordered every single part he needed before he even started to turn a wrench…they represent the type of customer that Dennis Kirk has spent half-a-century servicing.

Chris Callen is definitely a Garage

Builder, and that is why this project was entrusted to him. When you are the one that bikers, enthusiasts, professional mechanics [builders], and manufacturers rely on to keep everything moving in the industry [information-wise], it only makes sense that Chris be the one to best represent the “Everyman.”

With the resurgence of popularity surrounding the coveted FXR from Harley, Chris felt like this was the best place to start a project that would exemplify the venerability of the best handling Harley Davidson ever built.

Using his Garage Builder roots, Chris

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set out to make an example of just how important elbow grease is to a proper garage built custom motorcycle when compared to just having a bottomless wallet to throw endless amounts of money at a project without regard for the end price.

That is one of the most notable things about a project like this one. Cycle Source didn’t have an open budget for this bike. In fact, they had a very limited budget overall. Compared to some of the newer bikes on the road, this FXR comes in at a really affordable price.

Now, this is not to say that there aren’t

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a few “spendy” items on this bike’s build sheet, because there certainly are. This bike shines through on some of what wasn’t spendy. By refurbishing, rehabilitating, and repurposing some of the more expensive parts, like the engine and the transmission, there was money to spend on some of the more sought after, go fast and look fast parts you see on the Dennis Kirk Garage Built FXR. A self-proclaimed “Chopper Kid”, Callen pushed the boundaries of where he thought the bike should go drawing from all his experiences. Keeping in

step with the overall goal, Source Media’s VP (Mrs. Heather Callen) kept both the budget and the design reins tight on Chris. When it came to Chris’s propensity for cutting and welding, Heather limited those things too; “only things that an average Garage Builder could do in their own garage.” There would be no cutting or widening of the frame for this build. To his chagrin…Chris would have to find a way to use the Arlen Ness “Y”-spoke wheels that he fell in love with while making his list of dream parts for this build without modifying the stock FXR frame.

Source Media’s garage at HQ is admittedly better equipped than many custom shops are. Chris has learned to draw from his early experiences to overcome obstacles using the more rudimentary tools that are available in the Source Media Garage rather than the more-pricey ones that were unlikely to be in a home-based shop.

The engine and trans were shipped off to Cycle Stop USA in Florida for a full-on Garage Build. In keeping with the garage build tradition, the engine was carefully disassembled and

inspected to determine was usable and what needed to be replaced.

The transmission received a similar treatment. The original transmission that came with the FXR used the antiquated (Shovelhead style) starter and primary. Since we were upgrading to BDL belt drive repurposed from Chris’s Bonneville race bike, the FXR needed a new transmission case and a splined output shaft in order to use a modern starter and the belt drive.

Cycle Stop USA in Lakeland, Florida was charged with the task of building the gearset.

Once the driveline was installed, it was off to Franklin Church Choppers in Pennsylvania for wiring and firing.

Tom Keefer is a master and makes easy work of all of the switches and ignition bits and kept us on schedule for the next stop…the Donnie Smith Show.

The centerpiece of any FXR build has to be the triangle-shaped side covers. While some look to a catalog for new or the internet for a set of vintage used covers, Chris fashioned his own from steel, in true Garage Build fashion.

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SAHSIDE SLIDER TECH SHEET Owner: Dennis Kirk Garage Build City/State: Rush City, MN Builder: Chris Callen Year: 1988 Model: FXR Value: Time: 60 Days ENGINE Year: 1988 Model: Evolution Builder: Chris Callen/Cycle Stop USA Ignition: Ultima Displacement: 80cu Pistons: Stock Heads: Stock Carb: S&S Cam: 570 Air Cleaner: Big Sucker Exhaust: Trask Performance Primary: BDL 3” TRANSMISSION Year: 1988 Make: H-D Shifting: 5 Speed FRAME Year: 1988 Model: FXR Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock FORKS Builder: Chris Callen Type: H-D Inverted Triple Trees: H-D Inverted Extension: -2 WHEELS Front Wheel: Arlen Ness Y Spoke Size: 19” Tire: Metzeler Front Brake: Sportster -Modified Rear Wheel: Arlen Ness Y Spoke Size: 18” Tire: Metzeler Rear Brake: Sportster -Modified PAINT Painter: SpeedFreak Motorsports Color: Black/Red/Gold Type: HOK Graphics: Chopper Style Chroming: None ACCESSORIES Bars: Clip-Ons-Modified Risers: None Hand Controls: PM Black Ops Foot Controls: Stock (R ) Modified L Gas Tank(s): Custom – Chris Callen Oil Tank: Stock Front fender: Arlen Ness Rear Fender: Stock Seat: Saddlemen StepUp Fairing: Los Angeles Fairing Co Taillight: Stock Gauges: Autometer Photographer: Missi shoemaker

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You can still find titled FXR’s for less than a couple grand, but there is no guarantee that you’ll get a complete motorcycle. Chris found a tank in a parts pile that he thought fit the best and then modified the mounts to make the tank fit the factory frame and the factory-style rear mounts while still holding the lines of the bike in place.

The other part that is far outside the norm for an FXR is the clip-on handlebars. While everyone else is trying to “raise the bar” (see what I just did there?) Chris wanted a stealthy overall “Drag Bike” feel to this build, and in order to achieve it, he insisted that the handlebars be low enough as to prevent the front wheel from coming off the ground should anyone decide to have a go from one streetlight to the next.

The front end is inverted, but it is not the typical $3000 purpose-built or

repurposed sportbike front end. This is a factory Harley off an older Softail.

It fits and works perfectly and, in keeping with garage build tradition… didn’t break the bank.

The Dennis Kirk Garage Build FXR was unveiled in Daytona during Bike Week to the masses, but its maiden voyage was during Arizona Bike Week for the FXR Friends Throwdown that featured master builders and industry heavy weights such as: Paul Yaffe, Jeff Zielinski, Jason Mook, Curtis Hofmann, Brian Klock, Ari Levenbaum and Nick Trask. The first ride was from Winslow, Arizona to Scottsdale at speeds exceeding 100 mph hour.

So much for engine break-in. The bike performed flawlessly, and we can proudly say that someone is going to get one hell of a bike this August when Dennis Kirk gives this one away.

Seat Rivets Missing On Left Side. 2. Extra Teeth On The Tiger On Tank. 3. Lightning Bolts On Brake Pedal. 4. Missing Lug On Front Tire. 5. Extra Bolts On The Air Cleaner.

6. Closed Hole On Front End Lock. 7. Extra Bolt Boss On Rear Rocker Cover. 8. Different Color On Choke Knob. 8. Missing Line On Oil Tank. 9. Missing Lightning Bolt On Tank. 10. Extra Oil Line At Case.

FIND TEN DIFFERENT THINGS ON FRANCENE NO THERE ISN’T ANY REAL PRIZE, JUST SOMETHING TO DO WHILE YOU’RE IN THE CAN.

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Article By: Lullabelle Marie

w

e first came across this Shovelhead built by Dallas Fletcher on the Dennis Kirk Garage Build site and thought we’d share it with our readers. We love that DK created a platform for guys and gals to share their hard work and passion for two wheels without having to buy anything or listen to a sales pitch.

Dallas is a born and raised Arizonan that was lucky enough to have a super cool dude for a father that put him on a motorcycle when he was just a wee lad. I’m guessing that based on Fletcher’s description of his pops as “a crazy man, cowboy outlaw biker, but a good dad that rode as Shovelhead,” this bike is a tribute to the man that gave him the chopper bug.

Dallas’s first Harley was a

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1977 SX 250 that he had to push down highway 77 to get it home! Eventually, he traded to start gathering parts for the 1979 Shovelhead that graces these pages. Despite having customized a multitude of different things, including mini bikes, motorized bicycles, and chopping up four strokes, this is the first full custom build that Dallas has tackled.

“The Outlaw” started when Dallas found a Shovelhead Fat Bob in mostly stock condition except for some big old apes on Craigslist.

Unfortunately, the seller in Sierra Vista wanted an arm and leg for it. After some haggling, trading a Yamaha Blaster and some cash Dallas was the proud new owner of a 1979 FXE. Dallas built this Bobber over three years while drawing inspiration

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THE OUTLAW TECH SHEET Owner: Dallas Fletcher City/State: Catalina/AZ Builder: ChiCoz CyCle Shop Year: 1979 Model: FXEF Value: 🤔 Time: 3times in 3years ENGINE Year: 1979 Model: FXEF Builder: Dallas Fletcher Ignition: Crane hi-4 Displacement: 80” Pistons: KB Heads: HD Shaved cylinders Carb: Zoom-Zoom Cam: HD Air Cleaner: Custom mini teardrop Exhaust: 2 into 1 Primary: BDL 2” open belt TRANSMISSION Year: 1979 Make: HD Shifting: 4 Speed FRAME Year: 1979 Model: FXEF Rake: n/a Stretch: FORKS Builder: Dallas Fletcher Type: 41mm Triple Trees: Smooth & billet Extension: n/a WHEELS Front Wheel: Billet 3 blade chopper Size: 21” Tire: Front Brake: Nope Never Rear Wheel: Billet 3 blade chopper Size: 17” Tire: Rear Brake: Dual 4 piston calipers PAINT Painter: Dallas Fletcher & Kortney T Color: Toyota white pearl copper Leaf Type: Dupont Graphics: Kortney & Dallas Chroming: n/a ACCESSORIES Bars: “Pipe Fitters” – Dallas Fletcher Risers: Low & Smooth Hand Controls: Nope Foot Control: Custom Gas Tank(s): mid tunnel, peanut Oil Tank: Chrome rocket w/battery tray Front fender: Never Rear Fender: Nice & Tight Seat: @Rayblowers / Dallas Fletcher Headlight: Aries Taillight: Side mount Speedo: lol photographer: Dallas Fletcher

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from the three C’s of his home state,; Cattle, Copper, and Cotton! Everything that Fletcher could make himself, he did, including the air cleaner assembly using case covers from 66cc motorized bicycle engines, mated up to a “zoom-zoom” carburetor. Dallas handcrafted the foot clutch and jockey shift set up and made the linkage out of 1/2” ratchet extensions and 3/8” steel tube. He even made the seat pan, custom handlebars, the key plate, and the control linkage. The rear fender mounting, license bracket, and taillight mount were all made in the little shop next to his house.

Dallas says that he couldn’t have

completed this first project without the help of some very important people and wants to thank porchE, Kort, Schmeer aka(James), Gilbert The Brown, his parents, Big Mike and Zona Fletcher, and last but not least Ace and Mason.

Since building this bike, Fletcher has gone on to create a few more customs, pursuing his love of motorcycles one chop at a time! If you’re Garage Builder with a penchant for making motorcycles your own, head over to www.garagebuild.com to share the pride in your ride with the world. Who knows, you could see your bike on these pages too!

Article By: Steve Klein Sierra Madre Motorcycle Company

D

ue to its rarity, the Crocker were all from Aurora. By 1906 Hedstrom Davidson for a brief period. They hired motorcycle has long been Indian started building their own engine him to help get them back into the known as “The Holy Grail of plant, and Aurora then offered their winner’s circle.

Motorcycling.” own moto-cycle under the Thor brand.

In 1931, Crocker finally focused It has been dubbed “The Al Crocker raced these Thor’s and was on building his own Speedway Duesenberg of Motorcycles” due to extremely hard to beat. So hard that motorcycle. He first utilized an Indian its hand-built high quality and called Indian offered him a contract to race 45 ci motor and later his own 500 cc America’s Superbike” due to its for them. Crocker declined and entered single overhead valve design. He built performance. approximately These three 40 such units terms suggest before focusing strongly that on a road no other machine.

In m a c h i n e 1936 Crocker has reached unveiled the such a high Crocker #1X. pinnacle of It was a single acclaim. From front down tube 1896 to WWI, rigid frame of 200+ different his own design motorcycle with an integral manufacturers transmission existed in forging that America, so allowed the how can only transmission one brand to be bolted accomplish on from two this?

This sides.

The C r o c k e r Steve Klien of the Sierra Madre Motorcycle Company pictured here with the last Crocker Motorengine also e n t h u s i a s t , cycle to be manufacturered from the iconic company. was a stress owner, and member, thusly rider can personally attest to its college to become an engineer. creating a far more rigid frame. The After college, Indian again pursued single spring front forks, later twin validity. To understand why one must first immerse themselves in the Crocker. They knew he was a visionary spring forks, and motor were also of history of Albert Henry Crocker. Only and that he knew how machines should his proprietary design. The motor was then can you begin to understand how be built to withstand the rigors of riding a 45-degree V-Twin with a bore of 3 ¼” with no roads and at increasingly high and stroke of 3 5/8’, utilizing thick cast this legacy came to exist.

Young Al Crocker was a very early speeds. Crocker loathed the idea iron walled cylinders and aluminum participant in the fledgling moto-cycle of working in a controlled corporate hemispherical heads. The cylinders industry from 1907-to 1909. Crocker environment, so in 1919, Indian offered were cast this thick to allow customers raced moto-cycles manufactured by him an Indian dealership in Denver in to order their machine from 61 ci.

Aurora Automatic Machine Company an attempt to keep him close to their (1,000 cc) to as large as 72 ci. (1180 from Aurora, Illinois. Aurora Automatic brand. Crocker later moved to Dodge cc). It is believed that between 17 and Machine manufactured components City, Kansas, and operated a dealership 25 of these original hemi-heads were for many of the earliest manufacturers there until moving back to California built along with an additional 25 motors. of the day. They built frame forgings, in 1928, where he opened an Indian The hemi-head motor produced 54 hp castings, pedal cranks, wheels, dealership at 1346 Venice Boulevard. at 5,800 rpm. However, the aluminum and motors. When George Hendee Throughout his Indian career, he hemi head was short-lived as the head and Oscar Hedstrom, Hendee constantly tinkered, designed and built bolt pattern created a torque cracking Manufacturing, started building Indian his own new ideas into working realities. problem due to the immense heat Moto-Cycles in 1901, the components Crocker was even distracted by Harley- transmitted upward from the enormous

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cast-iron cylinders. Crocker then designed the later vertical valve heads utilizing both lifter rods enclosed in one nickel-plated tube per cylinder.

The world was forever changed when Crocker hand built seventy machines from 1936 to 1942.

Crocker told his buyers that “if anyone got beat by a stock Harley or Indian, he would buy the motorcycle back.” And he never had to.

“The Crocker was handcrafted in very limited numbers, it exhibited superb performance, is a work of art in terms of design, and is as stunning today to view as it was in 1936.”

Each wheelbase was between 57” and 62”, with 59” being the most typical. The frame was low slung with a seating height of only 27”, and along with the cast aluminum gas tanks, these machines looked fast, even when standing still.

1936 to 1942 was economically challenging years in America for any business coming out of the Great Depression.

Few consumers could save any money to spend on recreation.

Crocker offered his buyers choices of paint color, engine size, and polished or chrome plated parts.

Yet buyers were far more interested in performance than appearance, so most Crocker’s were somewhat understated with cadmium plating and only a few polished parts, chrome handlebars and a chrome exhaust system. This writer and Crocker owner can personally attest to the high level of design and finish of these machines.

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“They are simply beautiful to view in every detail throughout, but until one steps on the kicker and brings one to life, you cannot truly understand the brilliance and intense focus of Al

Crocker.”

The first 15 machines sported Brookland’s style mufflers. Then Crocker

designed his own more-free flowing unit with his own fishtail cut design. “At idle, the machines are smooth and quiet.

When rolling on the throttle, a very distinctive bark arrives, and under full throttle, the resonance is authoritative and angry in tone.” This was the very sound that each Harley and Indian rider heard when losing a race to any Crocker.

By 1942 WWII was growing, and the small team of seven people at Crocker found themselves unable to obtain the necessary metals to machine and fabricate motorcycles.

Crocker switched his tiny Venice Blvd. shop to building parts for the war effort. The Last Crocker, #42-61-310, was assembled and sold without fanfare.

So how does the last Crocker built sport a #310 serial number when only 70 total machines were built?

Al Crocker had no interest whatsoever in ever being a production motorcycle company, but he wanted to create the illusion that he had built far more than 70 machines. He was well known for skipping large sequential sets of numbers on his machines. #310 is fully documented by The Crocker Registry as The Last Crocker.

It unbelievably left the Venice Blvd factory and remained very close to its birthplace its entire life. When I purchased it, it was located less than 100 miles away.

Ernie Skelton is credited with keeping Crocker’s legacy alive for more than thirty years when it likely would have slipped into obscurity.

Crocker #310 was owned by Skelton and later Gordon Clark. Both Skelton

and Clark each owned numerous Crocker’s as one could buy them in the ‘60s and ‘70s for a mere $1,000 $1,500. Today Crocker’s demand very high prices as only forty-seven complete machines are documented. Forty-one of which are documented as being in running condition. Their values have steadily climbed to this day.

In 2014 Crocker #310 was rolled into Steve Huntzinger’s shop for a complete restoration. The machine was all there, just the way it had left the factory. The frame was beautiful and untouched.

Huntzinger stated the motor and transmission were in terrific condition for their age. He simply re-honed the cylinders while rebuilding the engine.

The last set of Crocker factory footboard rubbers and handgrips were used. Even the 4.00’ x 18’ tires are NOS (new old stock) 1942 Firestone Chevron pattern.

The only new parts utilized in the restoration were four tall head bolts that Huntzinger had to machine since the original ones showed too much pitting.

The handlebars were made new, the front brake cable is remanufactured, and of course, the spark plugs are new. The Messenger seat rides on Al Crocker’s “cantilevered” seat bracket that pulls on two springs located horizontally inside the top rear frame section instead

of two compression springs found on most solo saddles. The Crocker Registry states that only six machines received Crocker’s new seat bracket.

The White and Midnight Blue (almost black scalloped paint job) is stunning.

Huntzinger is well known as a premier restorationist, and his level of detail is never less than amazing.

Recently I put oil and gas in #310. I set the choke full on, gave it two good prime kicks, and backed the choke off two notches. I can tell that the machine is no longer a 61 ci. displacement. It kicks more like a 74 ci. displacement.

I turned the key on, and when my foot hit the floor on the first kick, she roared to life and settled into a strong yet quiet idle. While getting settled in the saddle, one’s mind wishes to quickly remind oneself that you are about to ride a $1M machine. Instead, I closed my eyes and pictured myself in the early 1940s in Southern California, going out for an evening of riding. I imagined the cars and hot rods that must have been on the road, the drive-ins and movie theatres, and then let out the heel to go clutch. The Last Crocker certainly did not disappoint. Its heartbeat is very strong, and its soul is undeniably of race pedigree. The machine rides smoothly with its longer wheelbase and low

seating style. It likes to corner hard and pulls like a train down straightaways.

Mind you, I am only adding another 10 miles to the existing 14.9 on the brass Corbin speedometer, and high rpms were never attempted. With each mile, the grin on my face and the warmth in my heart grew larger.

“To study the history of these great machines is very enjoyable. To visually study any Crocker in person is a rare event to be cherished. But to start and ride one is something that very few people in history have ever experienced.

Thank you, Al Crocker, for your vision, persistence in seeking perfection, and contribution to The Wonderful Sport of Motorcycling.” Steve Klein Steve Klein is owner of SierraMadreMotorcycleCompany.com and assists collectors and museums with valuation, acquisition and/or disposition of rare collectable motorcycles. He has been a riding enthusiast for 55 years and routinely supports, participates, competes and writes on vintage motorcycling events in North America.

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experience. If it’s been a while since your last class, consider a refresher to keep your skills and knowledge up to date. -Law Tigers Team

Hey, There’s a bright side for us grubby bikers, chopper builders, and even gun owners and enthusiasts.

We are encountering larger and more active events, races and bike shows. Hell, the vintage section of our industry is growing like crazy.

A buddy of mine seems to go to a bike show every weekend.

Recently Fandango in Texas celebrated the Vintage, Mama Tried is expanding and recently the Hand Built show shined in Texas. Check the news, there’s something happening every weekend. So, what does all the above say about our world.

Not sure. Think about it. Let’s hit the news: Law Tigers Motorcycle Safety Tips for Riders Everywhere - Riding a motorcycle isn’t just a form of transportation; it’s a way of life.

Anyone who rides a bike will tell you that they’ve adjusted their wardrobe (“can I ride my bike wearing this?”), they’ve formed new friendships, and they pay attention to the weather more than the average human.

With this lifestyle, there’s also an element of danger to consider. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that mile for mile, motorcyclists face a 29x higher

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likelihood of being involved in an accident.

The good news is that, while we can’t guarantee you’ll never have a wreck, you can greatly increase your chances of a thrilling ride that ends with you arriving safely at your destination if you follow safety

guidelines.

Let’s hit number 5 this issue. Tip 5: Take Safety and Riding Courses Regularly. You’ve probably already taken a safety course (if you haven’t, do that pronto), but have you considered taking a more advanced riding course? Once you’ve mastered the basics, an advanced class can better equip you to drive defensively.

From maneuvering and braking techniques to collision avoidance techniques, the skills you learn here can upgrade and enhance your

H-D FOR UKRAINE LIMITEDEDITION T-SHIRTS-HarleyDavidson has released “H-D for Ukraine” limited-edition T-shirts in conjunction with United Way Worldwide to benefit humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine.

For each T-shirt sold through June 15, 2022, $26 will benefit United Way’s “United for Ukraine Fund” to provide transportation, shelter, food, medicine and critical childcare supplies. In addition, the HarleyDavidson Foundation has donated $50,000 to the United for Ukraine Fund.

This program was conceived by Harley-Davidson employees who wanted to find a way to give back and show support for relief efforts for Ukraine. The shirt was designed by employees and features the colors of the Ukrainian flag across the iconic Harley-Davidson logo on the chest.

On the back, UNITED WE RIDE is featured, epitomizing the spirit of Harley-Davidson, rallying together to help when needed.

The H-D for Ukraine shirts are now available at: HarleyDavidson.com THE TIMELESS EXPERIENCE IS REBORN- 2022 ROYAL ENFIELD CLASSIC 350 Royal Enfield is proud to reintroduce the Classic to the North America – the model that elevated Royal Enfield to a global brand.

Royal Enfield, the global leader in midsize motorcycles (250-750cc), is proud to introduce the all-new 2022 Classic 350 motorcycle to North America. With over 3 million Classic motorcycles sold in more than 75 countries, the Classic is the bestselling Royal Enfield in the 120-year history of the brand. Completely redesigned from the ground up, the Classic 350 marks the beginning of the next chapter of this iconic model.

The design inspiration of the Classic range dates to the Royal Enfield G2 350 Bullet in 1948, a motorcycle that revolutionized the industry with the introduction of the articulating swingarm. While this innovation transformed the performance of motorcycles at the time, the modern Classic 350 invites us to rediscover the experience of pure motorcycling.

Nostalgic style cues blend with a confidence-inspiring ride, with modern touches and a refined overall feel that celebrates the original unhurried, uncomplicated feel of an authentic handcrafted motorcycle.

The 2022 Royal Enfield Classic 350 is powered by an all-new 349cc air-/oil-cooled single-cylinder DOHC engine, launched recently on the Meteor 350.

Distinctive post-war styling continues to define the Classic line, the newest generation built around an all-new chassis with improved strength for a stable, comfortable ride and lightweight handling. Developed through cooperation between teams based at Royal Enfield’s two state-of-the-art technology centers—in India and in the UK—the reborn Classic 350 arrives as a genuine global collaboration, reflecting 120 years of motorcycle history.

While the timeless experience remains central to the Classic 350, modern touches such as electronic fuel injection, plush suspension and front and rear disc brakes with dual channel ABS bring comfort and performance into the modern age. Feel the familiar thump at idle but note the smooth glide of the allnew counterbalanced 349cc singlecylinder engine at speed. True to its lineage, the 2022 Royal Enfield Classic 350 brings the golden age of motorcycling into the modern era.

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATION ALERT-At a recent event in Iowa, President Biden announced plans by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to temporarily lift the summer

restrictions on the sale of gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15).

The decision will allow E15 to be sold between June 1 and September 15. Normally only a 10% ethanol blend can be sold during that period to reduce smog caused by the 15% blend’s higher volatility. This move by the administration is an attempt to bring down surging fuel prices.

However, most estimates predict this change will result in a decrease of just 5 to 10 cents per gallon.

Citing the invasion of Ukraine

by Russia, the EPA is using its emergency exemption authority to make the policy change. The EPA says it will review the policy every 20

days and adjust if needed.

All motorcyclists should be educated on the proper fuel to use in their bikes. More ethanol in the marketplace may limit your fueling options. Be vigilant and as always ride safe and ride free.

-MRF IMS OUTDOORS SHOWS REPORT- the Powersports industry’s leading consumer motorcycle tour that connects enthusiasts with top brands, announced two new strategic partnerships for the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show (UBCBS).

Dennis Kirk, the world’s largest retailer of aftermarket parts, apparel, and accessories for every powersport, is the new title sponsor of UBCBS. Jordan Mastagni, president of Hot Bike Magazine, will take over

management of UBCBS. Builder registration for the 2022 competition is now open – new and returning builders alike are encouraged to sign up for this year’s edition at www.motorcycleshows. com/UBCBS. Jordan is gearing up to bring his 20+ years in the motorcycle industry as a moto-journalist and builder enthusiast to the Progressive IMS Outdoors staple attraction, which has evolved into the industry’s most prominent competition throughout its 11-year tenure. Year after year, hundreds of builders use the competition as a springboard to showcase their rolling works of art and compete for cash, prizes, and the “King of Builders” title, crowned in the championship round held in Southern California at the last event of the tour.

“It’s an honor to work alongside the Progressive IMS Outdoors team this year,” Jordan says.

“I’ve worked closely with the custom motorcycle community throughout my career and have so much respect for the time and creativity it takes to produce a custom build and I look forward to seeing what this year’s group brings to the competition.”

Classes for the 2022 competition include Custom Street, Custom Classic and Freestyle, plus the People’s Choice Award. Winners of the Custom Street, Custom Classic, and Freestyle classes will take home $500 – $1,000 in cash from Progressive IMS Outdoors, plus prizes from sponsors. Winners of each round are invited to compete in the Championship Round at the end of the tour for the title “King of Builders”, $10,000 in cash, and prizes.

2022 AMA National Gypsy Tour Events - The AMA National Gypsy Tour brings like-minded riders together to enjoy the camaraderie of motorcycling, often in a location of particular beauty, historic significance and/or importance to the sport. Learn June ‘22 - July ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE 107

THE CYCLE SOURCE WORLD REPORT - POWERED BY BIKERNET.COM

more and plan your trip to one of these national rallies: June 7-11: Americade, Lake George, N.Y. June 11-19: Laconia Motorcycle Week, Weirs Beach, N.H June 23-26: Thunder in the Valley, Johnstown, Pa. Sept. 2-4: Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, Durango, Colo.

MUSTANG SEATS Acquired by Veteran-founded Investment-Firm LDR Growth Partners Three Rivers, Massachusetts -- LDR Growth Partners today announced the acquisition of Mustang Motorcycle Products LLC, maker of Mustang Seats and related motorcycle accessories, in a private transaction closed last Friday. Mustang, known for high-quality, handmade motorcycle seats, was founded in 1980 near Three Rivers, MA, where the company maintains factory operations. Mustang was purchased out of Motorsport Aftermarket Group, owned by a group of investors, led by Monomoy Capital Partners.

“Mustang Seats presents a tremendous opportunity for us at LDR,” said William Brame, partner at LDR and co-head of its acquisition business.

“Our unique approach is in providing growing companies the resources they need to continue to expand while identifying areas for new value creation. We’ll invest in people, technology, and the machinery the company needs to help deliver the iconic Mustang Seats to motorcycle riders looking for our products domestically and internationally.”

Mustang employs 85 people in a historic facility in Three Rivers.

The company was founded by Al Simmons and named after the legendary P51 military aircraft from World War II. Mustang designs and manufactures a variety of styles of seats, with fitments for all major brands of motorcycles.

The company also offers rider and passenger backrests and seatingrelated products.

LDR Growth Partners is a private investment firm focused on acquiring and growing unique, cash flow generating businesses in the manufacturing, industrial products, and transportation sectors. The company currently owns and operates Whitman

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Controls, a 50-year manufacturer of process automation controls with large, multinational customers across a range of industries. LDR, founded in 2011 by three US Army officers, is also the owner of LDR Advisory Partners and LDR Leadership, firms which focus on improving company, employee and leadership performance.

LDR intends to keep Mustang’s operations in its current primary location as it adds manufacturing technology, production capacity and marketing capabilities to the organization.

The company has added nearly 20 additional employees since September of 2021 and the new owners anticipate hiring additional resources in the coming months to accomplish their goals.

THE BUELL REPORT--Buell Current and Future Products Get Standing Ovation at Daytona Grand Rapids, MI – The Buell is Back mantra was reaffirmed and reinforced after a strong showing and enthusiastic response from consumers at Daytona

Bike Week 2022.

“Thank You, Thank You, Thank You and now it’s back to work,” said Bill Melvin, CEO of Buell Motorcycle Co. “We were humbled by the wildly enthusiastic response from both the media and consumers at Daytona on our current and future models. Their encouragement and insistence to keep expanding the Buell brand into new segments while pushing the power envelope was clearly heard…so as it pertains to new product development you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Buell showcased the Hammerhead and 1190 SX models currently in production while unveiling two new prototypes, the Baja DR and SuperTouring, announcing their entry into the off-road and touring segments while maintaining the brand’s coveted DNA customers expect.

The Baja DR will boast the world’s fastest production dirt bike with a 175hp liquid-cooled, 72-degree V-twin engine with 101 ft-lbs. of torque. Add to this the trellis frame, adjustable

swing arm for a 66-72” wheelbase, industry-standard 37” seat height with 26.75-degree rake and you’ve got the makings for an unmatched top-of-the-market speed and performance dirt bike. Production is planned for early 2023.

The new SuperTouring model will possess the fastest touring bike in the marketplace producing an industryleading 185hp. It retains Buell’s famous Fuel in Frame handling but will exhibit a more upright riding position, variable mounting points for hard or soft bags and room for rider customization with aftermarket touring accessories. Production is planned for winter 2022.

Opportunities to reserve a production slot for the Hammerhead, 1190 SX, Baja DR, and SuperTouring models are available now by placing a $25 reservation at www.

BuellMotorcycle.com. You’ll receive a limited-edition Buell hat too!

Buell is headed back more energized than ever to deliver more Hammerhead and SX models, make improvements and prepare to launch their new Baja DR and SuperTouring models and explore opportunities to expand into new product segments as well.

Daytona Bike Week only reaffirmed that Buell is back and delivering excitement at every turn.

Website: www.

BuellMotorcycle.com

THERE YOU HAVE IT—Okay, so California closed access to lands over Climate Doom. The new Democrat-Led FEC will control investments not for the public but for the Planet. States and local governments are trying to punish all drivers under the guise of zero whatever and less Climate Doom. Our economy, our rights, our freedom of speech are being impacted by Climate Doom. So, who is asking if it’s true or asking for scientific transparency? Anyone in the motorcycle or car industry?

Why not? Are we really doomed?

Most scientists don’t think so. If you want to stay right on top of this ever-changing world, check out the news weekly on Bikernet.com.

In the meantime, ride free forever!

--Bandit

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ADVERTISERS INDEX 5 Ball Racing Leather.............95 Battery Outlet.......................113 BikerNet.com.........................110 Bling’s Cycles.......................109 Buffalo Chip...........................91 Chop Cult...............................110 Cycle Source Gear.................39 Cycle Stop USA.......................35 DB Custom Leather...............110 Dennis Kirk............................115 Denver’s Choppers.................97 Drag Specialties.......................9 Drag Specialties Seats...........15 Dutchman..............................113 Feuling...................................111 Garage

Built

Pod-

cast..............91 GEICO.....................................27 Hardcore Cycles...................101 High Seas Rally.......................45 Hijinx Apparel.......................20 Hot Leathers.........................105 5 Ball Racing Leather.............95 Iron Horse Saloon..................75 Kiwi Indian...............................29 Law Tigers................................2 Led Sled..................................63 MC Creations.........................113 Mikuni......................................19 Motion Pro..............................89 No School Choppers..............35 Old School Chopper Show.....31 Pandemonium........................49 Paughco.............................20,57 Progressive Insurance.............3 Providence Cycle Worx........109 S&S Cycle.............................116 Sierra Madre Motorcycle Company.....55 SmokeOut Rally........................5 SpeedKing..............................49 Sporty Parts...........................113 Spectro Oils............................21 Steel Pony Campground........85 Tech Cycles............................29 Twisted Tea............................53 Twin Power................................4 Twisted Choppers...................17

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Send Your Gut Buster to: cyclesourcemain@comcast.net

man was riding his motorcycle A through the border of Germany and Austria every week, carrying

two bags filled with sand. The border guard, an older man, searched both bags every time but never found anything, so he let him through. This goes on for a couple days until the border guard had his last day before retirement. Again the man comes to the border, both bags filled with sand. The guard asks him: “Look, man, today is my last day. I know you are smuggling SOMETHING so please tell me. I won’t bust you. I’m dying of curiosity since I never seem to find anything in the bags.” The man grins and says: “I’m smuggling motorcycles.”

Doug

student at MMI is walking on A campus one day when another mechanic rides up on a shiny new

motorcycle. “Where did you get such a rocking bike?” asked the first. The second engineer replied, “Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes, and said, ‘Take what you want.’” The first engineer nodded approvingly. “Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit!”

A

Shawn

motorcycle officer stopped a man who ran a red light. The guy was a real jerk, demanding, “Why am I being harassed!” The officer calmly told him of his violation. The man erupted in a tirade, questioning the officer’s ancestry and sexual

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orientation in explicit terms. The officer took it in stride, saying nothing. When he finished writing the citation, he put “AH” in the corner and handed it to the man to sign. The man demanded to know what “AH” meant. The officer stared straight into his eyes and said, “That’s so when we go to court, I’ll remember that you were such an a$shole!” and then returned to his cruiser. The violator’s bad record meant losing his license, so he hired a hot-shot attorney to represent him. The defense attorney called the officer to the stand and asked, “Officer, is there any particular marking on this citation you don’t normally make?” “Why, yes, sir, there is. Near the bottom, there’s an underlined ‘AH.’” “What does ‘AH’ stand for, officer?” “Aggressive and hostile, sir.” “Aggressive and hostile?” “Yes, sir.” “Officer, are you sure it doesn’t stand for ‘A$shole’?”

The officer grinned, “Well, sir, you know your client better than I!”

Earle

he Pope decides to take a crossT country tour across America, beginning in California and ending

in New York. Somewhere in the Mid-West, the Popemobile breaks down, and while it’s repaired, the Pope continues his journey with a limousine rental. After a few hours, the limousine driver rolled down the glass partition and spoke: “I know I’m not supposed to talk to you, your holiness, or highness - I’m not even sure what to call you?” “It’s okay, my son, say what you want to say.”

“Well, when they told me who I’d be driving, I was really thrilled. It’s such an honor, and if there is anything I

can do to make it a better trip, I’ll do my best to make sure it happens.”

The Pope thought for a while, then replied, “You know, before I became Pope, I really enjoyed driving. I would drive for hours. But now, no one will allow me to drive anywhere. Would you mind if we switched places and I can drive?” The limousine driver agreed, and the two switched places.

After a while, the Pope became relaxed, turned the radio on, hung his arm out the window, and just enjoyed cruising. However, not aware of his increasing speed, he was soon pulled over by a motorcycle cop. The cop walked up to the limousine, saw who was driving, said, “Excuse me, your holiness, for a moment,” then returned to his bike and got on the radio. “Chief, I think I have a problem.

I believe I pulled over someone pretty important, and I’m not sure how to deal with it.” The Chief responded: “Don’t tell me you pulled over a state representative again, Johnson?” “No, I think this person is more important.”

“Not our Governor?!” “No, I believe more important than the Governor.”

“Johnson, tell me you didn’t pull over a Presidential Motorcade.” “No, they may be even more important than the President.” “What? Really? Who’s more important than the President?”

“Hell if I know, but the Pope’s driving.”

Charlie

cop pulls over a guy on a A motorcycle and asks him for his name. “My name is Ed,” he said. “Just

Ed? no last name?” “Just Ed.” “Care to explain?” asked the cop. “Well, it started a long time ago. I was Ed Johnson. As a kid, I always wanted to be a doctor. So I studied hard and finally graduated from medical school. From then on, I was known as Ed Johnson, M.D. After a few years, I wasn’t happy and decided to pursue my true love. Dentistry. I went back to school and got my D.D.S. From then on, I was Ed Johnson, M.D., D.D.S. Things were good till I got V.D. from sleeping with one of my patients. At that point, I was known as Ed Johnson, M.D., D.D.S. with V.D. Well, the board found out I slept with one of my patients and stripped my D.D.S from me. Shortly after that, the AMA took away my M.D. I was now just Ed Johnson with V.D. a few years later, the V.D. took my johnson due to infection. Because of that, I’m now just Ed.”

Richard

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