“Chance of a lifetime,” I said to a brother recently. It’s my reoccurring adage for positive opportunities like this one. Enter this sweeps and you have a helluva better shot at winning this one-off Brass Balls Bobber over winning any bullshit state lottery. Plus, there’s Haley, Miss Brass 2010, but I’ve got dibs on her.
Just to impress her, the Bikernet.com staff mustered the courage and the shipping cost to donate a brand new 5-speed transmission to the effort, and just the other day, the RevTech 88 arrived from Custom Chrome.
The original RevTech 88 was launched more than eight years ago and has been a tremendous success. But they didn’t rest on their laurels; they constantly improved on the platform and added built-in-USA touches. Custom Chrome engineers and technicians have taken the knowledge accumulated while developing their new 110- and 100- inch platforms and applied performance elements to the 88. As a result, the RevTech 88 now makes about 50% more power than the motors from Milwaukee with comparable reliability.
Like the bigger RevTech motors, the 88’s new cases are now cast in one piece. They are machined and precision cut, with the halves kept as a pair. This new method ensures perfect alignment of the lower end on the inside, with the added benefit of a better, more solidified appearance on the outside.
The improvements didn’t stop with the cases. The flywheels now feature straight 1 ½-inch pressed-in crankpins using proprietary extreme-duty military-grade steel, just like in the 110 and 100-inch RevTech engines. The new flywheels are forged from 4340-chromemoly steel, and the new connecting rods incorporated from the larger motors have proven indestructible. Over 20,000 RevTech motors have been sold so far.
There’s one company that signifies made in America more than any other on the planet when it comes to chops: Paughco. Ron Paugh stumbled into his dad’s shop one day in the late ’60s and said, “Dad, my bros need replacement primaries for their Harleys.” Some 50 years later, Paughco still stamps out tin primaries for Knuckles and Pans. They were one of the first companies to build custom rigid frames and classic springer front ends, and they still build them, one at a time, in their Carson City facility.
We hooked up Dar, from Brass Balls, with Jason Rickman, the Paughco frame and front-end specialists, and they went to work building a frame under the Brass Balls criteria, with 36 degrees of rake, and stretched 3 up and 1 out. Plus Dar likes an additional 2 inches spread toward the rear to afford the space for a battery box behind the trans. Actually, that configuration allows bigger riders additional leg room.
Due to the large selection of Paughco frames available, each frame is built to order. They needed the following info from the HORSE/Brass/Bikernet staff before Jason set his gang free to start bending tubing and welding, while I chased Haley around the shop. They needed to know if we needed early or late-style Fatbob tanks mounts, the year and type (size) of engine, the type of rear brakes, and transmission model.
Paughco has the largest, most respected, old school line of custom springers on the planet, and since some bastards chose to steal their design by knocking off their products overseas, Paughco continued to expand their line to include the master of all springers, the classic tapered leg in narrow or wide, or wide shock. Their springers are built to order for any application, including 7/8 or 1-inch necks. Top clamps are available in Dog Bone or Glide styles. The front legs come in various styles, and Paughco springers can be ordered in various powder-coated configurations, although Paughco has its own state-of-the-art chrome facility.
Don’t miss your chance to win this one-off Brass Balls build, and don’t miss the next issue as I continue to hunt Haley and the Brass Balls team starts to form these components into a solid riding roller.
