The Chopper Saga

This is the centerpiece of a chopper with a very interesting story.

I love to see the way a bike changes a man from the inside out. My buddy Mike started riding rockets such as Suzuki’s famed GSXR. He had ridden an Intruder, A GSXR, a TLR, a Hyabusa, and finally he graduated to a Harley. Yes, he went from a Hyabusa to a Harley. Oh, and not just any Harley, he bought an Electra Glide! I still chuckle thinking about it.

He called me as soon as he got home from the dealer calling the E-Glide a “dog”. I tried to encourage him, but it was useless. He gradually took the steps most new H-D riders take, and began to customize his new bike with as many skulls and “mean” looking doo-dads. Through it all, I kept encouraging him, hoping he would eventually see the light.

Here’s Mike astride his E-Glide in Sturgis 2006. We had a great time, but the chopper bug hadn’t hit him yet.

He then dumped several grand into the motor to make her scream, riding her to Sturgis two years in a row and loving life. He was truly happy with his bike…until I let him borrow mine. One week last summer, I asked to borrow the bagger for a week while trying to decide if I wanted to trade in the Softail. He obliged gladly, saying my bike would probably sit in his garage the entire time. A week later, I couldn’t give him his “couch” fast enough. While the E-Glide works for some, it was just too big and heavy for my style of riding. I didn’t like it at all. Mike, on the other hand, wasn’t so eager to give me my bike back. I think he put double the miles on my bike than I had ridden on his bike. With a smile I have seen before, he said, “I like that.”

Mike riding my Springer. This is the ride that caused the start of his metamorphisis into a full fledged chopper addict.

Over the next few months, as I was building the bike for my brother, Mike began researching kit bikes. While he found several companies he liked, he just couldn’t pull the trigger on the prices he was getting. He really wanted to get something at under 12 grand, and well, that’s just hard to find. Fortunately, Mike made the discovery of his life.

He calls me one Friday evening saying he found a bike on E-bay. I went to the site and checked out the pictures of the bike described as a ’75 Frisco bobber. What was really great about the whole thing was the bike’s bidding only 10 grand with hours left on the bid. So Mike bid $10,500 and we wrote it off, knowing the price would begin skyrocketing within the last hour of the auction. The next morning, Mike wakes up and immediately checks his computer. AT midnight the night before, he won the bike with a winning bid of $10,800. He made the calls to the owner, the only obstacles for him was taking the time off of work and traveling to San Francisco to get the bike. The owner was reluctant to let the bike go at the low cost, but a deal’s a deal. Turns out, he sets this up with all his bikes and then pulls the item at the last minute so he can use all the final bidders as prospects for his next bike build. Sadly for him, he had a minor emergency the final night of bidding and wasn’t able to pull the bike in time.

Nightime shot of the bike. This is after he rode it 200 miles.

My buddy Mike, buys a one way ticket from Houston to San Francisco, packs a back pack, and gets on a plane Tuesday morning to go and get his bike. He had the idea of taking a cab from the airport to the bike shop and then riding his new chopper home.

When he showed up at the shop, the guys asked about his trailer and how did he plan to haul the bike to Texas. When Mike responded with his plan to ride the bike, the shop strongly urged him to reconsider, claiming the bike had less than 50 miles of break-in miles.

There’s my boy, getting ready to start his adventure. First kick was a good one!

In classic Mike form, he smiled broadly and proudly stated, “What better way for me to get to know her?” With that, he kicked the motor over a few times till she fired up and mounted her for the first time. He told me he knew this bike was meant for him the second his ass touched the seat. He waved goodbye to the shop and with the wheel pointed due east, he pulled on the throttle and started on his journey home. Within 2 miles, the throttle stuck open and he ran into a chain link fence, thankfully keeping him from plummeting 30 foot off the overpass. I think he understood then how big the challenge would be.

Wheel pointed East, it’s time for the adventure of a lifetime. A backpack full of tools and underwear, a pistol in his holster, some cash, and a whole lotta hope, these are the essentials every guy needs.

Over the next 4 days, my poor buddy had to wrench on every possible part of the bike to keep her together. With every stall, rattle, clunk, and screech, he was falling more in love with her. Like he had said, he wanted to get to know her. By the time he reached Houston on Saturday, he was completely drained; financially, physically, and emotionally. Not to be deterred, he was ecstatic to brag to me about the entire trip, he had found his bike.

2000 miles, 4 days, and a lot of effort, Mike was finally home with his new chopper. We took this picture about an hour after he had come home and taken a shower. Needless to say, the beer was flowing, the guys were laughing, and the women were pissed. What else is new?

Over the next several months, he just rode the bike and wrenched on it everywhere he has gone. I can say Mike truly knows every nut and bolt on his machine. He has had to re-build every part of the bike at some point or another, just to keep her running. Not only does he wrench to up-keep her condition, he is also customizing it to his tastes.

Getting ready to take her for a spin

He removed the front brakes, as he felt they cluttered up the bars and wheel. He installed 20 inch mini gimps from Nash. He changed her to a jockey shift using a “rocker-clutch”, styled after 1950’s Panheads. He has rebuilt the tranny and changed the rear sprocket to make her more highway-worthy. He even welded the kicker gear back together when it cracked on him before a ride. Trust me when I tell you, Mike has put his heart and soul into this bike more than any twinkie rider I have ever met.

A few pics after his bar change. He cleaned it up further after this by removing the front brake.

During his last major ride to Austin for the recent ROT rally, he had to contend with a rear sparkplug that kept blowing right out of the head. Where most guys in Mike’s situation would have called a wrecker and limped back home, my buddy got a tube of JB Quick, and stuck it back together. While it was definitely not a permanent fix, he was able to ride all weekend in Austin and still rode the bike back to Houston 2 days later. He had to repeat the JB Quick fix only two more times!

Clean lines start with the front wheel, which Mike has stripped of all the clutter…and safety. This is a man’s bike for sure!

So here’s his bike, a 1975 genuine H-D that he is gradually making into a road worthy machine. Hopefully he will get the new S&S heads on her so he can take her to Sturgis this year. Yes he plans on riding it the entire way. Hopefully we will make it there, but even if we don’t, I bet we have a hell of an adventure along the way!

As for the E-Glide, well it’s for sale. He said he doesn’t even consider that to be a motorcycle anymore… it’s more like a convertible. What else can you say?

Bikernet.com Extreme Tech Chart

Regular Stuff

Owner: Michael Biscamp
Bike Name: None
City/State: Magnolia, Texas

Builder: Death by Asphalt Choppers
City/state: San Francisco, California
Phone: 650 333-4681
Web site: www.asphaltcustoms.com
E-mail: asphaltcustoms@asphaltcustoms.com

Engine

Year:1975
Make: H-D
Model: Shovelhead
Displacement: 74 cu
Builder or Rebuilder: Michael Biscamp
Cases: H-D
Case finish: Painted
Barrels: H-D
Bore: Stock
Pistons: Stock
Barrel finish: Stock
Lower end: Stock
Stroke: Stock

Rods: H-D
Heads: H-D
Head finish: Stock
Valves and springs: H-D
Pushrods: H-D
Cams: H-D
Lifters: H-D
Carburetion: S&S Super B

Air cleaner: Unknown
Exhaust: Handmade
Mufflers: Yeah Right

Transmission

Year: Unknown
Make: H-D
Gear configuration: 4 speed
Final drive: 51 tooth Sprocket
Primary: Belt
Clutch: Dry Rocker

Rocker style dry clutch like the one’s used on old Panheads in the 50’s.

Frame

Year: Unknown
Style or Model: Rigid
Stretch: none
Rake: 34 degrees
Modifications: Who knows?

Front End

Make: DNA
Model: Springer
Year: 2007
Length: Stock
Mods: IDK

Sheet metal

Tanks: Sportster
Fenders: Rear, flat
Panels: None
Oil tank: H-D

Paint

Sheet metal: Death by Asphalt
Molding: None
Base coat: Death by Asphalt
Graphics: Death by Asphalt
Type: Scallops
Frame: Black
Special effects: The whole bike
Pinstriping: DBA