17 months ago I dreamt up an idea to build a bike for my brother who seemed to like vacationing in Iraq…well, kind of. My younger brother, Joey, has fought overseas since 2002 and has been everywhere from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Africa, Kuwait, and Iraq. The best part about it was, he had already served our country before, and had been out of the U.S. Army for two years when those cowards drove those planes into our hearts and minds. Less than a month after the heinous terrorist acts on September 11, 2001, my brother had signed back up and was shipped away to fight for his country. To me, he represents everything our country should be proud of. I felt I needed to do something to show my appreciation. For some reason, a care package just wouldn’t cut it.
I did a little research, read as many magazines as I could get my hands on, and basically asked lots of questions. I worked through stages of elation, anxiety, angst, and outright depression. The world of bikes is so diluted at watered down with junk, it can be hard to wade through the bullshit and find a decent product on your own. I knew early on that I would need help with the build. I contacted Kent Weeks, the head Gestapo over at Lucky Devil Custom Cycles here in my hometown of Houston, Texas, and proposed my idea to him.
He emphatically offered to help with any aspect of the build I wanted and promised me we’d get the bike built as if he’d done it himself. The first thing he suggested was for me to get the money together to buy an engine and wrap the rest of the build around it, being it’s the heart of the motorcycle.
I knew I wanted the bike to be a mover and shaker, but I wasn’t interested in taking out a second mortgage to build a monster engine bike. I also wanted as much reliability as possible while making the bike as roadworthy as possible. Once I checked my funds, I settled on a bone stock 80” Evo from West Virginia H-D. Considering the style bike I wanted to build, I felt this would fit the bill perfectly. I called Bandit and asked his advice.
“An Evolution is a fine engine, why do you think all the aftermarket motors are based on an Evo? You’ll get miles and miles out of that engine. Now get to work and leave me the fuck alone!”
It’s funny how a project can start innocently enough and eventually it transforms into an 800 pound gorilla that consumes your every thought. That’s kind of what happened with this build.
June of 2006, we posted our first ideas of the build in the Thursday news. During the build process, I decided to go to Sturgis for the second year. While at Sturgis, I noticed the clean lines and overall balance of several bikes located outside Thunder Alley. After searching out the owner, I found the very affable and friendly Jeff Cochran, of Sucker Punch Sally’s. He gave me a message for Bandit, then was whisked away to show his bikes in the show. I just stared at his bikes for n eternity before telling my buddy, “That’s exactly what I am talking about. That’s the bike I want to build. Simple, clean, bad-ass!”
Back in Houston, the search went out for components while still trying to pay bills and be productive at work and home. Before too long, I was well versed in E-Bay, Craig’s list, and our local paper. Before too long, it was November and my bike build had stalled with a motor. Then fate stepped in.
Eric Ellis, the new Editor-in-Chief of Hot Bike Magazine, was talking to Ken Conte, of Sucker Punch Sally’s, about an idea to have someone build a bike in their garage and cover it in the magazine. Ken, having read about my plight on Bikernet, suggested my case for it and before I knew what was happening, Sucker Punch Sally’s threw their hat into the ring. They wouldn’t be alone. With the agreement we would chronicle the build in Hot Bike magazine as well as Bikernet.com, Sucker Punch agreed to help me with my mission.
Sucker Punch Sally’s, the custom motorcycle builder for the common working man, offered a version of their roller along with several extras added in. Not knowing everything that would be included, I sat back waiting on the parts hoping I wasn’t getting filled with smoke. I was told to expect the parts after Bike Week ended in March.
So, I went back to my day to day job as a chemical plant operator and worked on several other projects for Bikernet on the side. During that time, I converted my 2005 Springer Classic into a bobber by stripping as much as possible and adding a Heartland 180 kit. You may remember those features here: http://www.bikernet.com/garage/PageViewer.asp?PageID=1343
Sometime in April, Ken Conte told me my pallet was being packed and would be on the way within a few weeks. Knowing I was getting a shit-load of parts for free, I expected to get a hefty bill for shipping. Three weeks later, a 48 foot trailer backed into my driveway and dropped a shrink wrapped pallet of parts on my driveway. The only thing I had to do was give a signature saying I received the parts. I was like a kid in a candy store!
I began tearing into the boxes and checking all the parts. I was immediately faced with two very real epiphanies: One, I still needed a bunch of parts for the build, and Two, I had no idea where to start.
After a quick trip to Hooters for lunch and a beer, I came home and set the motor in the frame. I pieced together as much as I could, trying to take my time to be sure I wasn’t messing anything up.
I will tell you, saying you want to build a bike and actually doing it is two different animals all together. At the end of the first day, I had installed the motor, forward controls, and oil bag. I would have to wait a few days before I could do anything else, but my next task was to have the wheels and tires mounted. After wresting with them in the front yard with a bowl of dish soap and a crowbar for 2 hours, all I ended up with was sore fingers and an inner tube full of holes. So off to Southern Motorcycle to have them mounted. 60 buck later, I had the wheels and tires mounted and headed back home to line up the rear wheel with the motor. Once the rear wheel was mounted, it was back to the waiting game for me. I still needed a front end, a primary drive system, and a tranny, so I could finish lining everything up before taking it all to Kent’s shop to have him weld the fender bungs into place and help with the tank mounts.
Now, I would have been better off leaving the bike alone at this point, but I guess boredom build anxiousness, which leads to dangerous things…at least for me. The frame came with the mounting tabs for a fat bob style tank, since SPS had sent a Sportster styled tank, those could go bye-bye. I used a hacksaw, a hammer, and a grinder to obliterate the mounts and grind half the backbone away.
SPS of Ohio donated a 1975 narrow glide front end to the project. While it was a little rough, I felt it would do fine. Unfortunately, with the narrow glide, the brand new 21” front wheel and tire from SPS in Phoenix would not work. AT this point, I was waiting again.
July arrived, and I got the call from Bandit, “Hey, BDL is sending you a 3” belt drive system. Your welcome, now get back to work.” Click.
Within a week, Eric sent me an e-mail telling me J&P Cycles was donating a 5-speed tranny to the cause. I was ecstatic! Now I could carry it all to Kent’s shop and get the final mock-ups done!
Two days before I was to carry the bike to Lucky Devil’s, I received the hand-tooled leather seat from my good friend Glenn Priddle of Australia. It seems Glenn has started a leather business, and his craftsmanship is second to none. He went above and beyond with the seat! Check his work at GP Leather!
I also received a crown gas cap from Greg Westbury of Westbury Cycles. Thanks Greg, you are the shit!
It seemed the motorcycle world was getting word of my project, and everyone wanted to get involved. I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who was involved, and I personally thank each and every one of you. Once again, more would come!
Before taking the bike to Kent’s, I decided to install the tranny and primary drive so I could have the rear wheel lined up when I brought it over. Unfortunately, too little experience, too many beers, and too much time led to me grinding the wheel caliper, and caliper mounting bracket to make “more room”. Needless to say, this was a mistake that would require Kent’s fix. I finally submitted, tapped out, and carried all my parts to Kent’s shop, Lucky Devil Custom Cycles.
We started hard and heavy for several days trying to finish the mock up. Our plan was to get the bike ready for Sturgis, and we only had a few weeks left. While the mock up was coming along very smooth, it all came to a halt when my brother called with some unexpected news. It seemed the army needed him to go to a domestic desert and train tomorrows warriors for desert duty. He wouldn’t be able to make Sturgis.
That news knocked the wind from our sails. We agreed to pick it up after Sturgis. Well, just before Bandit was set to head off to Bonneville, he sent word a late-model wide glide front end was heading to Kent’s shop. Once again, it seemed fate was smiling down on me as more and more of the needed parts were coming together. Also, we were able to send the sheet metal to Kirk Taylor of Custom Design Studios to have him work his magic on the paint.
When I started this project, I really planned on buying a wrecked Buell, and transporting the drive train to a rigid frame. As the plan grew in reality, I realized I would be mixing and matching parts together giving him something much better than a wrecked Buell. Unfortunately, I also worried about where each part was going to come from and also how I would pay for it without going into extreme debt. As each component came together for the build, it amazed me how everything was coming together.
Once Kent and I were able to get back together for the build, we had only a few weeks to get the bike built before Biketoberfest. The last of the mock-up included: we needed to finish mounting the seat, paint the frame, shave the fender mounts off the sliders, and last but not least, get the rest of the parts.
October 3, Kent gave me a list of parts we would need to finish the build. Luckily he included part numbers from Custom Chrome so I could look everything up. Final total was over 2000 bucks worth of parts and it was hitting me at a time I was very strapped for cash. I began sending e-mails out equivalent to a 300 foot smoke signal calling in the troops.
Eric once again stepped in, contacting Custom Chrome about the parts. Friday, October 5th, Custom Chrome shipped our parts, another member of our team jumping on board with this project. At this time that is what I’m waiting on…the final parts. The paint is in, the frame is ready, now we just have to do the final assembly. Unfortunately, we only have 6 days until SPS shows up here in Houston on their way to Biketoberfest. By the end of the week, I will either be a hero, or a bust. One thing for sure, I wouldn’t have even gotten close without the help of many. Watch for updates here on Bikernet as well as full coverage in Hot Bike magazine starting with Volume 39, issue No. 5. 17 months of collaboration, anticipation, headaches, and busted knuckles are about to converge into an event two weeks from today. I just hope he likes the final product, it’s the best way I could come up with to say thank you to him. In my opinion, the soldiers coming home should all be treated with the honor and respect they deserve.
Think about our country, thank a soldier, and thank God above we live in such a wonderful place as the U.S.A.!
