The Chopper Chick Crew nailed it…again. The House of Harley-Davidson, Milwaukee’s premier dealership, and Shell Oil, manufacturers of V-Power gasoline (the gas recommended by Harley for their entire model line) sponsored the Chopper Chicks in yet another ‘live build‘. The bike project coincided with the House of Harley-Davidson’s Woman’s Day Event during the 105th Anniversary celebration. It gave bikers of both sexes a chance to see these talented women spin wrenches on a custom concept and make it materialize right in front of their eyes. As with all of these build projects, the completed motorcycle was donated to a carefully chosen charity. The recipient of this bike was a unanimous favorite, the Race Against Abuse Of Children Everywhere Foundation(RAACE).
RAACE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the epidemic of child sexual abuse by raising public awareness. Any charity organization would benefit monetarily from the sale of such a motorcycle but this bike will work for the foundation long before any thoughts of a sale. Through their awareness campaign, they are taking this bike on tour with them to race tracks, motorcycle events and anywhere else that they can use it as a tool to talk to spread their message.
About five weeks before the live build, the Chopper Chicks started with a crated 2007 Custom Sportster delivered from the House of Harley-Davidson courtesy of Shell and chopped, cut, welded and ground their way to create a nasty street-to-track bike with lots of attitude. The choice of the race-ready style was a no-brainer for the crew (they were, after all, building it for the RAACE Foundation). On the morning of the event, they started with a bare frame, an assortment of parts, excited RAACE staffers, fistfuls of tenacity and one broken foot. (Athena had bust it in a late night fight with a trailer hitch during her nonstop road-trip from Florida.)
Chopper Chick Crew members, Athena Ransom, Jayme Gray, Vivian ’Gypsy’ Charros, and Kate O‘Shea started pulling wrenches around 9AM while Chopper Chick JoAnn Bortels airbrushed license plates for the audience of bikers who gathered to watch the women do what they love. The fact that these women worked together before was evident as each one slid easily from one assembly job to the next as their official ’Tool Boy’, Don Ransom (Athena’s husband) kept the tools flowing to waiting hands. Taking turns on the open mike, they chatted it up with the crowd and were able to give them the dope on the bike and the various customizations and fabrications.
As the time for firing up the sled got closer, the chatter stopped as their focus intensified and the wrenches turned even faster. Even the crowd stopped their questions and dropped their voices. It was really cool…lots of anticipation. Bikers who watched their progress during the day, swarmed the area in front of the tent with one last question on their lips. Would it start? With a gallon of Shell V-Power gas dropped in her tank, they pushed the button. She fired right up and made believers out of all who witnessed the event. Chicks rule. At that moment, even the crustiest of bikers had to agree on that.
The live build took just eight hours from bare frame to running motorcycle. That’s longer than some of their previous live assemblies but the Chopper Chick Crew couldn’t be happier with the outcome. This wasn‘t a kit bike or just another tried and true chopper. This was a smooth one-off custom.
The transformation of the stock Sporty was more than the public had anticipated but just what the Chopper Chicks expected. They lowered and lengthened scooter sported custom fabbed rear controls, a one-off tight set of drag bars and a kick-ass CrazyHorse paint job in the purple and yellow colors of the RAACE Foundation. The oil tank was fabbed out of Harley cylinders by Vagabond Chopper Company and left the uninitiated wondering why the bike had extra jugs. RB Racing tossed a two-into-one exhaust system into the mix. The trick changes and tasty extras that the chicks brought to this project are too numerous to list, but the most obvious additions were perhaps the most unexpected. The inclusion of a dead-man switch and a set of 65-inch wheelie bars (donated by Pingle Enterprises, Inc.) really set this performance bike apart.
After the completion, Shell Oil representative Karyn Leonardi-Cattolica and the House of Harley-Davidson's Brooke Pape handed the keys over to RAACE founder Kenneth Smith and Programs/Services Director Vickie Brookes.
“We’re so grateful. This is really something special. This motorcycle drastically increases our ability raise awareness. Everyone we speak with has the potential to save a child and change a life. This bike will open the door for us to communicate our message to so many more people,” Smith told the crowd while he clutched the keys. “We can’t thank the everyone enough for this incredible gift.“
The Chopper Chick Crew wants to thank and acknowledge all those that all those that helped make this all happen: Shell Oil, the House of Harley-Davidson, Jeffery Phipps Custom Saddles, RB Racing, Pingle Enterprises, Inc., Barnett Performance Products, Gardner-Wescott, Biker’s Choice, Mitchell Motorcycle Transport, Park One Welding, Precision Wire Inc., Sun Metals, California Harley-Davidson, Manatee River Harley-Davidson, Crazy Horse Painting, Gypsy Highway Custom, Vagabond Chopper Company and all of their families and sweethearts.
