As a boy my dream was to own a Harley.I got that chance when my nana past away 7 years ago.She never wanted me to get a bike because her Grandad was a daredevil & she use to say I was just like him.
I brought the bike Trader & looked through it cover to cover.A small add stood out, 1974 Ironhead Sportster 1000cc £2000.I asked a few people regarding what to look out for when I went to see it.Everyone said buy an Evo.As soon as I laid eyes on the old girl, I knew I was going to buy her, even though I knew nothing about old iron, and the choice was against everyone's advice.But hell, I was born the same year, so it was meant to be.
Sixty miles down the M1 highway from the purchase location my stubborn relationship with Janisstarted.Four hours later Dave, my mate who took me on his bike to buy my new pride & joy, and me arrived in a tow truck at my garage.To top off a bloody long day, the truck driver released the straps before we were even on the back of the truck, and in slow motion we watched the bike hit the deck.
Four months later I finally got my bike back after a complete motor rebuild.Riverside Motorcycles in Putney, London, UK recommended a complete rebuild even though the top end was all that went tits up.
Four weeks after riding about , the pinion shaft snaps in half.Back to Riverside, repaired for nothing but his guarantee stopped after that.At this point I started reading the manual and getting to know this beast. as I couldn’t keep chucking money away.Plus her in doors wasn't too pleased about this new pile of broken down metal.
I rode around on her for a while, before I decided I started to personalise her a bit.I had heard of Biker Build-offs from a local Harley mechanic who turned out to be a great friend and wealth of knowledge when it come to old Ironheads,Dave at Sunset Motorcycles in Bexley Kent, UK.I discovered two very inspirational builders in Billy Lane & the late Indian Larry were the driving force behind my changes.
Before I left England to go back home to New Zealand I had a springer made for £50 & a shop sign by Steve aka The Angle Grinder Man of SAS Engineering.He is a top fab man & a great bloke.The springer will go on next winter, as I don't want the bike off the road again right now.
My old Bendix carb shit itself so I brought a new one and fitted it.I liked the look of the teardrop air-filter covers but couldn't afford the £80 for one so I decided to make one.I snatched some chicken wire & fibre glass, some P38 bog, and a few faint-headed moments with the fumes and wella £10 later a new air-filter cover.
I had painted her a typical ‘50s style and wanted something different.I love the History of WWII, and this was to be the inspiration of the paint theme for Janis.I decided to call her Janis, after Janis Joplin, because she was a stubborn bitch with loads of character.
Archie Dickens was a famous Pin Up Artist who I met, what turned out to be a scary introduction.He was 97 when I met him to pick his brains regarding painting Pin Up Girls.He had a stroke there & then.After the panic of making sure he was conscious I rang the ambulance.As he was being wheeled away he said come back in a few weeks & we'll start off where we finished.Old Archie died 4 weeks later.The artwork on the air-filter cover is one of his. RIP Archie.
I joined the Harley riders club of Great Britain, www.harley-davidson-hangout.comwhere there was knowledge on tap.It was here I got the idea to change the front caliper so Janis would stop a bit better.A bloke called Roger had just done it on his Ironhead & emailed me the info.The Nissan caliper is off a sports bike and has 4 pistons, and too make it work better you can link them up.It works a treat.
I brought a rear whitewall tyre as I knew it would look right with the overall look I had in mind.Boy that was fun changing my first tyre!
My mate Kiwi Dave from the Riders club had just changed his H-D to a jockey shift.I did a little research & decided I'd get the bits together to do this.I cut up an old sissy bar & got the Anglegrinder man to weld them together for my forward controls.I've cut up an old clutch cable a couple of times so I have a few spares for the foot clutch.I've made a gear lever from a MR2 car shifter with a WWI German egg grenade for the knob.Once again it's a project for the future to install.
My wife and I decided to up sticks and move back to New Zealand.My old man is a stainless steel fabricator which has been awesome.I showed him my plans for the Mustang tank, and we got on to it straight away.There's nothing like learning to weld but learning from ya Dad is even better.He welded the round stock & the extra panels on the top of the tank to hold the A12 Austin Panel van bonnet badge I bought off Trade Me.As soon as I saw this badge I remembered the one Billy Lane put on his bike in the Build-off with Indian Larry, and I thought it would be perfect.The “A” stands for Spitfire Ace as well.
The reason I've tried to scrimp with parts and make as much as I can is it is really expensive in New Zealand for parts etc.There is a Chopper shop opened in Christchurch and one in Wellington, but the style of bikes are the long choppers, I think they may even be imported from a company in the U.S. The price ranges from 50K up.The only Harleys around are new from the factory.You see quite a few old Trumps and BSAs about which is pretty cool.I've never seen a Bobber as such like mine.If you are lucky enough to be able to afford a bike there is some awesome open roads to ride on.
My first go at welding was the relocation of the fixing brackets on the tank.I was quite surprised how quickly I picked up the knack of TIG. It is a very similar movement to airbrushing.I then filled in the tank with bog (Bondo) and started the sanding process.As I said earlier the artwork is inspired by Archie and my interest in WWII.
The flames are gold leaf & inspired by Robert Pradke, he makes it look bloody easy but believe me it's not.I need a bit more stripping practice.Robert your a God!
I only get 69 miles to the tank now but I'm rapt with the way it looks so who cares. I wanted to add a little Larry & Billy touch so I did a gold leaf collage on the oil tank with elements of the two masters.
The 12-inch apes were brought at a Harley Boot Sale for £5. I think they’re homemade.I brought the springer headlight in the US on transit back to NZ & added the gold leaf touch to the light surround.The bracket is a piece of copper bar I had lying about which I bent to the right angle.It should transfer easy enough to the springer.
I had another challenging time with Janis when I got back to New Zealand. The wiring fired.Sick of throwing money at every Tom Dick & Harry, I rewired her myself.I got a friend to check it, and I'm quite proud to say I did a good job.I put the nicest set of turn-signal indicators to match the style I could find.You need them in NZ as the drivers are crap.
Next thing was to change the seat.A local bloke wanted $800NZ to do a solo seat so you can imagine what I said to that.I brought a book off Trade Me for $5 on leatherwork.My Dad got me some copper 16gauge & I made a seat pan.Dad welded a strengthening bracket to it.I wanted copper, so it would reflect off the top of the chrome battery top.I then found the Paul Cox tech sheet on this site, and I was rapt.I followed that step by step, and the result was one of the most satisfying parts of the whole project.I then got carried away and made a single saddle bag as a tool bag.
The rear mudguard was brought at a Harley Boot Sale for £5. It was all bent up so I had to do a bit of panel beating to that.I repositioned the fixing holes as it sat too high on the bike.I brought the beehive brake light as it looked right.
I had drag pipes on it, but so did everyone else so I brought some cool old looking mufflers.But the front one came off, and I couldn't find it, so that gave me an excuse to make a custom set.I got a couple of bends from a car muffler shop, cut them to the right size, and Dad welded them on.I turned them up slightly just like Mr. Lane recommends.I can't afford chroming so I thought I might spray them white with heat resistant paint.If that looks crap I'll wrap them.They sound awesome! I wish I could video them on my digital camera, and you post it on the site.
(We will launch Bikernet TV in 2007 and be able to post everything from events to techs.
I've spent countless hours looking through The Horse mag, checking Bikernet and watching Biker Build-off episodes.I'm over the moon with the look of the bike, and the finishing touch will be the springer.After being off the road so frequently in the past, I am enjoying riding it to work everyday.
There's not really anything in New Zealand with this sort of look so it's quite cool when people have stare.We' ve decided to move back to England so my goal is the ride to the Harley Riders Clubs Vintage 50th Sportster Anniversary in July 2007.
She's been a stubborn bitch but we’re slowly starting to get on now.I will never sell Janis. She's left to my son in my Will so he won't be getting her for some time yet.
Cheers
–Tibbs
P.S. I forgot to mention the gold tap I tried to use.It's a gas tap and I machined out some grooves on the tap itself and fit some small o-rings on it.I brought a really old lathe and am teaching myself how to use it.But the bloody petrol just poured out.I'm going to try and find the perfect size o-ring and maybe slip the tap in with a bit of grease.I want to solve this little problem, as it looks sweet with my tank.
BIKERNET/TONY TIBBOTS SPEC CHART
Owner: Tony Tibbotts
City/State: Christchurch, New Zealand
Builder:Tony Tibbotts
City/state: tonytibbotts@yahoo.co.nz
Fabrication: Tony Tibbotts & Cobbers
Welding: Arnie Tibbotts(Dad), Tony Tibbotts,Steve SAS Engineering(Angle Grinder Man)(UK)
Machining: Tony Tibbotts, Steve (Angle grinder man)
Engine
Year: 1974
Make: 1000cc Ironhead
Model: Sporty
Displacement: 1000cc
Builder or Rebuilder: Jeff Murphy, Riverside motorcycles, UK
Cases: STD cases
Case finish: STD
Barrels: Stock
Bore: .010″ over stock I think
Pistons: Superior.010
Barrel finish: Spray Can Black
Heads:STD H-D
Head finish: Spray can Black
Carburetion: Bendix carb, homemade teardrop aircleaner, made from chicken wire, fibre glass and bog.
Transmission
Year: Stock
Make:H-D
Gear configuration: Stock
Final drive: Stock
Primary: Stock
Clutch: Stock
Frame
Year: 1974
Make: H-D Stock
Style or Model: Stock
Stretch: Stock
Rake: Stock
Modifications: A few more holes here & there.
Front End
Make: Stock, Springer to go on I got the plans from
Model: Stock, Showa
Year: 1974
Length: Stock
Mods: None
Sheet metal
Tanks: Arnie Tibbotts and Tony Tibbotts, my Dad did a great job turning my Mustang Tank into a dished tank aka Indian Larry Style.
Fenders: Dorking Harley Boot Sale, rear fender was 10 pounds which was bent to hell, I straightened it best I could.No front fender.
Oil tank: Stock with gold leaf image of Indian Larry & Billy Lane
Paint
Sheet metal: Tony Tibbotts
Molding: Tony Tibbotts, A lot of bog & even more sanding but it was rewarding when finished.
Base coat: PPG Tiger84U Matalic Orange
Graphics: Tony Tibbotts, WWII Pin up art airbrushed with rivet background. Gold leaf flames on the top & bottom, inspiration Robert Pradke.
Frame: Stock, couldn't bare having it off the road any longer so the motor stayed in.
Base coat: Black
Graphics or art: Tony Tibbotts, WWII Pin up Art, gold leaf flames
Special effects: Tony Tibbotts
Pinstriping: Tony Tibbotts, this was challenging as well, I can paint & draw but stripping is definitely an art. Practice Practice, I'll get there.I wish Robert Pradke was after a apprentice!
Wheels
Front
Make: Dunlop
Size: 21″
Brake calipers: Nissan conversion on front, this was one of the best things I couldn't have done.
Tire: Dunlop
Rear
Make: Avon
Size: 16″ Spoke
Brake calipers: H-D Drum
Tire: Avon Venom X Whitewall 130/90
Controls
Foot controls: Floor boards, mini Custom Chrome, fabricated bracket to fit. I've made a set of forwards but haven't fitted them yet. I cut a old sissy bar & fabricated them so they can be used with a jockey shift.
Brake lines: Braided
Handlebar controls: Stock
Finish: Black
Clutch Cable: Braided
Brake Lines: Braided
Shifting: Foot-shift, jockey to come just need to install.I've welded a bracket to the battery box to create the cross over for the shifter. My shifter is off a MR2 & the knob is a WWI German egg grenade.
Electrical
Ignition: Stock battery ignition
Coils: Accel Super coil
Regulator: Custom Chrome
Charging: Stock
Wiring: Stock I rewired it to the manual
Harness: Custom Chrome
Headlight: Early Springer model
Taillight: Beehive, the Pin Up girl attached was a beer can holder.
Accessory lights: Bullet marker indicators, Harley boot sale, you need indicators in NZ as the drivers are crap.
Switches: Stock
Battery: Yuasa 32-amp, I had to make a bigger box for it to fit.
What's Left
Seat: I made the pan from copper & dad welded a t-bracket to add strength. I did the leather work from the Paul Cox How-to on this site. I'm rapt with the result.
Pipes: Cut up drags and added Tips Billy Lane style
Mufflers: Use to, one fell off.
Exhaust finish: Stainless
Gas caps: Stock
Handlebars: Home made apes, 12″ Harley Boot Sale
Grips: Antique
Pegs: Stock and forwards mini custom chrome boards.
Oil filter: Per Form
Oil cooler: Jagg Oil Cooler, Bargain 15 pounds.
Oil lines: I bent up some copper, idea from Billy Lanes second book.
Fuel filter: Custom Chrome
Fuel Lines: Clear
Throttle: Stock
Throttle cables: Black Stock
Fasteners: All sorts
Specialty items:I like the airfilter cover I made as these are bloody expensive. The tribute to Archie is for the late Archie Dickens a famous Pin Up artist, RIP Archie.I made the single saddle bag for a tool bag.
Comments:Thanks to Dad & Steve (Anglegrinder man) for welding.Dave @ Sunset Motorcycles in UK for loads of free advice.Finally they probably get it all the time but Indian Larry & Billy Lane were a great inspiration in the look of Janis & I'm grateful you guys do what you do. RIP Larry
