Here’s the deal, stirred up a couple of weeks ago with one shot of the above motorcycle, based on a seven-cylinder Rotec rotary airplane engine. Rumors spread quickly and we received another shot of an inline 8-cylinder airplane-based, rotary-engine motorcycle.

Of course I contacted my rare-motorcycle guru, Don Whalen, of Sierra Madre Motorcycles in Pasadena, California. He confirmed that the first motorcycle was spotted at the Legends of The Motorcycle Concourse in Half Moon Bay, California, a few weeks ago. “Jesse’s staff was having difficulty pushing the motorcycle across a grassy knoll,” Don explained. “It was so low the engine hung up in a grassy ridge and they had to recruit help to move it.”

He mentioned Jesse James, but I need confirmation. Another reader, Larry Curik, of Lone Star Choppers mentioned the bike to me and suggested that Jesse built it, based on the WCC frame emblem on the neck. I needed another confirmation and received a strange e-mail from Jesse about Sturgis, but at the bottom were two, out-of-focus shots of the bike in his shop. Done deal?

Ah, but the mystery didn’t end there. We are still trying to locate the owner of the 8-cylinder Rotary. In the meantime Don explained that in 1921 a German company produced 5-cylinder, 4-valve-per-head, dual over-head cam, airplane-based motorcycles.

Some 2000 Megola Motorcycles, from 1921-25, were produced with direct drives, no transmissions and the suggestion to orbit intersections, if you’re unable to enter. The Gnome-Et-Rhome engines powered the front wheel. These same engines powered WWI Sopwith Camel bi-planes and were so powerful that they had a tendency to flip the planes during take off. You can imagine the gyroscopic effect on a motorcycle’s front wheel.

Here’s a quote from a Sopwith Camel history site: The First World War saw the advent of the airplane as a viable military weapon. In a period of only a few years, military aircraft advanced from rudimentary flying craft to killing machines. During this time, aerial superiority over the front changed hands as often as new designs were introduced. In 1916, the Germans controlled the skies over the trenches, and the English developed three fighters to regain control of the air war.

The best and most famous of these three designs was the Sopwith Camel. Small and lightweight, the Camel represented the state-of the-art in fighter design at the time. The Sopwith Camel shot down 1,294 enemy aircraft during World War I, more than any other Allied fighter. However, it was so difficult to fly that more men lost their lives while learning to fly it than using it in combat.

So far the only know sighting of the Jesse James' version took place at the Legend of the Motorcycle: International Concours d’Elegance, the first world-class concours exclusively for motorcycles.

The Saturday, May 6th inaugural event attracted approximately 4,300 participants to the lush coastal lawns of the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California, and raised over $22,000 for charitable organizations.

In attendance were entrants and spectators from five continents admiring the more than 250 motorcycles on display, ranging from an 1895 Pennington brought down from British Columbia to a 2005 KTM Moto GP factory racer shipped over from Austria. While the concours only judged bikes made before 1976, many later models were on exhibit to represent the evolution of motorcycling. Whether it was a 1995 Britten or a recent custom creation from Arlen Ness, almost every facet of motorcycle sport and culture was represented.

Kiehl’s Since 1851 sponsored the Steve McQueen Award conferred by Ewan McGregor and Peter Fonda, along with Steve McQueen’s last wife, Barbara Minty McQueen, to Jim Lattin of California for his 1928 Cleveland Racer, while the Best of Show went to a 1940 Crocker owned by Mike Madden of California.

Pictures, a list of class winners from this year, and a complete list of sponsors are available on the website, www.LegendoftheMotorcycle.com.

“We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support and we’re already planning for 2007,” says Zaugg. Next year’s event will take place the first Saturday in May and will have as its featured marques Vincent, Excelsior and Henderson.

They had a cool event, but didn’t have a Megola Motorcycle, but Don spotted one on E-bay less than a week ago. “Jay Leno has one,” Don told me, “but there are very few still around. They are worth between $150,000 and $200,000.” We hope to bring you more on this mystery as it unfolds.

AIRPLANE BIKE UPDATE: Less than 24 hours after this article launched, new information appeared on my screen. I’ll let Philip Wakeham’s words straighten out mine—Bandit.

Greetings from England.Loved the aero-engine bike article.I’ve attached a pic of the Megola, a fantastic machine, but it didn’t use the engine form a Camel!

Sopwith used a variety of engines from 100-hp Gnome, 130-hp Clerget to the 150-hp Bentley, but they were all big 9-cyl rotaries. Incidentally they didn’t have throttles power was reduced by cutting the ignition “blipping” whilst landing.Also none of the bikes in your articles are Rotary engines! They're all Radials, the difference being that rotary engines the entire engine rotates whilst the crankshaft stays still!! Where as radials work like conventional engines with the crank rotating and the engine staying still.

The Megola did use a rotary the whole engine spinning with the wheel.

I've also included a pic of another bike with a small radial claimed to be a French bike from the 1900s but in fact made recently in England.

Though one of my favorite aero-engine bikes is the Curtis V8

Hope this is of some help

–Philip

P.S. did you here about the Australian guy who cut to cylinders off the end of a 27L (1647ci) Merlin v12 out of a spitfire to make a v twin for his bike! There are pics on the web some where.

Here’s what we know about the bike in the second image from the top: It’s a Rotec's 7 cylinder 110HP R2800, and they make a Rotec's 9 cylinder 150HP R3600.This 80% Stearman is Under Construction.It’s the1st Chopper to have a R2800 Fitted.Credits go to: Rotec's Paul, Hevle's Eric (Stearman), Ron Herron (Little wing) and John Levey (JRL Motorcycles)

You can Contact Rotec Engineering on International dial 61 3 9587 9530 9.00am to 5.00pm Melbourne Australian time, or within Australia call (03) 9587 9530 or Mobile 0412 469 964.

Latest update 7/06:

My name in Mike Redpath. I was the person who was originally contacted to modify the motor to work in a bike frame. The work was done 3-4 years ago. A guy from Kansas (can't remember his name) called me with a project and would not tell me what it was except he wanted to modify a Rotec engine. When he showed up at my shop and had a bike frame in his van, I knew it was going to be a challenge to make the motor work like he wanted it installed.

A very good friend of mine, Robert Barnett, is a tool and die maker/machinist did all the machine work. We never mounted the motor in the frame, so I can't say if that is the frame the guy had or Jesse's frame design.

I always wondered what happened to the bike. The person we did the work for wanted to sell it to Jay Leno, Jesse James, or some like that who had the resources to bring the idea to life. Anyway's, while watching “Motorcycle Mania 3” a couple years ago when it came out on TV, I caught a glimpse of the motor sitting on the back bench of Jesse's shop. I am glad Jesse did finally build the bike. We had real doubts the bike would work and viewed it more as something to look at. I have included a picture of me (on the left) and the guy we did the work for (on the right).

I have shots from the original motor to removal of rear accessory drive all the way down to the crankshaft.

These pics show the plantary gears in the nose case that were removed and was replaced with the machined cover you see on the front of the bike. The parts are some of the new parts that were machined to make the rear output shaft work. The way the intake plumbs into the center of the rear case was odd and required a special billet adapter made to relocate the carb out of the way of the output shaft that had to come out of the back of the motor.

These final 4 pics show the parts going back on and the final product. That is me on the left and the original owner on the right. Don't know if you can see it in the pics, but the modifications were done around January 1 2003. Let me know if you have any other questions. I will also be putting this info on my new website www.Musclerodz.com which should be up in 4-6 weeks when our new speedshop opens up.

Mike Redpath
405-414-1072

Ah, but a redhead toast to all who have kept this mystery alive.

This just in from a Bikernet Reader:

The finals for the Official World Championship will be held during Sturgis Bike Week in the United States later this year (August 6th-8th). The European and World Championship program, includes endorsements of approved national affiliate events around Europe and elsewhere. It all comes together this year in Sturgis. We’ll bring you the final report and winners in September.

This is our last feature of the winners, out of 127 entries. As you can see, this is the first chopper in the mix, and wouldn’t you know it—Robin Bradley didn’t cover this bike in his report, although it extended to 10th place. I’m sure he didn’t intend to dismiss the 8th Place winning bike by Thomas Habermann of Habermann-Performance GmbH in Erbach-Ringingen, Germany. From my standpoint the chopper gods would spit on my grave if a glistening chopper wasn’t represented and this is one helluva example.

May the evil spirit of the night who draws us into dank garages with perfectly fine motorcycles, praise this offering. He is the one to drives us to dismantle highly engineered machinery, strip it to its barely functioning core, modify it beyond all reasonable means, remove anything that doesn’t speak of the night, shapely women and treachery, adorn it with layers of paint worthy of fine art and ride the sonuvabitch to hell.–Bandit

Photos and most text courtesy of:
Robin Bradley
Publisher/Owner
American Motorcycle Dealer
robin@dealer-world.com

8th PLACE EUROPEAN CHAMPION 2006

Bike Name: Balor

Business: Habermann-Performance GmbH
Erbach-Ringingen, Germany
www.Habermann-Performance.com

Builders’ Name: Habermann-Performance GmbH

Owner’s Name: Thomas Habermann

Year/Model: 2006

Engine Make/size: OEM Twin Cam 1550ccm

Frame Make: Habermann-Performance GmbH
Type: Rigid (oneleg)
Rake and stretch: 40° 5-inch

Transmission: 6-Speed

Wheel (front): 2,5″ x 19″ RC Components
Wheel (Rear): 12″ x 17″ RC Components

Brakes (front): 2 Kolben PM
Brakes Rear: Felgenbremse Habermann-Performance

Tyre (front): 90-90-19 Avon
Tyre (rear): 330-35-17 Avon

Painter: Bianca Hennig Fanta D

Chroming/Plating : Fa Kiesling D-Neusäß

www.AMDProShow.com

This is an interesting one, out of Southern California. He's a builder who has focused, for the last eight years, at bringing out the very best in stock bikes. Bogart is a Sr. Designer for AT&T, which means he designs a good deal of the company's advertising–that's substantial.

Bogart’s first Fatboy.

He rode bikes most of his life until the family code took over and he stepped out of the lane for the kids. But eight years ago he jumped back into the fray, at 39 years-of-age. “I cleaned up my life, walked the straight and narrow, but didn’t lose my exuberance for motorcycles,” Bogart said, but he also didn’t like the custom shit he saw in the streets. “So I bought a new Fat Boy and went to work.” His first effort entailed stripping the bike and doing the neccessities-pipes, wheels, brakes, intake, etc. Then he met Lou Trachenberg (RIP) from STD and the former master installed a 95-inch kit, while Bogart designed parts and worked over the paint.

Since then he messed with an FXD, three Sportsters, a Yamaha Quad Raptor and a Shifter Kart, 0-60 in 2.8 seconds go-cart (?). I don’t get it either, but no man is forced to just toy Harleys.

Then he picked up this ’04 Springer Softail and tore into it. “My garage is 1000 sq. ft. and it's got a Handy Lift, air lines routed, blast cabinet, roll away, parts washer, metal shear, rolling mill, drill press, buffers & polishers, grinders, etc,” Bogart said. He’s got everything but a lathe, Bridgeport, and the English Wheel is soon to come. “I was a CNC Machinist at Lockheed before I got into design. I broke my back and couldn't do physical labor anymore.”

“In my mind I wanted to create the perfect Softail,” Bogart added while petting one of his four Border Collies. “I started with the Heartbeat of the bike, the engine.” His notions came from some of his pals, like Paul Cox, Kirk Taylor and Trevelene. “I respect them as builders and human beings. They have been very influential and genuine to me.”

He also like the way the wild bars equate to the horns on dem bulls.

He returned to STD and discussed his real Twin Cam/Panhead notion. “I didn’t want just Xotic covers, but build an engine as close to a Pan replica as possible, with 124 inches and external oil return lines,” Bogart said. “The STD team, Marty, Rich and Craig, stopped what they were doing, gathered ‘round and pitched ideals.” As it turned out real Panhead covers were used over highly modified EVO heads. Fins were reshaped and sparkplug hole bridges modified to keep the Panhead appearance alive. Finally, Tay Herrera added the finishing touches with his bad-ass engraving.

Bogart has an interesting perspective on bikes shows. “So far I only compete in the street category,” he said. “I enjoy building and competing with stock motorcycles. In a sense I respect the factory engineering and know that I can mess with a company bike without fooling with the design structure. Most Harley owners can see the details in contrast to their own bikes. It’s easy to relate to a bike like your own. Besides that, I know I’ll be safe on the road.” Out of seven shows entered he took first in six events.

Although the bike contains a level of gold glitz, he scavenged some parts including the Cycle Smith fender struts and the catseye dash from swap-meets. He tore the springer front end completely down, then rechromed and powder-coated components including the front legs and the internal springs. Then he gold leafed the tree section on the back legs for that continuity with the paint.

Bitchin’ Rich built the seat and questioned the gold latigo lacing, but it works. “You can’t slip a hair between any component and the seat.” Bogart said. “It fits like a glove and minimizes vibration.”

He’s now ready for his first ground-up custom build. “I designed a frame and Scott Long built it,” Bogart said. “I need to sell the TwinPan so I can fund the next project.” You can tell Bogart has the eye for building bikes. We look forward to his first ground up. It’s gonna have class.

Bogart is his true last name. “It was cool in some respect and a bummer in others,” Bogart said.

The Bogart TwinPan Bikernet Tech Sheet

General

Owner: Danny BOGART
City/State: Corona, CA

Builder: STD-Marty Harrison, BOGART Cycle Design
E-mail: bogartcycledesign@sbcglobal.net
Fabrication: STD Development, BCD
Manufacturing: H-D

Engine

Year: '04
Make: “Frankenstein”
Model: TwinPan
Displacement: 124 cu in
Builder or Rebuilder: Marty Harrison
Cases: H-D
Case finish: Polished
Barrels: Randy Torgeson – Hyperformance
Bore: 4.125″
Pistons: JE
Barrel finish: Satin Black
Lower end: HD Cases
Stroke: 4.625″
Rods: Jim's
Heads: STD Custom
Head finish: Polished
Valves and springs: Kibblewhite Black Diamond
Pushrods: Crane
Cams: Bob Woods .690
Lifters: Jim's
Carburetion:
Other: 54mm Zippers EFI

Transmission

Year: '04
Make: Jim's
Gear configuration: 6 speed with Kicker
Final drive: Chain
Primary: BDL
Clutch: BDL

Frame

Year: '04
Make: H-D
Style or Model: Softail
Stretch: no
Rake: Stock
Modifications: None

Front End

Make: H-D
Model: Springer
Year: '04
Length:
Mods: Powdercoated Spring Fork & Inner Compression Springs,Gold Leafing & Pinstriped

Sheet metal

Tanks: H-D
Fenders: H-D
Panels: Cateye Dash, Frenched Turn Indicators
Oil tank: MidWest.
Other: Cyclesmith's Fender Struts

Paint

Sheet metal: Buck Wild Designs
Base coat: Candy Apple Red & Black Cherry Flake
Graphics or art: HD Single Wing logo / BOGART Cycle Design
Special effects: 24 karat gold leaf striping by Buck
Pinstriping: Buck Wild / Rock'n'Roll Paintworks

Wheels

Front
Make: American Wire
Size: 3″x21″
Brake calipers: PM
Brake rotor(s): Spoke-style, floating
Tire: 120/70×21″ Metzeler

Rear
Make: American Wire
Size: 3.5×18″
Brake calipers: PM
Brake rotor: Spoke-style, floating
Pulley: Sprocket by KC Creations
Tire: 160×18″ Metzeler

Controls

Foot controls: Supreme Legends +2″ / Novello Pegs & Pedals
Finish: Polished Billet
Master cylinder: H-D
Brake lines: Earl's
Handlebar controls: Joker
Finish: Polished Billet
Clutch Cable: Barnett's

Electrical

Ignition: Keith Terry Components
Ignition switch: H-D
Coils: Dynatek
Harness: H-D
Headlight: Headwinds`
Taillight: Drag
Accessory lights: Hell no
Electrical accessories: Terry Components Closed Loop System.
Switches: Joker
Battery: H-D Gel

What's Left

Seat: Bitchin' Seat Company / Bitchin' Rich
Pipes: Paughco
Mufflers: Paughco “candlestick” style
Exhaust finish: Chrome, 1/2 wrapped
Gas caps: H-D
Handlebars: J&L “Hoppers”
Grips: Todd's Cycle
Pegs: Novello
Oil filter: H-D
Oil cooler: Spugin w/thermostat
Throttle: Joker
Throttle cables: Barnett
Fasteners: All Stainless

Specialty items: External Oil Return Lines & Top End configuration by Marty Harrison at www.stddevelopment.com.

Custom Hand Engraving by Tay Herrera. www.tarrera.com

Leatherwork by Bitchin' Seat Company. Bitchin' Rich.www.bitchinseatcompany.com

Cateye Dash by Rock'n'Roll Paintworks. Randy Morton.

Goodson Air Cleaner / Irish Rich.

Comments:I think I should give thanks to Mid Hill Dairy too. Bill & Dee Van Leeuwen are my friends who own the property and the bulls. Believe me, them bulls went ape-shit when they heard me ride up and ride around on the property…damn near stampeded my ass!

Credits: Thanks Marty, Terri, Rich, Craig, Tay, Bitchin', Kathie, Mr. Miller, Johnny Y…and of course, Bandit.

Looking at my computer screen this morning seems to require more effort than ever before. My life has been turned upside down with job craziness, bike-breakdowns, new-car fever, bitching wife, and ranting editor. It seems every direction I turn is prepping me for a smack in the mouth and the only thing I can do is suck down this stale two-day-old coffee and swallow each rancid, bitter, slug hoping my taste buds eventually become numb to the taste.

I have been up since three this morning to a crying puppy that is fighting me every second of his existence on trying to housetrain. I have never heard of a dog that will openly mess in his or her cage until I purchased this Satan dog from a pet store. Whoever has cleaned the mess of a boxer at three in the morning knows exactly what I am talking about. It seems everything this dog sees and smells comes shooting out of his butt hole shaped as a turd, but still holding enough of it’s origin to make it recognizable. Oh look, another poop shaped pair of my wife’s panties.

So here I sit contemplating murdering the feeblest creature who happens to carry the least threat to my overall problematic life, when I notice several new e-mails from El Bandito.

Great! This guy always knows when to shovel more dirt on top of the man grasping for air and clinging to life by a hair.

I opened the e-mail to find a feature on Cyril Huze’s new creation, a Bombshell decorated bike he describes as a Bobber (His style).

Well, anyone who knows Cyril Huze’s work knows his bikes are worth checking out. He makes a very clean, ride-able, world-class detailed, functional custom motorcycle.

The dog is whimpering in his cage, right now, so I am having to concentrate deeply on typing this sentence instead of shoving my Buck Knife into the side of his neck and bleeding his ass out. I really cannot stand a dog that doesn’t listen, and even worse one that whines.

Time for a tall Styrofoam cup of coffee from the local Exxon gas station.

I’m standing in line at the station holding my coffee in one hand and eating a breakfast sausage in the other, when I notice a rack set up two feet away from the check-out counter. It is labeled “Choppergear”, and is filled with sunglasses, bandanna’s, air fresheners, small replica choppers, and various stickers. The bottom row catches my eye with a sticker that reads:

“Bobbers were the original choppers”

I realize we live in an environment and society that will make money where it can. That has never bothered me, but something about that sticker really made me think about how much the biker world changes with each passing season. To tell you the truth, I could give a fat rat ankle what people classify their bikes as. Be it a chopper, bobber, bar-hopper, or even a damn showstopper, it is still just a motorcycle. Motorcycles are meant to be ridden. So this bike from Cyril is a classically styled machine with all of Cyril’s modern touches and artistic talent on full display.

In Issue Number 34 of The Rodder’s Journal, Chris McCreary describes artists and their work clearer than I have ever seen or heard.

“Artists talk about ‘transference’. It’s a term that’s used when an artist thoroughly and accurately conveys their emotions, impressions, and ideas to an audience through their art. It’s when you feel what the painter was feeling, and when you look at a subject in the same way a sculptor did. Usually transference occurs, thanks to the artist’s technique and their stylistic choices. In a very basic sense, bold reds evoke anger and energy, blues hint at sadness, and so on. But it goes far beyond color. While good artists account for all of this when they work, it’s the artists who best facilitate transference that usually get called great.”

Wow! Is that incredible, or what. That’s exactly what makes Cyril Huze’s “Bombshell” a beautiful piece that we all can understand. He uses all the mediums of art and incorporates them into an actual motorcycle that you can ride. That’s what it’s all about, building bikes that are meant to ride. All the other media glamour and bullshit associated with TV, Merchandising, and Labeling is just that; bullshit. Bikes are made to be ridden, and this one is no exception.

Study these pics and enjoy the “transference” as you feel the spirit of a true artist travel from the screen of your computer straight into your soul.

Here is a small note from the man himself,

“Attached are the pictures, tech sheet and a short intro on a Bobber (my style) called Bombshell.

Notice:

1- the custom chromed frame (double curved running around the engine cases)

2- the engine is an Evo TP fitted with aftermarket Knucklehead Rocker Boxes.

3- The oil tank

4- The hand tooled left bag with battery inside and cable running inside frame tube.

Hope you like it.

BOMBSHELL

A Pin-Up Goes To War

Airplane nose art: a tradition associated with the warrior’s desire to decorate its instruments of war. As a way to tease the enemy, for good luck and to boost the morale of the crew. And for this, nothing better than a sexy and unabashedly American bombshell. A pin-up goes to war. Pretty deadly for the enemy. A Bombshell on a Bobber. Does it make you tick?

Bombshell Tech Sheet

Owner: Lynn Jones
Designer & Builder: Cyril Huze

General:
Fabrication: Cyril Huze Customs
Assembly: Cyril Huze Customs
Year/Make: 06 Cyril Huze Special Construction.
Chroming: Chromemasters

Frame:
Builder: Cyril Huze, Chromed.
Type: Rigid 180/200

Engine:
Year/Model: Special Knucklehead/Evo 2006 TP Eng.
Powdercoating: Sumax
Displacement: 114 CU
Pistons: TP
Cases: TP Polished
Heads: TP Teal Green
Cylinders: TP Teal Green
Lifters: TP
Oil Pump: TP
Carb(s): S&S G Chromed
Pushrods: TP
Motor Mount: Huze
Rocker Boxes: Knucklehead.
Air Cleaner: Huze Spade Velocity Stack

Pipes: PCC/Huze

Transmission:
Type: 6-speed

Painter:
Design: Cyril Huze
Artwork: Chris Cruz

Accessories:
Mirrors: Just Looking Forward
Risers: Huze
Bars: Huze
Clutch: Hydraulic In Frame
Hand controls & Grips: Rebuffini/Huze
Foot Controls: Rebuffini
Coils Bracket: Huze

Front Fender: None.
Rear Fender: Huze

Gas Tank: Foster Modified Huze.
Oil Tank: SPS/Huze

Headlight: Huze
Taillight: Huze.Spade Sidemount
Primary: BDL 3”

Seat & Bag: Hand Tooled Jeff Phipps

Forks:
Springer Killer Chopper Narrow Glide

Wheels:
Front:
Type: AWW 80-Spoke
Size: 21”
Tire: Avon Venom 80/80H x 21”
Brake: PM 2-Piston
Rear:
Type: AWW 80-Spoke
Size: 18”
Tire: Avon 180/55VR/18
Brake: HHI Sprockster.
Pictures: Don Rogers

Cyril Huze
www.cyrilhuze.com
Tel: 561-392-5557
Fax: 561-994-2672

The Beast in all it’s glory. This bike started life as a stock Road King.

This Road King project started out innocently enough; it was one hell of a nice day and I was working in the shop with the roll up door open when a guy pulled up on a bone stock ‘04 Road King.

I came out to the gate to see what he needed and he told me was looking for a fabricator. Someone had given him my name so naturally, I let him in. I gave him the standard shop tour and sat down to discuss some basic ideas as well as set an appointment to discuss the transformation in more detail. In the first draft, we retained the stock bags and a 180 tire for the front and rear were selected.

A bare naked street machine donning her new shoes.

CHOP-SUEY

The new tail section is adding a lower seat height and bringing the center of gravity to the ground. There will be no more sitting on this bitch, it is all riding in the machine and being one with it.

Once the neck rake was completed and after the new front end was on, we fabbed a custom top motor mount and mocked up the bike with the new wheels. Then the decision to change out the rear with a 240 rear tire was made. While we had to wait for a new wheel we were lucky enough to get what we needed from P.M. to keep the project moving.

Sleek and low. This is definitely not Grandpa’s Road King anymore.

From there it didn't take much time to get it chopped up and going in the new direction. While we had the frame cut apart the customer figured we might as well drop the seat as much as possible. The swingarm was stretched about 8″ to slam the seating area and widened enough for the new wheel. To clean things up, we decided to run a Performance Machine drive side brake system with a chain final drive. Since we planned on running Legend air shocks, the fender got tucked into the frame work and molded into the chassis.

Getting prepared for the new grill. Lucky devil’s bikes all seem to have a few touches to them that help distinguish them from the pack, this little baby is one of them.

Fat, nasty, 7-Gallon gas tanks hold the fuel for the Ruby Road King.

For tanks, the customer had selected a set of 7 gal twin tanks to make them fit the bike. The bottom of the tanks were cut out, reshaped, and welded back together and then stretched. Since the beast was fuel injected, a custom access panel, fuel bungs, and larger crossovers were used. To top off the tanks, I fabricated an aluminum dash panel with a tilted and frenched-in instrument bezel to hold the custom red Dakota digital Speedo

Evil fat tanks sans dash. Even in bare metal form you can see the time and quality craftsmanship The Devil puts into every component of his work.

The fat ass tank with slick-as-owl-shit tank panel/dash.

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil

The sinister front cowl! It looks like a knuckle that’s prepared to punch through the air like an evil fist from hell.

Custom floorboard mounts.

Once the construction of the air dam and grill began, the customer and I designed adjustable floorboard mounts. Once I had the seat pan fabricated and foamed up, I then finished the floorboards so the customer could be fitted to the bike again. We did this to ensure we had the foot boards and bars in the right spot. We ordered up a set of beach bars with Climax controls and fabricated a custom set of risers that were welded and molded into the bars to get them in just the right spot.

Naked bars with raw finish and visible machine-work.

Floorboard and brake mounting system personally done by The Devil. I don’t think you’ll see these on any shelves anytime soon.

Lucky Devil custom motor mount.

Rear section with a touch or two designed to set this bike apart from the pack.

Seatwork in progress.

The final mock up is almost complete.

The LED light strip and the license plate housing enclosed in the fender.

For pipes we started out with the idea of chopping up the fishtail slip on's and building custom pipes to have one on both sides, but after a mock up or two we settled on the current custom duals. The bike was stripped down and all sheet metal work, welding, and finish work completed. Then we added some trim to mount led strips for turn and tail lights. Next the plate mount housing was fabricated and composite was fitted and glued in. We then turned it over to Chino to make all the fab work look even better.

The custom exhaust you expect to get when dealing with a true fabricator…not an assembler.

With mock up complete, it is time to remove everything for cleanup, paint, chrome, and final assembly.

Cleaned, Primered, and begging for her Candy paintjob.

Once Chino finished slickin this rascal down, he passed it off to Mike, who laid down a sweet blend of custom base colors and candy mixes. He coated this baby with enough clear to give it some sexy shine.

Freshly painted mistress of the night ready to slink into the nighttime a whisper sweet nothings into the ears of incorrigible deviants who will never get off the street.

At last, she was back on my lift getting the chassis up so we could install a drive train. As I mentioned before, Ruby (that’s the bike), is fuel injected, so hiding all this wire was going to be a hand full. While I was hard at it with the internal wiring and plumbing, Joe was finishing the hand stained and stitched seat and tool roll.

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil

Hand-tooled bag.

I hacked, chopped, stretched, and soldered for what seemed like a life time. I tried to use custom mini coils to hide them better but the new Fuel infected stuff has sensors built into the stock coils. First, I cut an old stock one apart to see how Harley was getting a reading back to the computer in hopes of figuring out a way to adapt the custom coils. In the end, I found that not only did I need to use the stock coil, but I also had to stick with the stock plug wires also so the computer can get the proper reading. This worked out well since the stock plug wires were made the same length and were long enough to make it in the air dam, and a new lesson learned.

Kent holding the guts and the spinal cord of the would be custom.

The buck stops here! This is where more than one would-be builder has thrown in the towel and screamed into the air, “Fuck it! I can’t do this bullshit!”

This is a shot of a well planned, cleaned up wiring section shoved into a very tight space.

Once I finished screwing around with the electronics and got her rolling, I headed off to Mancuso Harley-Davidson to get her tuned to the new pipes and intake. With the help of a Power Commander and some fancy little tool called a dyno, hopefully we could get her dialed in straight? As expected, we were able to get her running like a finely tuned machine.

Joe also had the opportunity to design and build a custom travel bag, extra tool roll and stick on rear seat pad.

I had the pleasure of taking the opportunity to put a few miles on it and, as with most projects; I wish I was able to keep it for myself. This Custom Road King can also be seen on the pages of Hot Bike Volume 39. No 3 2007.

Truly a one-off custom bike. Absolutely still carrying an official H-D VIN and registration. This should be a hassle free bike for years and years to come that is guaranteed to turn heads wherever it goes. The Devil has once again outdone himself.

Bet mom and dad never saw a dresser like this one.

Click to see morefrom Lucky Devil

We received this brief feature from Alexey Mikushev from Russia. He doesn’t speak English, so had to rely on computer translator software, which is crude as best. Here’s a tad about the man nicknamed Simpson and his wild engraved bike. I’m sure we’ll hear and see more about his bikes in the future. He obviously has a lot of heart and dedication when it comes to building motorcycles.–Bandit

Yes, Simpson is my nickname. My present name – Alexey Mikushev.

Unfortunately, I badly know English language (I use online-translator). I am engaged in motorcycles since the childhood. I am typed experience at other people, much I take from books. Has seized an engraving, welding, sharp metal itself, by tests and mistakes.

In my further plans – to open the workshop, to collect exclusive motorcycles to order, with engines v-twin, to earn it for a life.

In the future I wish to buy one more garage, the good equipment and to type to myself a command of adherents.

To see it on another site in English and Russian go here: http://www.ruriders.com/statia.phtml?month=022007?=eng&st_file=custombike/Crazy_Tarantas_eng.htm

Here's the Russian link. We had a problem coding it, so you'll be forced to cut and paste:http://www.ruriders.com/statia.phtml?month=022007&lang=rus&st_file=custombike/Crazy_Tarantas_rus.htm

You can tell when the weed is flowing. There’s a haze over the work space, even in Russia.