Here's a strange one from the Sheriff in Sweden. As it turns out these shots were taken in Finland. The Sheriff shoots bike features and events all over the world. He's one of those guys who never sleeps unless he's resting on a trans Atlantic flight.

When we quizzed him for the tech chart or copy for the article, he was enroute to England for a bike night at the Ace Café in London. He had no time.

“Found this old text really bad Swedlish. But the bottomline Patu live oldstyle 100%,” said the Sheriff in a text message from his blackberry as he ran from one airline to another connecting flight. “He's a great mechanic and a friend.”

So, here's the fugacious remnants of a past article, but they will give you some insight into the man's love of American style and the custom culture in Finland:

Logic could be very strange, what is the risk/chance to see a bike that looks like it came right out of a David Mann painting from an old EASYRIDERS copy…in Finland

The answer is, no problema. The heritage of Éd Big Daddy Roth and Von DutchIs quite healthy on the border to Russia . Patu really wanted to live some decades earlier.

Patu, owner of the green knuck is living old US style 100%. He owns a truck company, but on all his spare time wrench on old US iron.

His place 15 miles from Helsinki (capital of Finland ) is filled with old trucks muscle cars and a handful of Milwaukees best. But NO yuppie he does the work.

When he became owner of this custom it was (as usual) in some boxes.The first stuff he found was the odd wheels, 180 spokes front and 160 at the rear. It is really tiny spokes but do the work. A stock wishbone frame received a “marine cut” to fit the project. The powerplant is fitted with '42 Knuck cases and Panhead cylinders. He also found a Sifton cam and S&S B carburator with aircleaner of old AEE style.

Sound middle of the road….well how about the taillight from an Imperial '69 car. It was a present from the Chopfather Billy Lane . He knows Patus “sick” building brain.

The front light came from a Olds '55, god bless old cars. Hurst shifter, cheramic-eye and a microphonehead this is a RECYCLE bike.

Gastank lowered,shortened and narrowed, the suicidal position of the oilfill gave the bike it`s nickname Rodeo(the girls love it).

Bodywork by Minna, 9 out of 10 girls in Finland goes by that name.

Paint by Mike, then Patu added some pinstriping . He lost thesissybar on his way to a Swedish Custom show, his bros riding behind managed to avoid the harpoon going backwards. For next year longer fork wilder paint, and some new odd stuff from his local container.

There you have it, a taste of Finland and early choppers. There's nothing like living the dream, no matter where the garage is located.

–Bandit

SHERIFF MEDIA GROUP
S-36030 LAMMHULT
SWEDEN

Hollywood is a strange place. Nothing seems real. You could run into a girl dressed like the baddest biker chick in the world, only to find she's never ridden a motorcycle. She just bought the threads at some too-cool, too-expensive boutique. I'm not kidding.

I was delivered to the Ralph Lauren Vintage clothes shop on Melrose Boulevard, while we were waiting for Evan Yaniv to return to his back alley shop, Power Plant. Some of the clothes hanging in this shop are vintage, some are not, but all are expensive. There's a denim Navy P-coat with old canvas worked into the mix for almost a grand. There was a denim shirt covered in old paint for $400. It reminded me of a shirt I threw away ten years ago. Crazy. Don't throw away your old shit. Send it to Ralph Lauren.

If you're ever invited to a too-cool Hollywood party, you might run into your old shirt. It's nuts. Even Evan's shop is built behind a clothing store, Johnson Motors, with a wall of industrial glass in between. So the folks who come to peruse Johnson Motors attire think that there's a connection between the clothing and the guys out back building real motorcycles. The clothing is based on old motorcycle racing literature that's copied and imprinted on shirts for that nostalgic look.

“Fortunately, the lease is up,” Evan said. “I'm going to take over the retail shop and develop my own Power Plant apparel line.” At least customers will be purchasing the real deal, not a knock-off or a fake vintage shirt. “We are working on our own line of 501 and Dickies-styled denims for bikers, with snaps and straps for kick-only bikes and pads for hot pipe protection.”

Evan immigrated to Tampa, Florida from Israel at the age of eight, and then to Los Angeles in '88, where he got booted from high school and then dropped out of an aviation mechanic school after eight months.

“My dad was a chef, and I worked in kitchens whiled tinkering with bikes,” Evan said. He learned the basics of riveting, sheet metal fabrication and the molecular structure of metals at the aviation school, but it got old fast. He needed to dive into the hot rod mix, so he took the Gene Whitfield $500 weekend sheet metal class.

“Gene's Canoga Park shop was stuffed with chopped cars that came to my waist and were less than a foot apart,” Evan said. “We leaned against one '50s Merc while sanding on another one. The supplied lunch was shitty, but it was a fantastic crash course.”

He learned the English wheel, TIG welding, oxy-acetylene, hammer-welding, chopping roofs, and lead filling. Afterwards, Evan asked for a job, anything to stick around. “I swept floors,” he said.

He went on to work for Jim Bruns and Jim Bruns Sr.

“They never had a commercial shop, just a big garage behind their house,” Evan said. It was packed with '30s cars and '49-'51 chopped Mercs. “He was a master at chopping Mercs.”

Evan worked for the Bruns and lived in Hollywood, where he built his first custom Triumph in his garage.

“My neighbors hated me,” Evan said. “The more we worked on bikes, the more fun we had. We weren't in it for the money, but we had to move out of my garage.”

He rented a two-car commercial garage and needed to get hooked up for dealer pricing. “I had to put a sign on the garage to be legitimate with V-Twin, so we did and found ourselves in business.”

Since he lives in Hollywood, he's been caught up in the scene from time to time. He was the principal actor in a Harley-Davidson Sportster Commercial, then picked up to build the Geico, Cave Man bike for the Chopper Challenge.

“We are in the pre-production phase of season two of The Chopper Challenge,” said Eric.

So there's Evan's flying wheel history. This bike is indicative of his style. He likes vintage scooters, with a flair for the real, and mechanical.

“100,000 dollar choppers are gone,” Evan said. “I've always built tight, unfinished chops.”

It's not about flashy paint jobs, but finely tuned mechanical bikes with very little billet and lot of mechanical parts built by hand.

“It's stuff the average guy would never even notice, or know was hand-built.”

Evan doesn't like selling parts or bikes to strangers. “I still don't do it for the money. I want to see my bikes and parts around town. I don't want to loose one or ship parts across the country and never see them again.”

Evan and I talked about Bonneville, makin' parts, lathes, and tooling. We could have shot the shit all night long, but I had to roll, and he was waiting for a paint job to arrive so he could finish a customer's bike. You'll be able to see this bike wherever the Chopper Challenge KeyBoard sponsored semi attends an event like Laughlin or Sturgis.

We asked Eric Harryman, the producer, to throw in his two cents worth regarding the Chopper Challenge, “The Chopper Challenge was a huge success growing the network ratings by 24 percent. It was number one for the CMT/MTV/Viacom in 2008 and Yaniv was a terrific contestant. His caveman bike was an excellent and very unique show addition, out of the nine created for the show. He has a very young take on an old school feel. And yes, you can kick it! It runs like a champ and is simply great to look at. The guy's got talent and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.”

–Eric L. Harryman

Mid fall of 2007, I picked up a rusty old 1968 Triumph TR6C with the idea of doing a quick bob-job and selling the bike. The profits from the build were destined to help support a few Children's Charities I help out through my TBearWear T-shirts.As we all know, no good deed goes unpunished, so why should I be any different?

My buddy, Bo Gelinas, and I are just a couple of back yard Harley wrenches and between the two of us we had ZERO experience working, or even riding Trumps.

“How hard could it be,” we thought. Boy, were we in for a wild ride. We stripped the bike down to nuts and bolts and discovered the joy that is the Witworth threaded nuts and bolts. Neither of us had ever even heard the term and we spent a while trying to figure out why the new hardware we bought didn't work live and learn!

I put the word out to some buddies, and a bunch of good friends wanted to pitch in by sending us various parts. Kevin from Baas Metal Craft pitched in a custom seat pan and Duane Ballard volunteered to do the seat for the bike. David Bird hooked us up with a brand new custom frame stretched 4-inches in the rear. Discovery Biker Build-Off star Hank Young agreed to completely overhaul the stock gas tank, and Indian Larry's painter, Robert Pradke wanted to handle the paint on the tank and rear fender that came off a 1936 Chevy spare tire cover. The motor was shipped out to my good friend, Buck at Goblin Millworx, for a complete rebuild including modifying my old Joe Hunt Panhead magneto to fit. It was starting to come together, well on paper anyway.

Getting back to the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished, in February 2008, I had the misfortune to inadvertently tear the quad muscles and tendons completely away from both of my knees, (ouch) landing me in hospital for two months. After being released from the hospital, I was stuck in a wheel chair for the next year, but despite immobility, I was determined to carry on with the build. Bo thought I was crazy, and I went on to prove him right by working on the bike with his help while stuck in a wheel chair in my unheated, ill equipped garage. Talk about determination, or just stupidity�

Word got out thru the internet about our project, and people came out of the woodwork offering parts and help. We were overwhelmed with gratitude and took some folks up on their kind offers. I�d like to thank them all personally, but it would take up the rest of my life.

Over the next few months, what was supposed to be just a quick and dirty bob-job turned into a major project. Most of the parts we gathered were not manufactured for Triumph applications, and making them fit and work well became a challenge that we never expected, but we persevered. Besides, they look sharp.

Back to the basics. The 650cc motor now has a custom Goblin Grind cam and .010 over Hepolite pistons coursing in the milled stock heads that have been 2-tone powder coated. The lower end and tranny were all freshened as well. A JRC 30mm Carb flows thru a Clay Cobb 90-degree manifold and blows exhaust fumes out of a chopped stock exhaust tipped with Chica Brass caps. The air cleaner cover was fab�ed out of a VL horn cover. The Mutha-Fokker�s tranny can be shifted either by foot or by the jockey shift piston handle.

Speaking of pistons, the head light was made from a 5-inch Tractor piston while the tail light is also made from real piston, and the bracket was made up from the original rocker arm. The handlebar, reverse meat hook levers and throttle are came from a 1943 Nazi made BMW side hack rig. The kick-ass one-off foot pegs, 50 Cal. shifter, brake pedal and kicker were milled from solid brass by my buddy John Warga and engraved by Heather New of New-line engraving in Alberta, Canada, who also engraved the Mutha-Fokkers tank side panels. She's amazing.

Fabricator Kevin hand made the rear fender struts, and ChoppaHead out of Boston put together the custom kit for the forward controls for us. Dan Knoblock, of 7metalwest.com, put together the vertical mounted Bee Hive oil tank. We opted to use the stock front end after a total rebuild, but powder coated the lower legs and rims while keeping the original plated spokes. Speedy, from Dark Side Graphics, carefully pinstriped the frame.

There are a bunch of special hidden details on the bike as well, for instance: the old Triumph Beer Bottle cap covering up the dampner stem, the 1903 Triumph bicycle neck badge, and the 6-gun cylinder axle covers.

After almost two years of slow agonizing work, the bike roared to life a few weeks back. Bo and I took her over to the Thunder in the Catskills event and entered her in the bike show, just for fun. We ended up walking away with a Best In Class trophy, and a trophy for Best Hand Crafted parts presented by the legendary Ron Finch. We also got an invitation to show the bike at the Rats Hole show in Daytona next March. Man, we never expected to go this far with the project when we first started it but it sure was worth the time and effort.

With winter fast approaching here in the Great White North, the plan is to take her to Daytona in March for the Rats Hole and a few other shows to boost her potential sale price for the charities. In the mean while, she IS for sale right now if someone comes up with the right number.

Feel free to email me with any SERIOUS offers or inquiries:TBear@mhcable.com

THE RED BARON VON ZIPPERS “MUTHA-FOKKER”

General

Owner:TBEAR
City/State:NEW YORK
Fab. By:TBEAR & BO
Year:1968 thru 2009
Model:MUTHA-FOKKER
Value:BOCOUPS
Time:2 YEARS

Engine

Year:1968
Model:WORKED TR6C
Builder:GOBLIN MILLWORX
Ignition:JOE HUNT PANHEAD MAGNETO
Displacement:650CC
Pistons:.010 OVER HEPOLITE
Heads:MILLED STOCK
Carb:30MM JRC
Manifold:CLAY COBB 90-DEGREE SIDE DRAFT
Cam:CUSTOM GOBLIN GRIND
Air Cleaner:FROM A VL HORN COVER
Exhaust:CHOPPED STOCK W/ CHICA BRASS CAPS
Primary:STOCK

Transmission

Year:1968
Make:TRIUMPH
Shifting:FOOT/JOCKEY

Frame

Year:2007
Make:DAVID BIRD HARDTAIL
Rake:STOCK
Stretch:4-INCHES IN REAR

Forks
Type:STOCK 1968
Builder:TBEAR & BO
ExtensionSTOCK
Triple Trees:MODIFIED STOCK

Wheels,Tires,Brakes
Front Wheel:POWDER COATED STOCK
Size:19-INCH
Front Tire:3.35 x19 DUNLOP
Front Brake:DUAL LEADING SHOE
Rear Wheel:POWDERCOATED STOCK
Size:18-INCH
Rear Tire:4.00×18 DUNLOP
Rear Brake:POWDER COATED STOCK DRUM

Painting

Painter:ROBERT PRADKE
Color:RED & BLACK STYLIZED IRON CROSS
Type:HOUSE OF COLOR
Powder Coat:BREW DUDE & MY BUDDY GARY
Pin striping:DARKSIDE GRAPHIX
Chroming:CHROME DON’T GETCHA HOME

Accessories

Bars:1943 NAZI BMW
Hand Controls:1943 NAZI BMW REVERSE MEAT HOOKS
Risers:STOCK
Fuel Tanks:MODIFIED BY HANK YOUNG
Front Fender:N/A
Rear Fender:CUT FROM 1936 CHEVY SPARE TIRE COVER
Rear Struts:FABRICATOR KEVIN
Seat:DUANE BALLARD
Seat Hinge:FAB KEVIN INVISABLE HINGE
Foot Controls:FORWARDS BY CHOPPAHEAD
Foot Pegs:BRASS MACHINE GUN BARRELS by JOHN WARGA
Shifter & Brake Pegs: SOLID BRASS .50 cal. by JOHN WARGA
Mirrors:GOBLIN MILLWORX
Oil Tank:CUSTOM VERTICAL BEEHIVE by 7 METALWEST
Headlight:CUSTOM FARM COMBINE PISTON
Taillight:H-D PISTON
Speedo:MODIFIED STOCK
Knee Pads:HAND FABRICATED AIRCRAFT ALLUMINIUM
Engraving: HEATHER NEW

Once in a while, you stumble across a bike that stops you dead in your tracks.That's exactly what happened to me at the Victoria Hotrod and Bike Show back at the end of May this year.

I was wandering around the show checking out all the cool rides and not so cool barges, when I spotted the “Warbird,” Screeeeeech…. Stopped cold….

Quite a few people stood around gawking this bike, but I managed to sneak in a get a few pictures before being forced out of the loop by the other looki-loos.

After pouring over the bike, taking it all in, I carried-on checking the rest of the show, laden with choppers of every description, and bikini clad hotties draped over every other bike, getting their pics taken. When I rolled home, I sent a shot or two of the Warbird off to Bandit, as it was the type of bike I knew he would flip out over.

I immediately got a response. “I want a feature on this bike, DON'T LET IT GET AWAY!”

I think he liked it… I tried a few times to line up an interview with the builder/owner, Ian Douglas, of Richmond B.C., but our schedules didn't jive, and before you know it, I was in the thick of the busy season with my Guiding business, and the whole summer flew past. Every once in a while, I would receive a nasty E-mail from Bandit,

“Where the hell is my feature on that Canadian bike man!!!”

“Even though we are in the same province up here, the guy is like 6 hrs from me, and a 2-hour ferry ride each way,” I tried to tell him.

“I don't care man, get your shit together. Bikernet readers need to see the Warbird!” When Bandit speaks (Yells) you had better listen, or find yourself booted out of the Cantina for life!

So fast forward to September, and my fishing season was all done. I contacted Ian Douglas again, in Richmond, and we set up a date for me to stop by his house, and check out this machine in detail. I lucked out on a beauty day for a ride, and headed out for the 2-hour ferry ride, and short jaunt to his house.

I pull up on my E-glide, and find him out in the driveway wrenching on his next project, and 1969 Lotus Elan, in pristine shape without the motor in it. He told me it's a project for his 12-year-old son, and hopes to have it completely redone in time for him to drive when he turns 16, maybe a little sooner, so he can put a few miles on it before the kid tears it up….

We investigated his shop/garage, and there between another couple of custom bike projects sat the “Warbird.”This thing is even more impressive sitting in an unassuming garage than it was behind a velvet rope in a custom bike show. It drips of what Indian Larry would have called “Mechanicness.” The open roller chain primary looks like it is poised to shred the next pair of levis that come anywhere near it, and the hand built open stainless pipes rendered from the old malt lines of the since torn down Labatts Brewery, in Vancouver, scream like a top fuel dragster when it's fired up.

Ian told me that there are 25 thousandths, clearance between cylinder wall and piston, so you really need to let it warm up for a long time before asking any power from the beast.

“You definitely do not want to add any throttle to the mix when you hit the starter button,” Ian said. His comment came from experience, as one of the first times he fired it up, he gave it a little twist while turning it over, and it backfired so hard, it blew apart the ring gear, and sent shrapnel flying around the shop. Luckily, he had just installed a small guard over the clutch pack.

When I tell you this motor is hand built, I mean, every piece, short of the cylinders, pistons, and heads was custom built by Ian in his machine shop located in his backyard. By machine shop, I mean his shed of about 8-feet-by-16-feet, with a milling machine, lathe and drill press, would have looked right at home in the original H-D shed back in 1903, and that's about it… It goes to show the skill this guy possesses in machining and engine building.

He started of with a pair of Continental W670 cylinders and heads, he bought off EBay. These heads turned out to be in too-rough condition to be used on the final build, but proved to be invaluable in the mock up, and engineering stage of the process.

He explained the manner is which the heads were attached to the cylinders. He heats up the aluminum heads, so to expand them, and cools down the cast iron cylinders to shrink them, and then threads them together like a mason jar. After everything reaches room temperature, Viola, you're done, FOR EVER! They don't come apart, for any reason.

Since they were not to be used on the final build, he cut about a 2-inch hole in the sidewall of the cylinder, and used this to view inside, while trying to figure out the clearances for his connecting rods, and valve train. He could peer inside the cylinder while cranking his mockup over and see exactly what was going on inside the monster…

When you're building everything from the crankcase to connecting rods, by hand, you need a lot of planning.

“The thought process was the slowest part,” said Ian. “I spent 2 years building this bike, and at least half of that was at a desk trying to figure it all out.” He also admitted he nearly drove his wife insane. He constantly asked her to check and recheck his math.

“I made the crank case in wood for the mockup,” Ian said. He showed me some of the components that went in to the mock up stage. “The crankcase is made in several components, so I could use other radial aircraft cylinders if I needed. I made the patterns in laminated wood and delivered them to a local foundry for casting.”

“After getting the castings back I did all the machining myself,” Ian said. He showed me one of the end pieces for the crankcase that didn't make it in to the build, and told me it had over 20 hrs of machining in it. It's just a paperweight, now.

Figuring out how to connect the radial piston and rod to the crank was tricky as well. He cut the big end from a set of S&S rods, and the link rods from the radial were cut, and the two were welded together, and mated to the S&S stroker flywheel. They had the exact 4 5/8-inch stroke of the Continental engine. A “stroke” of luck, as it simplified all the clearance issues.

The cast aluminum pistons came from Continental as well. Ian modified these slightly to increase compression to 7.5: 1.

Balancing the Beast turned out to be the biggest chore. At 3100 CCs this was not going to be an easy task.

“I pressed a lot of slugs made from Tungsten and Osmium into the flywheel, as well as some balancing weights were bolted on to try to smooth things out,” Ian said.”The cams are of Harley design but radically redesigned too suite my needs. I cant tell you how many hours of machine work went into getting them just right.”

The system is basically 4-cam Sportster configuration, but had to be reworked to be oriented properly and drive the oil pump. He discovered wet sumping after days of intricate machining, so he had to add a scavenging pump to recirculate the oil from the bottom of the crankcase.

This bike is all about the motor. There's no two-ways about it, but if you can look past this mill, you will see some of the finest finishing work around. I love all the exposed copper oil lines, and hand made fittings.

The alternator came from a race car application and runs off a large O-ring used as a drive belt, from the main engine sprocket.

The dual coil, dual plug setup, looks strictly race from the old days.

“The technology in these motors is hard to believe, given the era in which it was originally built,” Ian said, of the seven-cylinder radial engines. “This engine was designed before the Second World War, and they had things like sodium cooled exhaust, and triple valve springs, technology you would still see in use years later.”

When you see the motorcycle chassis surrounding this machine, it doesn't look out of place at all. The sheet metal was all formed by Ian in his shop, and given a coat of “Hemi Cuda Shaker” hood paint, and the tank art was handled by local artist, Jennie Persak.

All mounts and clamps were machined by Ian, and bear his tool company stamp “Douglas” on them. A nice finishing touch I might add. Even though Ian built this bike for himself, and strictly to see if he could, his friends at Radial Engines Ltd. of Guthrie, Oklahoma, told him they have a few interested parties with more than a few $$ behind them, who would like one of these in their own hanger, to match their war time hobby planes. This is something Ian is keeping a close eye on, and said. ” Maybe there will be a couple more “Warbirds” in my future.

Warbird Specs:

Owner / builder: Ian Douglas
Make: Special Construction

Engine:

year : 2008
Displacement : 191 CI / 3130 CCs
Bore / Stroke: 5.125″ X 4.625
Cases : Douglas
Heads: Continental Radial
Lower end: Modified S&S
Stroker flywheelPinion & sprocket shafts: Douglas
Connecting rods: Douglas
Pistons: Continental Aero
Pushrods: Smith Bros
Carbs: Twin S&S super E
Ignition: Twin Coil
Exhaust: Douglas

Tranny:

Model: 2007 Roadmax 5-speed
Clutch: H-D
Primary drive: Douglas

Frame:

Year: 2008
Builder: Douglas
Type: Double downtube hardtail
Rake: 32 deg

Front end

Model: 2007 Springer

Finish

Painter: George Kanavaros
Chroming: Dependable Chrome
Tank Art: Jennie Persak

Wheels

Front: 21 X 2.15 80 spoke
Tire: Avon Venom 80 / 90

Rear: 21 X 3.25
tire: 120 / 70
Calipers: Diff bore Brembos
Mounting: Douglas
Rotors: Douglas

Sheet Metal

Gas Tank: Douglas / Custom Chrome
Oil Tank: Douglas / steel
Fenders: Douglas / Cycle Jammer
Seat Brooks
Handlebars: Douglas
Headlight: Aloy Art
Taillight: Model “A” Ford

Over the years, I've interviewed motorcycle brothers and sisters all over the world. We are all members of a passionate breed. In each case, specific feature bikes represent vast undertakings in a mission for love, freedom, or artistic expression. To Roy Gregory, this motorcycle represents overcoming a life of alcohol and drug abuse. It was a distant vision for seven years.

Roy grew up in Cincinnati, an iron worker, now at the Local 44. So I asked him: Why the white paint job?

“I've built two white bikes,” Roy said. “The first one I lost during a drunken blackout. I moved from one crappy apartment to another. Each time, the landlord painted the walls white and told me, 'That's the base coat. You can paint over it any color you want.' So I figured, when I sell this bike, the new owner can use white as the base for whatever color he or she wants.”

Roy, 55, has ridden one helluva intoxicated rollercoaster of life. He snatched five DUIs before he got sober the first time. He scrambled through nine years of sobriety before falling off the wagon like a beer keg off a delivery truck on the interstate. He drank and scored three more DUIs in 3.5 years before the law forced him into sober living.

“I built my first bike, a CCI Hardcore kit bike, with my nephew during my high period,” Roy told me. “We drank enough to float a freighter, smoked a ½-pound of weed and danced the white line blues.”

Roy ended up in jail after an alcoholic blackout. When he asked about his bike, the jailer said, “It ain't here; better go back to the bar.”

“I don't remember where I was drinking,” Roy continued. Turns out his brothers hid the bike.

He poured $13,000 into that project, and he was forced to sell it to a woman for $10,000. It was a gift for her husband's birthday. He needed the cash for legal assistance.

“My drinking was way beyond a little problem,” Roy admitted while driving his truck during his 173-mile round-trip daily commute. He's had his problems with chemicals, but he's no dummy. He became a certified welder, worked in a massive custom fabrication shop, designing industrial systems for food processing for Frito Lay, Heinz, and Carnation for 14 years. A fortune 500 company bought out the company, and he stepped away to run a home remodeling company with his brother.

“I've always been a union man,” Roy said of trying his hand at entrepreneurship.

He took a job as a boilermaker through the National Transient Lodge Book, but that wasn't the way to go in union circles. He applied for an apprenticeship as an iron worker in '96, a long and arduous four-year program, but his welding experience helped him cut the time to three years before becoming a journeyman. He helped build the Paul Brown Stadium, then the Great American Ball Park.

“It was a kick working on the new FBI building in Louisville, Kentucky,” said Roy.

In 2002, Roy started to buy parts for this White Devil, White Death or White Trash, depending on which day you ask Roy.

The irony of addiction is that it attacks anyone of any intelligence level, upbringing, social status you name it. It's become Roy's vision and goal to help others facing similar obstacles to overcome addiction. Brothers in shops helped him build this hot rod, such as Jim Amoit of ChopperWorks, until Roy ran out of time to help around the shop with welding projects. Then he moved it to Sin City Choppers for final assembly and wiring.

“I'm a welder,” Roy said. “That cobweb of wiring stuff isn't for me.”

He's helped high-paid accountants deal with addiction, doctors, lawyers, and bike club members, anyone in need. His dad was a Baptist Minister.

“We're creatures of habit,” Roy said. “It's tough, but we need to break the chain that leads us to saloons. We learn that if you go to bars, ultimately, you'll drink. If you don't drink, it's guaranteed, you won't get drunk.” He is always available to a brother who needs help.

“It's all in the vision,” Roy said.

After seven years of buying parts, this bike was still a vision. After eight years of sobriety, tomorrow is a vision of building toward a progressive future without addiction. We all walk that line sometime in our lives. Some step over and can't get back, others survive, and some dance with the devil by the pale moonlight almost every night. Fortunately, there are a lot of brothers like Roy out there willing to help when you or a friend is ready.

Bikernet.com Extreme White Trash Tech Chart

Regular Stuff

Owner:Roy “Zoo-mon”Gregory
Bike Name:”White Trash”
City/State:Cincinnati Ohio
Builder: Self assembled with a lil help from my friends.
e-mail:

Engine

Year: 2002, 121” TPE EVO Style
Make: PRO Street
Model: Evo Style
Displacement: 121-inch
Builder or Rebuilder: TP Engineering
Cases: TP
Case finish: natural
Barrels: TP
Heads:Edelbrock
Carburetion:45 mm Mikuni
Air cleaner: K&N
Exhaust: Custom Built with Speedway Motors bends
Mufflers: None, pipes welded by Roy

Transmission

Make: JIMS
Final drive:1-inch Belt
Primary:3-inch BDL open belt

Frame

Year: '02 Redneck engineering
Make: Redneck engineering Powder coated White
Style or Model: PHAT Tire Pro Street
Stretch: 4”out 3”up
Rake: 38 degrees
Modifications: none

Front End

Make: Duece
Model: Glide
Year: '02
Length:2” over

Sheet metal

Tanks: Phat bobs. Welded together and streached to 26 inches long. Flattened the bottoms. Added flush mount pop-ups
Fenders: engraved with flames and dipped in chrome

Paint

Sheet metal: Cadillac White
Special effects: Built to ride

Wheels

Front
Size:21-inch, 60-spoke
Brake calipers:PM
Tire: Avon venom

Rear
Size:18-inch 250, 60-spoke
Brake calipers: PM
Tire:Avon venom

Controls

Foot controls: legends
Brake lines: ss braided
Handlebar controls: Legends.

Electrical

Ignition:
Ignition switch:
Coils:
Regulator:
Charging:
Wiring:
Harness:
Headlight:
Taillight:Trucker Girl LED’s
Accessory lights:
Electrical accessories:
Switches:
Battery:

What’s Left

Seat: custom made with fiber glass resin
Mirror(s):
Gas caps:
Oil lines:ss braided
Fuel Lines: ss braided
Throttle: Internal

Comments:This project began in 02. Bought the roller And motor from Chopper Works. BL Customs supplied the rotors, calipers, and hand controls. The Guy’s at Cinn City did the final assembly and wireing, due to my work schedule. And on reds opening day 2009 it was inspected, titled, tagged and insured. Since then it has been in the Wind.

Credits: Chopper Works, BL Customs, Cinn City Choppers, Chrome Fusion, And Curtner fabricks.

I have a lot of full custom bikes and love to ride them but when you’ve got that much money and time invested in something it’s hard to take it out and beat it up on a daily bases. When you leave a $50k bike on the street in front of the bar its hard to be relaxed.

Not that everyone shouldn’t own one or two full customs, but that you should also have the modified stocker that is replaceable. That’s what I set out to do with a ugly, heavy, 1999 Harley Dyna.

First thing to go was the front end which I replaced with a inverted sport bike model that is running big radial brakes. I set it up with a set of Black Bike Aluminum spoke wheels and some oversize Ohlins shocks on the rear.

The only frame modification was cutting short the rear fender struts and removing the oversize square box on the side of the bike that held all the electrical.

I beat out some aluminum panels to thin out the look of the center of the bike under the seat and fashioned an aluminum tail section to give a bit of a dirt bike feel. I fabricated the gas tank, a set of 1-inch motocross bars, and a simple set of mid controls. I got an Acerbis LED headlight and some cool parts from my bro at MX1West to give the bike a tough style. A few little pieces here and there and I was ready to head off to Sturgis for the yearly trip.

The bike performed great and got plenty of looks too. I pissed off hundreds of baggers as I flew past them on the many amazing roads of the Black Hills. The Ohlins rear suspension and upside-down front end, not to mention a lot of brakes, placed the Dyna in a whole other riding bracket. Able to lean the bike over in a corner and not worry about the kickstand or controls slapping the ground gave the rider piece of mind and confidence.

I was helping Dirty Dave finish up the build on his Streamlined Sportster for Bonneville Salt Flats, when he talked me into taking something to the salt myself. I figured the Dyna might be fun, so I changed the bars out for some clip-ons and banged out a front fender. We rolled into Bonneville after a couple late nights of working on the bikes, plus a 12-hour drive, and settled right in with the other salty dogs. We took the first day to get everything squared away with tech inspection and registration, then rolled out to the track the next morning.

The first run I figured I’d go out and feel the salt under my tires and maybe just break 100mph. Taking the bike up to speed felt smooth and comfortable; I think all the time I’ve spent on dirt has paid off. As I passed 107mph my speedo cut out, so I just kept rolling it on, and before I knew it I’d passed the 3rd mile and it was time to start decelerating. Rolling into the pit I heard over the speaker my numbers, and a time of 131mph. Right away I thought to myself, “let's go again.”

I changed out a sprocket, and despite the 3.5 hour lines to reach the run gate, we purserviered, and got faster every time. Next run was 139.5. That’s when I realized I was getting close to the record of 142.7mph. All of a sudden the game changed, and I had a mission. I spent the next two days tuning and returning to check in. I needed to carve out faster times with each pass. On the last day, mechanics, salt conditions, wind and air denisity came together for a record run of 143.57mph, and a back up run of 146.54mph for an average record of 145.05mph in the 1650cc MPF class. An AMA Land Speed record, not bad for a stocker!

The Tech Side of the Build, by Steve Kelly

Satya Kraus has very strong thoughts about Harley’s idea of motorcycle styling, basically, he sums it up in one word: shit! But he is happy to rant on further should you press him on the subject, he will probably start by telling you something like, how the Milwaukee engineers and designers just keep piling on the crap until the bike needs a larger engine just to get it moving. But he has ideas about this too, thinking that maybe it is Harley’s strategy to sell more engine upgrade parts. Satya concludes that perhaps he's not the greatest business man, but hand on heart, he can honestly say that all of his custom motorcycle looks good and they go damn fast too.

I was therefore surprised to learn that Satya now believes that not everything is bad about a current model stock Harleys, and that he could, and indeed has, uses one for the basis of a hybrid custom/stock project. He told me for example that the frame and swingarm setup of the FXD make up a solid chassis that handles the road nicely. Wow! Praise in deed from the man who had told me in the past that if it isn’t unique, and completely one off, hand made custom, he is not interested! That is paraphrasing what he actually said, but I’m sure you get the drift.

Unquestionably, the stock Harley-Davidson Twin Cam is overall a good, clean engine. But when you add a Wiseco 95” kit, some hot cams, a Mikuni carburettor, and port the heads it has some real guts. Of course, it always helps to drop some of the weight, so Satya cut off the 10lbs of weight that constitute the passenger peg mounts, honestly, that is what they weigh in at! Satya also harvested some of the electrical mounting parts to trim the weight further still. What he is left with is a pretty much stock electrical system that now fits into that nice spot under the seat (where Harley should have put it in the first place) and is closed in by aluminium side panels. Satya has also cut off about half of the rear fender mounting horns to shorten the look of the rear end and hand formed the sweet looking aluminium tail section around them, to keep things looking clean, and to use up the empty space, he has cleverly mounted the battery inside. Through a friend he found a nice adjustable inverted front end, which came with the Dual Tokico 4 piston callipers, and lightweight triple trees. All Satya had to do to make this front end fit was to made up a new headstock stem that would fit the bearings in the Dyna neck and a set of axle spacers for the forks so that he could run a ¾” axle. After procuring a set of 40-spoke aluminium hubs and rims from Black Bike Wheels, he snagged some ZX6 front rotors and nearly had the front end finished. For the rear suspension he is running Ohlins Piggyback shocks simply because they perform wonderfully. The rear brake is also a 4-piston Tokico calliper that Satya has once again mated with a ZX6 front rotor. You could say, this bike has a lot of brakes!

Next he bent up some dirt bike style handlebars and fitted one of his own Kraus Motor Company design and manufacture Twist Brake hand controls. A friend runs MX1West.com and is the US distributor for Acerbis aftermarket products so he hooked Satya up with a LED Vision HP headlight setup, some fork covers and a few other goodies. It is good to have friends in the high places!

Another mate, Obie Beaver hooked up Satya with the, oh so stylish, hand tooled seat. So with the simple addition of some stickers on the sides of the raw aluminium tank Satya was ready to head off on a rather long shack down road trip, Northern California to Sturgis South Dakota. On the way out of California through the Sierra Mountains Satya was able to appraise how well this hybrid Kraus/Dyna really handles, he discovered that it pushes through the corners nicely, with none of the washed out feeling you often feel with a stock Milwaukee offering. Satya soon found himself hitting some of the tighter hairpin corners at well over safe road going speeds. The suspension felt smooth, the brakes were strong and the bike didn’t have any heavy feeling to it.

AMAZING SATYA DYNA BONNEVILLE TECH CHART

General

Owner: Satya Kraus
City/State: Cazadero, CA.
Fab. By: Satya Kraus
Year: 1999
Model: Harley Dyna fxd
Time: 1 month

Engine

Year: 1999
Model: Twin Cam
Builder: Kraus Motor Co.
Ignition: Dynatek
Displacement: 95″
Pistons: Wiseco
Heads: Ported
Carb: Mikuni
Cam: Andrews
Air Cleaner: K&N
Exhaust: Custom Thunder Header
Primary: Stock

Transmission

Year: 1999
Make: Harley
Shifting: 5 speed

Frame

Year: 1999
Make: FXD Dyna
Rake: stock
Stretch: stock

Forks

Type: Inverted
Builder: Kawasaki
Extension
Triple Trees: Kawasaki

Wheels, Tires, Brakes

Front Wheel: Black Bike, 40 spoke, Aluminum
Size: 19″ x 3.25”
Front Tire: 110
Front Brake: Dual Radial 4 piston Tokico
Rear Wheel: Black Bike, 40 spoke, Aluminum
Size: 18”x 5.5”
Rear Tire: 180
Rear Brake: 4 piston Tokico

Painting

Painter: none
Color: Raw Aluminum
Graphics: Stickers on tank
Molding: none
Chroming: none

Accessories

Bars: Kraus Motor Co.
Risers: Kraus Motor Co.
Hand Controls: Brembo
Fuel Tanks: Kraus Motor Co.
Front Fender: Kraus Motor Co.
Rear Fender: Kraus Motor Co. Aluminum Mud Guard
Seat: Obie Beaver
Foot Controls: Kraus Motor Co. Mids
Mirrors:
Oil Tank: Stock
Headlight: Acerbis
Taillight: Kraus Motor Co.
Speedo: Trail Tech Computer

Bob Carrillo is the quintessential bike builder: part renegade, part Renaissance man. He is a man of many talents. Trained as a stone mason, Bob's family hails from the East San Fernando Valley area of metropolitan Los Angeles. Bob started riding dirt bikes at a very young age. His grandfather taught him music when Bob was knee-high to Harley handlebars and his grandfather's tutelage has blossomed into full-tilt boogie blues harmonica.. Bob plays with various bands in Southern California, including Sal Rodriquez of War and Gilby Clarke (formerly of Guns n Roses, now with his own band). The combination of exacting mathematics required for building hardscapes, coupled with the aesthetics of his everyday job and the creative freedom allowed by music has turned him into one hell of a bike builder.

No two of Bob's bikes are alike (he's also won numerous best-of-show prizes for his 47 Knucklehead, 48 Flathead, 52 Panhead & 67 Shovelhead). He's won so many awards in the last decade that he needs an entire room just to hold the trophies. Each bike is a labor of love and imagination. Bob plans the bike in his mind and his team carries out his visions…all without the aid of paper or computer programs. His core team consists of machinist Eric Quesada, fabricator Matt Gibbs, parts and electrics from Paul Wheeler, engine builder Phil of Cycle Works and painters Shane Unkrich and Joe Guzman.

Classic Bobber Chop is a state of mind. Bob builds out of his garage at home. In addition to building bikes for himself, Bob does custom bikes for clients and is currently working on a trike. Bob also does consulting for budding builders who can tap into Bob's decades of experience and hands-on approach to creating some of the hottest, show-stopping custom bikes.

ClassicBobberChop@yahoo.com
Classic Bobber Chop on Facebook and Myspace
ClassicBobberChop.com (website under construction)
818.554.0475

Bikernet.com Extreme Tech Chart

Regular Stuff

Owner: Bob Carrillo
City/State: Clymar, California

Builder: Bob Carrillo
Phone: 818 554 0475

E-mail: classicbobberchop@yahoo.com
Fabrication:
Make: Harley Davidson
Year: 1967
Model: Classic Bobber Shop Shovelhead
Fabrication: Classic Bobber shop & Felony Fabrication- Matt Gibbs

Time: 7 weeks
Assembly: Classic Bobber Shop

ENGINE:
Displacement: 74 cubic “
Year: 1967
Heads: HD
Pistons: STD
Camshaft: Crane
Lifters: Solid
Carburetor/Injection: S&S Super B
Air Cleaner: Roth

Transmission: 1965 H-D twist clutch foot shift
Ignition: Points
Exhaust: Classsic Bobber shop
How Long did it take?: 7 weeks

Frame:
Type: Straightleg
Year: 1957
Stretch: none
Rake: 30 degrees
Shocks: none

Bars: Classic Bobber Chop & Felony Fabricatio
Handlebar Controls: Twist
Fender: English ribbed
Headlight: Cycle Ray

Tail Light: BluesBlaster Harmonica Microphone

Dash: Classic Bobber Chop/Riff Raff Leather (Pascal)
Front Pegs: Custom Footbboards/Classic Bobber Chop/Eric Quesada
Electrics: Generator
Oil Tank: Classic Bobber Chop concaved
Oil System: Harley-Davidson
Seat: Pascal at Riff Raff Leather

Mirrors: None
Grips: Leather-Pascal at Riff Raff Leather

Type: Military XA
Builder: HD & Classic Bobber shop
Wheels Front:

Size: 18”
Tire: Cooker Firestone repro
Brake: Drum
Wheels Rear: SAME

Paint, Chrome, and other F/X’s:
Colors: House of Color ; Blk Sparkle Pearl& Pegan Gold
The Painter: Shane Unkrich Sylmar CA

This bike’s so fresh she almost has zero miles. I’d like to see her at 10,000 miles on the clock. How’s the paint gonna hold up, or the leather. Some bikes are meant to be garage jewelry while others are meant for the road. I hope this one sees the action she deserves!