The build up for the Root Beer Bobber designed specifically for our own Nyla Olsen has been painstakingly stretched out over the past two years. Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, delays have hung their weary shadow upon the build causing the queen of Bikernet to sit back patiently…tapping her foot. Kent Weeks, the devil from Houston, refuses to let time dictate his creative flair or expert design decisions when building a bike. He is stoic in his straightforward approach to build something exactly as he sees fit to build it. This is the reason Bandit chose him for the build.
As usual, per any build, the concept starts with one thing, design-wise, but the finished product very rarely hits the pavement exactly as the original design is planned. Kent massaged this build to fit Nyla exactly, she should be more comfortable on this bike than she was on the Custom 1200 Sportster Bikernet built several years back.
The beautiful brake rotors painted to match the frame, front end, and oil-bag. The rotors are going to look beautiful with the GMA brakes and touch the bike off beautifully with the BDL controls. BDL bought GMA and kept the tradition alive when Bill Gardner retired.
As of the last installment, there were several questions to be answered concerning final components. The front end was also still up in the air as to whether go with the VL Springer or use a 39mm Narrow-Glide front-end. In the end, Kent stayed with the original VL and also painted it’s legs to match Ken Hill’s job on the tanks and fender.
Ken Hill not only handled the paint and pin-striping, but he also performed all of the body work. His shop is in The Woodlands area and it's called Ken's Airbrush.
Kent heavily massaged the gas tanks and dash to fit the profile of the bike, but unfortunately, I broke the disc that Holly gave me of the pics, so they are lost forever.Here’s a shot of the frame hanging in Kent’s paint booth.
The hand tooled leather seat is styled to match the engraving that adorns several components of the bike. Glenn Priddle, owner of GP Leather in Australia, really out-did himself on not only design, but quality as well. The seat is designed to cradle Nyla's posterior with the same gentle touch as Bandit’s sasquatch sized hands. Heather New, of New Line Engraving put her delicate touch on several of the bike's components.
The flowers add a feminine touch to a machine that emanates an attitude for the road. It seems ironic that something styled to be so sweet could come from the Devil’s compound. I expect everything he touches to be laced with evil, but maybe this bike is comparable to the forbidden fruit in that it looks tasty, but the consequences could change your life.
The paint has a marbleized finish that starts at the top and then fades as it goes down the tanks’ crown. So looking at the top of the bike, you will se the marble. From the side you only see a shadow that appears to lick the top of the bike. If you look from the lower components, like during service or routine tightening, you won’t see the dark shades of marble.
