I bought a Sucker Punch bike almost four years ago and have loved riding that bike more then any other bike I have ever owned or straddled. It is mechanically simple and cool. I put over 10k miles on it and decided it was time for a change. I tried a H-D Heritage for a while and it just wasn’t my thing. Without having a ton of dough I decided to redo my bike in a totally different light and thought people would be interested in the process.
I just started this last Monday, it had been sitting over at my friend Ryan Boyd’s shop, RB Fabrications, since New Years eve so it was time to get started. The great thing about Ryan is that he has a killer shop, is a great guy and is willing to let me help out, until I piss him off then I will be banished. He has built some killer vehicles and although he works as a car mechanic during the day I would say that his skills match those of some of the best builders out there.
In the first day we determined that we needed to strip everything except the motor and front end off. I wanted a new semi- hand fabricated tank and also wanted Ryan to cut some new axle blocks in the back so I could hide my axle.
It is amazing how little time it takes to strip a simple bobber. We had everything in pieces within a few hours. Then we drank whiskey and talked about my ultimate plans. The more whiskey, the more ultimate it got. Notions included a sleek stripped down racer that would be killer to ride. I left the semi-stripped skeleton for Ryan to cut tabs off of and went on a search for racy components. I knew I needed an early Superglide tank, narrow glide dual disc front end, rear fender and front and rear brakes.
I called a round to a few bros to see if anyone could get me dual disc 35mm front end and had no luck. I strolled into the next local swap meet shop, Hawg Wild and immediately saw a 35 mm narrow glide dual disc front-end, right when I walked in. It had some triple trees on it that looked they were made in a garage with a sawzall, but the tubes and lowers would work. I asked Ed if he had a Superglide tank and he swore he did. He dug around until he found it, exactly the tank I was looking for, and it already had the petcock cut out.
That's what I like about those old timer shops. You tell 'em what you want and they know exactly. None of this, what year and model, crap. Sometime I feel like a robot is waiting on me at bigger, glitzy shops. I not only got the front end and the tank, but for only $150…what a deal.
Next week I hunt for brakes, cut the tank and see how the Led Sled flat top fender will look. Anyone who wants a great deal on a used polished RevTech 4-speed, kicker jockey-only transmission, BDL 3-inch belt drive with clutch, Twisted Choppers forwards, set-up for jockey, Twisted Choppers exhaust, red spring seat or chrome sissy bar drop me a line. I rode the bike to the shop so it all works.
You can have the whole set-up for $1200. ken@riseaboveconsulting.com
