Two Bikes From The Shop

Two unique designs from Minnesota’s newest custom bike venue, The Shop.

Here at Bikernet.com, we are always looking for new and exciting bikes that are built with one thing in mind; riding. Bandit sent me some info on a couple of bikes built in Minnesota by a relative unknown to the custom motorcycle world, Billy Wingerd, owner/ operator of The Shop. No, that’s not a typo, that’s the name of his place, The Shop.

Anyways, while trying to battle a severe stomach virus over the holidays, I received a couple of pics that were attached to an e-mail sent by his Highness, El Bandito.

“Hey, take care of this feature.”

That was it, that’s usually the extent of his e-mails: direct orders laced with his cantankerous attitude. Oh well, I guess I am used to it by now. SO I check the e-mail and look at the pictures of the bikes expecting to see the same thing I’ve seen over the past couple of years. I was surprised by the design as well as the color choice of these bikes. Anyone who paints a bike these colors has got to have balls the size of grapefruits, so I was compelled to check into this project a little further.

When checking this photo, I immediately recognized the row of SPS bikes lining the front. The blue chopper with silver flames is the exact styled bike I was to ride in Biketoberfest this year before my brother pissed his pants and ran over an esplanade with one of the bobber models.

I decided to visit the shop website, www.theshopmpls.com, and see if I could get an idea of what this shop is all about. As soon as the first page opens, you are treated to a nice view of custom bikes sitting in a row inside a shop area. Upon further investigation, I found out The Shop not only builds custom bikes, but they are a dealer for Sucker Punch Sally bikes as well. SPS bikes littler the website along with a few pics of some of Jon’s creations. I especially liked the Sportster they built, very cool!

Following a couple of e-mails, I finally heard back from Jon, who had just returned from his honeymoon. (Some folks might congratulate you, while others are shaking their heads at the loss of another brother!)

Jon gave me a little background into the builds. About March of 07, a couple came into his shop and began talking about getting two custom bikes built. They are both shorter people and wanted the drop seat frame bikes that Detroit Brothers built. Once he covered the specs and two build two build estimates, they were off and running.

A Detroit Bros. drop seat rigid frame. The canvas Jon started with for the two builds.

Starting with a couple of Detroit Brothers frames, Jon hacked off the backbone and seat tube area before installing a curved piece of tubing in both. He had his friend at Pearson Customs bend the piping to his specs to give the proper look and ride height.

The Purple Bike

The purple bike, as I call it. The colors were really weird at first, but the more I looked at these bikes, the more I began to dig it. Besides, it was what the customer wanted, who can argue with that?

On the purple bike, the guy wanted a street fighter-type bike and was thinking of some different take ideas. Jon began by looking at older Jap bike tanks on EBAY before finding a style that they liked. I located a similar tank down at a local take off jap bike shop in town. So he started the fabrication by sectioning out a 2 inch pie shaped piece on the top and cutting the bottom out before reshaping it to fit the frame.

Cool tank with decent graphics painted along the side. I was impressed at how he attached the coil to the top motor mount. I recently bought a kit to do that, this one looks just as clean but I bet it is handmade. Nice job!

The customer originally wanted some clip on bars, but the ones that were purchased didn't quite come back far enough for him to grab. Jon decided to grab some take-off old Sportster bars and cut them in half before welding some sections back together. They turned out perfect.

The top of the tank with a view at the clip-on handlebars. The bike has a stance that would make me break the law constantly, always pushing for more spreed, trying to drag it into corners. It kinda reminds me of a board-tracker after a couple of hits of acid or mushroom tea.

After that, he focused on the seat, oil tank, battery box area. Having little room to work with due to the drop seat and the Paul Cox Rigidaire set-up, it took him a little time to figure out where to put the battery. Not really wanting to locate it under the transmission because of clearance problems, he ended up having no choice really, and squeezed the battery under the transmission and positioning the Moon Eyes oil tank behind the transmission.

The Paul Cox Rigidaire seat suspension system is a lifesaver for a rider who wants a bit of comfort when riding their rigid. Also note the miniature bullet turn signals in the picture.

That’s something I learned recently during a bike build. You have to be flexible enough to go with the flow of the build, realizing not everything will go together or fit as planned. This is why there are so many bike builders bowing out of this profession; it takes real skill and knowledge to be a custom bike builder.

With all of the black components on the bike they took a set of lowers, shaved off the fender mounts, and had them powdercoated black. The customer initially was undecided on the triple trees so he chose some chrome ones for now, probably need to get the black ones soon to match though.

The shaved lowers give the bike a very “clean” look. While they may regret not having a front fender whenever they hit even the smallest puddle, I think the overall coolness of the look supersedes the need to keep mud out of your grill.

The Brown Bike

The Brownie, as I have affectionately dubbed her, is a low to the ground, heat seeking missle that screams “LOOK AT ME!”. Once you get past the unique colors, this bike has some very interesting design elements as well. Shit, she just looks like something I want to ride!

On the brown bike, she wanted more of an old school flair to it rather then the street fighter-look of her boyfriends purple bike. Jon was given a little more creative freedom with this bike and ordered the springer front end before building some custom mini apes for her, which gave her a little more reach. She had really liked this other gas tank that Jon had built a few years ago, so he built her a matching tank with the side mounted fuel gauge. They used a simple Kraft-tech rear fender ( the whole thing) and mounted the Sparto rear taillight and license plate mount on the rear of the fender for a more nostalgic feel. Similar mounts for the Rigidaire set up, Moon Eyes oil tank and battery box as the purple bike made the build go much quicker this time around.

Like on the purple bike, the oil bag/rigidaire setup was easier the second go-around. I like the switch neatly to the front underside of the seat.

She chose a 92″ S&S engine from MC Advantages with round cylinders and heads and they are still waiting on the Pan Cover rocker box tops from Custom Chrome. She had purchased some Detroit Bros dumper pipes originally, but Jondidn't feel that they went with the theme of the bike and decided to whip up some custom pipes real quick just to see if she liked them. She did, and we ended up going with those instead.

This will really pop once they get the pan covers on the tops. You gotta love the look of giant round jugs on a girl….er, bike.

We would like to thanks Sprockets Custom Painting for doing a good job on the “weird” paint jobs, Pearson Customs for the radiused tubing and Baas Metal Craft for the seat pans.

While there are different shops popping up seemingly every day, it is always refreshing to see guys having the balls to jump in with both feet and give it their all. We hare at bikernet liked that attitude and style of these bikes, even if we scratched our heads about the colors. But hey, you gotta give the customer what they want, right? I am sure the owners get plenty of looks on these one of a kind customs.

Bikernet.com Brown Bike Extreme Tech Chart

Regular Stuff

Owner:Sheree
City/State:Minneapolis, MN

Builder:The Shop, Jon Fox, Billy Lachner, Steve Novotney
City/state:Minneapolis, MN
Company Info:The Shop
Address:815 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone:612-333-0223
Web site:www.theshopmpls.com
E-mail: theshopmpls@aol.com
Fabrication:Jon Fox
Welding:Jon Fox
Machining:Jon Fox, Steve Novotney

Engine

Year:2006
Make:S&S
Model:Indian 92″ Round Cylinder
Displacement:92″
Builder or Rebuilder:
Cases:S&S
Case finish:Gloss Black
Barrels:S&S Round
Bore:3 7/8″
Pistons:S&S
Barrel finish:Gloss Black
Lower end:S&S
Stroke:3 7/8″
Rods:S&S
Heads:S&S
Head finish:Gloss Black
Valves and springs:S&S
Pushrods:S&S
Cams:S&S 525
Lifters:S&S
Carburetion:S&S Super E
Air cleaner:S&S
Exhaust:Custom 1 3/4″
Mufflers:none
Other:Khrome Werks baffles, black hi-temp finish

Transmission

Year:2006
Make:S&S
Gear configuration:6 speed
Final drive:Chain
Primary:Bulletproof
Clutch:Bulletproof

Frame

Year:2006
Make:Detroit Bros
Style or Model:Dropseat
Stretch:None
Rake:30 deg
Modifications:replaced backbone/seat post with curved piece

Front End

Make:DNA
Model:Springer
Year:2006
Length:stock
Mods:none

Sheet metal

Tanks:Jon Fox handbuilt
Fenders:Krafttech rear
Oil tank:Moon Eyes

Paint

Sheet metal:Sprockets Custom Paint
Molding:Sprockets
Base coat:Sprockets
Graphics:Sprockets
Frame:Sprockets
Molding:Sprockets
Base coat:Sprockets
Graphics or art:Sprockets
Special effects:Sprockets

Wheels

Front
Make:DNA 40 spoke
Size:16 x 3.5″
Brake calipers:PM
Brake rotor(s):Biker's Choice 5 spoke stainless
Tire:Metzler

Rear
Make:DNA 40 spoke
Size:18×3.5″
Brake calipers:PM black anodized
Brake rotor:Biker's Choice 5 spoke stainless
Pulley:Aluminum
Tire:Metzler

Controls

Foot controls:Supreme Legends
Finish:Black powdercoated
Master cylinder:Supreme Legends
Brake lines:Goodrich Black
Handlebar controls:PM Contour
Finish:Black Anodized
Clutch Cable:
Brake Lines Goodrich Black
Kickstand:Matt Hotch Designs Black Chrome

Electrical

Ignition:S&S
Ignition switch:
Coils:Crane
Regulator:Spyke
Charging:Spyke
Wiring:Steve Novotney
Headlight:5 3/4″ Drag
Taillight:Sparto
Accessory lights:BD Speed Shop
Switches:PM Contour
Battery:Odyssey

What's Left

Seat:Kevin Baas Seat Pan, Old Skool Customs leatherwork
Pipes:Jon Fox handbuilt
Exhaust finish:Hi temp black finish
Gas caps:Matt Hotch Designs
Handlebars:Jon Fox handbuilt
Grips:PM wrenthal
Pegs:Supreme Legends
Oil filter:Harley Davidson
Oil cooler:none

Credits:Steve Novotney and Billy Lachner for wiring and assembly, Sprockets for paintwork

Bikernet.com Extreme Purple Bike Tech Chart

Regular Stuff
City/State:Minneapolis, MN

Builder:The Shop, Jon Fox, Steve Novotney, Billy Lackner
Company Info:The Shop
Address:815 Cedar Ave C, MPLS, MN 55404
Phone:612-333-0223
Web site:www.theshopmpls.com
E-mail:theshopmpls@aol.com
Fabrication:Jon Fox
Manufacturing:
Welding:Jon Fox
Machining:Jon Fox, Steve Novotney

Engine

Year:2007
Make:S&S
Model:Shovelhead
Displacement:93″
Builder or Rebuilder:
Cases:S&S
Case finish:Natural
Barrels:Black
Bore:
Pistons:S&S
Barrel finish:Black
Lower end:S&S
Rods:S&S
Heads:S&S
Head finish:Natural
Valves and springs:S&S
Pushrods:S&S
Cams:S&S
Lifters:S&S
Carburetion:Super E
Air cleaner:S&S
Exhaust:Detroit Bros Dumper Exhaust
Mufflers:nada
Other:Heat Wrap

Transmission

Year:2007
Make:S&S
Gear configuration:6 speed helical
Final drive:Chain
Primary:Enclosed
Clutch:Bulletpruf

Frame

Year:2007
Make:Detroit Bros.
Style or Model:Dropseat
Stretch:0
Rake:30 deg
Modifications:backbone/seat post replacement by Jon Fox

Front End

Make:Midwest
Model:Wide Glide
Year:2007
Length:stock
Mods:Pro-One Triple Trees, powdercoated and shaved lowers

Sheet metal

Tanks:Special find (80's Honda Nighthawk), Jon Fox modifications
Fenders:Krafttech
Oil tank:Moon Eyes

Paint

Sheet metal:Sprockets Custom Painting
Molding:Sprockets
Base coat:Purple candy
Graphics:tribal
Frame:Sprockets
Molding:Sprockets
Base coat:Sprockets
Pinstriping:Sprockets

Wheels

Front
Make:DNA
Size:16×3.5
Brake calipers:PM
Tire:Metzler

Rear
Make:DNA
Size:18×5.5
Brake calipers:PM
Pulley:Aluminum
Tire:Metzler

Controls

Foot controls:Supreme Legends
Finish:Black
Master cylinder:
Handlebar controls:PM
Finish:Black
Clutch Cable:
Brake Lines
Shifting:
Kickstand:Matt Hotch Designs, Black Chrome

Electrical
Coils:Crane
Regulator: Compu-Fire
Charging:Spyke
Wiring:Steve Novotney
Headlight:Drag
Taillight:Drag
Accessory lights:BD Speed Shop Turn Signals front and rear
Battery:Odyssey

What's Left

Seat:Baas Metal Craft/Old Skool Kustoms
Exhaust finish:Black Ceramic
Gas caps:Matt Hotch Designs
Handlebars:Jon Fox, clip on's
Grips:PM
Fuel filter:Pingel

Specialty items: Paul Cox Air Ride suspension