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I live in a fairly arid part of Colorado, we don’t get a ton of rain…except this year. It's the first day this month that is hasn’t showered like a Filipino monsoon, and I received a greasy e-mail from Bandit that read something like…
“Got that SPS bike feature done? The eye in the sky says you put your boat in the lake and you're relaxing on open water. Shit, we got work to do, no time for lolly-gaggin'. You can relax when your dead.”
So, I’m sitting inside on the first clear day in almost 20 gloom-filled sun rises, because I know what happens to people who find their sorry names etched into Bandit’s shit list…take Michael Jackson for example. No sudden cardiac arrest for me, I’m gonna take my lumps and die of a vitamin D deficiency instead.
There really isn’t anyone else who could tell this bike saga, because I was involved from beginning. It started with the guys at Maverick Publishing, specifically Larson who suggested we team up with him and build a sweepstakes bike to be given away at the Buffalo Chip during the 2009 Sturgis Rally.
All the concerned parties agreed that it would be a terrific promotion for everyone and ordered me to make it happen. Sucker Punch was up for donating all their proprietary parts to build a custom version of their production Slim bike, Bandit's favorite in the Sucker Punch line-up.
Christian's SPS donation included the frame, sheetmetal, h-bomb oil bag, Bloke wheels (billet spoke wheel they developed) wiring harness and a few other odds and ends. We had a 115 RevTech motor coming to us courtesy of Custom Chrome so we knew it was going to be screamer. We opted for a 39mm narrow glide front-end to fit the stance of the bike with custom HHI billet triple trees. HHI also donate the hand controls. BDL donated the narrow belt drive and K&G Cycles came through in a pinch and sent SPS, in Phoenix, a 6-speed RevTech transmission.
Lyndall Racing brakes stepped up and offered some of their killer rotors. The major components were taken care of but the details are what matters. Lock Baker of Eastern Fabrication was asked to hand fabricate a leather tooled seat and he did a killer job, with a very western theme that compliments the bikes racy style.
We needed something to set the gas tank off a bit more so a call to Greg Westbury at Westbury Hotrods scored us a Big Baller gas cap. As the promotion picked up steam when Progressive jumped on board with a 6- month insurance policy for the winner, and Biltwell donated one of their retro helmets, with a paint job to match the bike by Steel Visions. Speaking of paint I was thinking something subdued, but the boss at SPS had other ideas.
“You'll think it's an Easter egg,” Christian Clayton said.
I was wrong, Steel Vision did a killer job with tons of flake and a very retro patriotic paint job.
Building a bike for a huge promotion would seem a breeze. Hell, it's going to run in American Cycle, and it's being promoted on Bikernet. Plus, it will be handed over to an American Cycle reader at the largest rally in the US where they throw the biggest party. Not so Kimosabe, tracking down parts, making sure the SPS crew knows exactly what needs to be done, and when can be complicated.
The guys at SPS met the challenge in time for Rod Woodruff, owner of the Buffalo Chip to take it for a test ride through the acrid heat of AZ, while being shot by American Cycle’s crack photographer Buck Lovell. The bike ran great, the pictures turned out terrific and Rod smiled from ear to ear. Another daunting accomplishment competed and time to move on to the next project right?
Not so fast, a certain crackpot (Lon Nordbye) decided we needed the bike shot with a girl for the cover of the Buffalo Chip Gazette. Of course I muttered, “No problem.” I had 10 days to set it up, find a location and a model.
I immediately called my man on the scene in AZ, Scooter Grubb and he said, “No problem,” except he needed to shoot some drag racing in Ohio for a week. So that literally left us one day to get it shot.
Scooter lined up five different girls, and in the end Amy was the one who came out looking terrific on the cover with the SPS/American Cycle giveaway bike. Scooter busted his ass to deliver these shots, commandeered a plane and ended up having to take a mule ride to get out of Texas, but it was all worth it in the end. The bike could be yours just go to Click here to enter
Entries will be accepted up until August 1st and the bike will be given away live on stage at the Legendary Buffalo Chip on Friday August 7th after the headliners Buckcherry and Red.
Here's the Contest Description:
The Legendary Buffalo Chip has teamed up with the true manufacturers of “Old School” Sucker Punch Sally’s in conjunction American Cycle and American Bagger magazines to pull off a custom bike give-a-way for the Sturgis Rally that blazes its own path.
This Sucker Punch Sally’s Custom “Slim” will feature a 115-inch Revtech engine from Custom Chrome, a belt drive from BDL, a hand-made tooled leather seat from Eastern Fabrication. The bike will feature a one-off paint job from Steel Visions Design as well as quality parts from top manufacturers including Hawg Halters Inc, Lyndall Racing Brakes and support from Bikernet.com.
You don’t have to pay a dime to win the ultimate Sturgis Motorcycle Rally giveaway so take advantage of this extra rally reward!
Be sure to register for the bike and follow the build page-by-page in the upcoming issues of American Cycle and American Bagger magazines. Designed with one lucky winner in mind – this custom built, one off, legendary bike is yours to win. Not only will you be laying down rubber with this retro-styled, race inspired motorcycle, you will be doing it in style with a custom helmet from Biltwell, Inc. and a 6-month Progressive Insurance policy from The Chip.
Fill out an official registration card and submit it for the chance to take it home August 7, 2009. Official online entries will be accepted until August 1, 2009.
Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by 7/15/09. Bike Giveaway contest is valid in the U.S. only. Winner need not be present to win and will be announced on 8/7/09. Winner will be notified via mail at the address supplied. See official rules at www.buffalochip.com for more details. Void where prohibited. Entry must be completed in its entirety to be valid. Winner will be drawn at random on August 7th, 2009 and awarded at the Legendary Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota following the headliner concert.
