BILLY LANE’S V/G-13
Twin Front Head Twin Cam! Chuck Prince of Darkness Palumbo’s Magneto rebuild leftovers David Mann FROM Chopperfest N ORWAY TO Fab Kevin: CHARGE!!! JAPAN
#159 March 2016
Display until 4/5/16 THEHORSEBC.COM THE HORSE Page 2 All questions and concerns other than subscriptions please call: 586-992-9803 Subscriptions call: 877 286-0127 All correspondence: The Horse Chopper Magazine, 51081 Milano Dr. Macomb Mi 48042 Editorial Mayor- Ralph “Hammer” Janus Dog Catcher - David “Englishman” Gregory
Copy Editor Fabricator Kevin Executive Officer Chanel “Debo” Flowers Roamin’ Posse Ted “Arsen Investigator” Arsen – Charles ‘El Nomad’ Davis - Chris Phillips- Dan Roedel- SpACEy- Twila- Brad Gregory- Charles Davis-George the Painter Deputy Dawg Steve Broyles
Promotions – Edge Office Manager -- Carla Verkest Horse’s Mouth Editor – Englishman [email protected]
Printing: HP Laser Jet Pro 200
Circulation - Curtis Circulation Company, LLC
Official Horse Artists – Jon Towle - RichiePan (RIP) Horse Artist/Writer – George “The Painter” Frizzell Jr. Advertising Kari Juengel 313-737-8888
Application Developer Chanel “Debo” Flowers Subscriptions Order on-line, www.thehorsebc.com or Mail Check, Money Order or Credit Card Info to: The Horse Chopper Magazine, PO Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834-3000 Payable to: Chop City LTD Order by phone: Toll-Free (877) 286-0127 Bike Shop Issues (586) 992-9803
Administration, Chop City Ltd 510891 Milano, Macomb Mi. 48042 President – Ralph “Hammer” Janus
THE HORSE Chopper Magazine (ISSN 1523-8857). 2016 Volume 18 No. 3. The Horse Chopper Magazine is published every five weeks, by Chop City Ltd, 51081 Milano Dr, Macomb, MI 48042. All rights in photographic submissions, including, but not limited to, drawings, collages, or any type of submission whatsoever, sent to The Horse Chopper Magazine, will be treated as unconditionally assigned to copyright purposes and are subjected to The Horse Chopper Magazine right to edit, comment, title and departmentalize editorially; and will thereupon become the sole property of Chop City LTD. Payment for unsolicited manuscripts will be made at The Horse Chopper Magazine’s discretion. Nothing appearing in The Horse Chopper Magazine may be reprinted or reproduced in any fashion either wholly or in part without written permission of the Publisher.. POSTMASTER: send change of address to The Horse Chopper Magazine PO Box 3000 Denville, NJ 07834-3000. PERIODICALS postage paid at Mount Clemens, MI and additional mailing offices. The Horse Chopper Magazine is a Chop City Ltd. Trademark registered through the U.S. Patent Office. Copyright © 2016. Printed in the U.S.A.
A Publication of
CHop City LTD. THE HORSE Page 3 THE HORSE Page 4 Backtalk...... 6 Talkback...... 10 Arsen Investigator ...... 11 Chompin-Editorial...... 12 spACEy knows how...... 14 George The Painter...... 16 You Lose!...... 18 Dangerous UA...... 24 Softail in drag 2.5...... 30 David Mann Show...... 32 Chuck’s Leftovers...... 40 Dream On-Baker...... 44 Jon Towle Art...... 48 Billy Lane’s V/G-13...... 50 Shop Rags ...... 56 Lil’ Miss Scare-All...... 60 BKC Tornado relief...... 66 Lucas Magneto Rebuild...... 70 Samurai Chopper...... 74 Charlie the Nomad...... 80 From a little Seed...... 82 Boomer ...... 86 ProCO 2016...... 88 ACO 2016 ...... 90 Lil’ Hot Rod ...... 94 Tattoo Corner...... 96 Tech-Fabricator Kevin....98 Austin Johnson...... 104 Horse’s Mouth...... 108
March 2016 TAIL OF CONTENTS
Model: Elizabeth -IG @daytonababy85 THE HORSE Page 5 Warmer memories
Meet the Hellbitch My 01 Sporty 1200, picture from a ride with my girl. We live on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Frame is raked Hey there guys, my name is Aaron and this is my 82 7 degrees, lowered all around. Twisted spoke 21” front FXE nicknamed the Hellbitch that I built last winter. wheel, spoked Electraglide front wheel re-purposed for the It was basically a rolling basket case when I got it off rear (thanks for the write up Fab Kevin!) Mooneyes bits, a Craigslist deal. I did everything at home in my shop No School Choppers taillight, 18” sissy bar with K&Q style myself, other than the paint and lower end balancing. seat. My wife and I will ride all day on this, no complaints! Oil tank is built from a couple of fire extinguishers It now has Roland Sands bars on it -Ty Ricker and foot clutch linkage from old stainless chain TIG welded together. It is my daily ride to work when the weather is obviously better than in the photo! I would have submitted it sooner but I was to damn busy riding it to stop and take pictures! Thanks for a great mag!! I find comfort in knowing there are more greasy fingered freaks like me screaming down two lanes on machines they built themselves!! - Aaron. Denison Iowa
First Build
Here is the Sportster I’ve been building over the last three years. It’s the first bike I’ve ever built and I’m learning a lot on it. It’s a 47 industries hard tail and it started off as a 2000 Sportster Custom. -Jonathan Full Throttle Build Not a rat, dammit!
This is my 1971 Ironhead I Built specifically for your My 1976 Shovelhead running project. “Project” not show at the Full Throttle Saloon out in Sturgis at the 75th. “Rat Bike!” Really like your mag and the show is always a highlight I bought it off an old drunk looking to pay some legal of our Sturgis trip. It was an honor to participate two bills for next to nothing. Thanks to Harley at Guthery years in a row. -Brad Nelson Customs here in Edmond, OK, I’ve got this far along on it. Still has a long way to go. But it’s reliable and dependable. Cheers, -Erik
Killer Bike
Hi I’m Phylo from Belfast, Northern Ireland. This bike started life as a £200 (US$ 300) just-about-runner punted out on the Internet, bought to chop. When I cleaned it and de-rusted it, under the grime was a near-catalogue spec late-year GPZ550, still fit for 110 on the road - so I rode it for five years until it tried to kill me... andI started hacking and cutting in revenge. Sadly.... I made it faster, lighter and more reliable in the process! Adding all the bits I’d saved for the chop project, and a coat of matt black every time the rust breaks through, it’s an everyday rider living right beside the Irish Sea - the sissy bar is great for strapping on bags of groceries! And it runs regularly with the N.I. Rats, a group of like-minded individuals in Northern Ireland into persuading old bikes to live on beyond the “pretty” stage in their mechanical lives. -Phylo THE HORSE Page 8 THE HORSE Page 9 Talk Back Mistakes and Choices By Englishman A quick googling of his name Certainly people like Indian will bring up equally positive and Larry or English Don or many negative results. The works he other icons of the chopper world did for charity mixed in arrests were not immune from poor for selling cocaine to undercover choices. In the music world, we all cops (to be fair, that sounded like know of stars that have made poor a set-up) and his jail time for tax choices when it came to lifestyle evasion. None of which is really and drug habits. out of line for somebody with ‘celebrity’ status. Just a couple When Dan Haggerty died, of understandable mistakes. there were many glowing tributes to him all over social media, I It was his choice to couldn’t resist commenting how deliberately sell the two or I thought his memory had been three “authenticated” Captain a little sullied by his previous America replicas as the real actions and in general, I was thing that saddens me the most. chastised roundly by a few who were only aware of the positive I’m guessing that most of aspects of his life and looking at it s I write this, Dan our motorcycle heroes have had now, I probably deserved it. Haggerty, famous both mistakes and poor choices for his television at one time or another. Whilst I have immersed myself in roleA as “Grizzly Adams” mistakes are often avoidable, chopper lore as part of my job shit happens. We’ve all been here at The Horse and sometimes which ran for two seasons there, found ourselves in a I just don’t realize that it’s really (1977-78), has recently position that makes us question not that important to everybody. passed away. Although the “how the hell did this happen?” When I first discovered that general public knew him Poor choices are something else Benny Hardy was solely behind from this role, the chopper entirely. the construction of the Easy Rider bikes, I considered it my duty to community is connected There are multiple levels tell everyone that would listen. I via a very different route. of poor choices of course. thought it was a grave miscarriage Deciding to run a red light and of justice when the racist white To briefly recount, Mr. then almost getting clipped by motorcycle press in the 70s Haggerty worked as a film extra and another vehicle is something a floated the idea that Dan Haggerty “motorcycle wrangler” during the bunch of us have probably done actually built this bikes. Mr. shooting of the movie Easy Rider. at one time or another. Another Haggerty never dispelled those As near as I can tell, a “motorcycle example could be drinking way rumors. In retrospect, it really wrangler” would be responsible more than you should when you wasn’t his job to do so. for getting said motorcycles to the know you have to be at work in place and time demanded by the the morning… something I’ve To sum it all up, I should shoot schedule for the movie. As never ever done myself... yeah, probably worry about my own our regular readers know, I have right. mistakes and choices rather than written a fair amount about the trying to point out other people’s origins of the bikes used in this Coming up with a plan to when now, it really doesn’t movie. Ancient history indeed but screw other people out of money matter. The past is by definition few can deny the impact those is another level. There’s no way history and nothing new will ever two choppers had, inspiring many doing this can be construed as a come out about it all now. It may to build their own and generally mistake. A mistake is when you matter a lot to me but I need to kick starting the whole subculture try and use the wrong key in the learn to let things go, it’ll certainly across the country, if not the world. car, or when you order part # make my own life a lot easier. 5023-9987 instead of the 5023- Had his involvement ended 9997 you actually needed. When So rest in peace Mr. Haggerty, there, Mr. Haggerty would guys get caught cheating on in the end you’ll be remembered as probably only be remembered in a their girlfriends they’ll often try the big smiling man with the bushy fond way just because he was there. and explain it away as a mistake. beard and I’ll slip into obscurity… By all accounts, Mr. Haggerty was Well, no it wasn’t… unless said assuming I don’t make some epic a nice guy, fun and generous to girlfriend has an crazy identical bad choice before that. hang with and an all around cool twin sister. dude.
THE HORSE Page 10 t
Arsen Investigator Scooter's Luckity Spilt Panhead
met Scooter and his son Ron and daughter-in-law Heather at The Gathering of the Tribes in North Hampton, PA. Scooter rode up with his son and I liked what I saw, two ridden bikes from New Jersey, chopped toI perfection. After both Scooter and his son Ron both won trophies, Scooter and Ron gave me the details of the build. Scooter calls the model name of his bike Luckity Spilt Choppers which is their small shop where the Pan was created. To start out the motor is a 1960 Panhead rebuilt by Scooter and Ron, it’s a stock 74 cubes. The carb is an S&S E shorty and sports a velocity stack. The transmission is a stock 1960 four speed. The frame Scooter scored at a garage sale and they think it’s a Santee. Scooter heavily modified the frame to Luckity Spilt specs. The handlebars are mini apes he scored from a swap meet, the back fender is a 1973 Honda chopped, the taillight is a $29.00 eBay item. The king Sportster tank has been modified by Scooter. The oil tank is from an portable air compressor heavily modified. The seat is from eBay and the seat springs are from an FL hydraulic front end. The front end on the Panhead is a stock length Paughco springer. Front and rear wheels are 16”. The rear brake is the stock mechanical, the front is a replica springer brake. The paint job believe it or not is rattle can maroon smooth as glass, (must of taken lots of coats and lots of wet sanding to get that finish). All in all Scooter and Ron of Luckity Spilt Choppers cranked out one fine Panhead. I would like to thank Slink for bringing Scooter and Ron to The gathering of the tribes and for Scooter and Ron for supplying most of the pics as I had a camera glitch. Also Ron’s wife Heather, for getting the trophies home safe
Arsen Investigator Ted Arsen Lindenhurst, N.Y.
THE HORSE Page 11 Chompin’at the bit By Hammer Full Closure
My first editorial was entitled “Step she was very good and the closest thing by Step,” which was part introduction, to a friend I had there), Chris G as my part explanation. I wanted to bridge Associate Editor and the rest I never even the old Iron Horse with the new and knew. Oh, except for the “President,” explain what I had hoped to accomplish, who was more like Otis Campbell. In which was to be true to the “Piss Pea” fact, I didn’t really know him, and never tradition of going on the offensive on even talked to him, until the end of every magazine out there. Nothing and issue 162 when we talked about doing no one was off limits. It was like gang a magazine on our own. And even then warfare against the established press I didn’t really “know” him. When I did and companies that didn’t “pay their get to know him, it was too late. But, dues.” things turned out for the best even though I took a heavy financial loss due I introduced my staff at the time, to embezzlement by the drunk and his which included my right-hand-man, sidekick. Poetic justice prevailed and I Chris Gartner, Noyes Livingston and gained 100% control by hostile takeover basically explained why Iron Horse in 2006 I believe. ssue 159. That was 18 years would be the coolest magazine out ago. “What?” you say? “This there. All the time I was falling from As I compare both issue’s of 159, the sky without a parachute thinking it’s quite a contrast. First, no more Iis issue 159,” so what am I everything was going great. nudity. The way they used to do it at talking about “18 years ago?” Princeton was to use out takes of their Well, May 1998 was when I I waited on pins and needles for porn magazines to grace the covers. The started as editor for Iron Horse issue 159 to hit the stands. I anticipated photographer was supposed to shoot the Magazine. Issue 159 was my a flood of letters, some good, some bad, porn shots on a bike so they could grab first issue and here we are, full and instant recognition. None of that nude girls on a bike and slop them on circle at 159 with The Horse. It’s happened. It was like a almost surreal to think I’ve been non-event. No feed back doing this for almost 20 years. I and no indication from knew nothing about publishing the drunk whether I was still pitching the next back then, but it didn’t matter; inning. So Chris and I I was fodder at the time for a prepared for the next very unscrupulous company and issue. it wasn’t their intention to keep me around for long, something I Things were kind found out later. The Director at the of strange at the pub, time was a drunk who didn’t care I mean the main office about anything or anyone except in New York. I would what he could get out of them. But compile the stories, with I stayed on until issue 162, when photos and send them in to a “person” who would the company went bankrupt. tell me to send in more, Ironically, I partnered with this send in better photos and drunk to form The Horse. That’s a so on. I had no control story in itself, which has been told of the layout, content many times before on these pages. or style. All I did was provide the guts, with In my first issue I was full of no control whatsoever. I energy and fight. I felt it was my duty, was the editor, but man, I my obligation, to come out swinging sure didn’t feel like one. in the spirit of the previous editor who In fact, I called myself the “Editor at Will,” gained a small cult-like following with something that was his Socratic style of journalism. Looking not only true, but very back, it was like swinging in an alley apparent. with a blindfold on. I had no idea if I was on track, if the Publisher would fire The indicia page me, keep me, or if the readership would listed me as the editor, accept me. So I fought harder hoping to Kelly Barbieri as the hit something that was acceptable. Managing Editor (and quality contributors like Fab Kevin, Tom Johnson, Charles the Nomad, Arsen and GTP, to name a few. Englishman does the layout and keeps it real. Our staff rides and rides hard. This current issue of The Horse has cool bikes from Austin and his story from back in the late 60’s. We have a build series by some of the most talented builders on earth, like Bill Dodge, Eric Barnett and Ronnie Harris. Using an S&S Shovel engine, a Baker transmission and a Sugar hate Bear springer and more. In the old mail and 159, Chris G and I did a test ride on letters of praise. I’ve met a Ural (which was pretty good) and people I would never have met and Chris finished up on his build. A good each one enriched me in some way. effort but the rest was a real stretch to Throughout the years we have tried make an issue. I believe had I had total to give you the best magazine on the control of the magazine we could have planet. That was my goal in 1998 and it produced a much better issue but I was naive and lacked the knowledge on how continues to be me goal. to produce a magazine. Plus the drunk prevented too much good from being I hope to see all of you when we a cover. No thought to the bike, just a printed. He believed in porn and barely reach issue 259. naked porn star. The ads were mostly gave a passing interest to Iron Horse. free ads, exchange ads or just penny ads. Content was whatever I could As we carved out The Horse, we provide, not knowing if I needed five experienced a lot of good and bad. We features or fifteen. It was as sloppy an created the Coontail, The Smoke Out outfit as I had ever seen. Now, we have and discovered a ton of talent. I’ve gotten
THE HORSE Page 13 spACEy Knows HOW! Let’s Get it ON! at hand... fabricating! The right frame Whether it is conceptual designs of mind will dictate your whole day or things like a parts list, keep them in like a run away train if you control the (labeled) manila file folders in a area environment you work in. Discipline is that is protected from the dirt and grit a the KEY here so bring a coffee pot for shop can produce. I have a office area, support! but if you don’t, buy a little file box. I like to go back and look through what I 2. ORGANIZE YOUR TOOLS did in the past to see where I have been, as well as saving patterns for sheet metal Now, I do not want to seem a “do and other designs. what I say; not what I do” kinda guy, in reality, you have to periodically stop 4. PACE YOURSELF building and put everything back where it belongs. I have a fairly large shop If you were to try to get up early with two rooms, a “fab room” where I as mentioned in tip #1, you may seem make all of my metal parts and a larger to lose steam around 3 pm. I actually “build area” that has several bikes in start work at the garage at 8 am then various states of completion. I have rest around 2:30 pm. Then go Tattoo my two helpers also, which can mean a big iding season is around appointments around 5 pm, knocking off mess if multiple jobs are being done. at 9:30-10 pm. Go home, watch some the corner for the At the end of the day... put up TV or read and relax. general population, but Splitting up your time is a great way itR is and HAS been full blown to not get burned out. Spend one day a Chopping season for most of week as an off day, no matter what! Take us. I began getting calls from time off when you feel fatigued, it customers, right after the New is not safe to work when you are year, but I still have several sleepy or feeling under the weather, projects that I have already also your handiwork will not be at its obligated myself to do. I gotta best. Remember, this is supposed to make money and I cannot be enjoyable work! Don’t take on too turn down my new clients, so many jobs at the same time! I have had time is getting slim, plus I to “relearn” this many times. It is OK to book work in advance, just give yourself still have Tattoo clients (as reasonable time to finish what you have well as, spending time with started so you will not back yourself into my family). What do I do a corner. to make it ALL an enjoyable experience? Well I am gonna 5. CHECK YOUR WORK share with you tips and ideas I everything you are not have learned from a couple of immediately using! Take Whether you are a professional bike good Friends who happen to be time at the end to clean up after yourself. builder, a skilled seasoned builder or a some of the Best Custom Bike You can start fresh the next work session beginner, checking your work several Builders on the planet! with a renewed clean work area. It times is a must. You or SOMEBODY would not hurt to label your tool box ELSE’S ass is on the line! Let’s say you drawers in case you have people helping chopped up a fender and made a sissy 1. WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD you put tools up. bar for it. As you attach it to that killer wishbone frame, you need to make sure Bill Dodge and Warren Lane 3. KEEP NOTES you have proper clearances as well just both swear by starting your day early. looking totally awesome. What about I don’t mean 7 am either. I am talking Staying on track with notes is a all of the threads? Do the bolts go in 4:30-5 am at the latest! I have tried this lot like having a road map when you without binding after the heat from the when things have got down to the wire. travel. Sure you can wing it, but you welded bungs cool? Make sure when the There is a real serene peace that you are almost assured to make a wrong chain stretches (in the future) you will will discover working that early... no turn somewhere. Even loosely planning have enough room on the backside of phone calls, nobody to come knocking things on paper will give you a much that slammed fender to not rub the tire to “shoot the shyte,” No distractions! better guarantee to get the job done in a as you pull it back for proper tension! Your soul is able to align with the task more timely, satisfactory manner! Take your time and tack everything... THE HORSE Page 14 guy who slaves away ten hours a day, then works until midnight in his garage, welding, cutting, and creating the bike of his dreams that inspires us to produce the best magazine that we can.”
With that being said... we are out doing shows all throughout the year. We want to see what you are doing in your garage! In March, we will be at the 75th annual Daytona Bike Week in full force at one of the biggest chopper shows anywhere in the US. Willie Jones’ ChopperTime Ole School Chopper Show. If you are in the Smoky Mountain, Tennessee area in May, we will occupy The Black Dragon BreakDown at the Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson. June will bring us to the ALMIGHTY pilgrimage to Smoke Out 17, and as awesome as that is, we will be at the 76th annual Sturgis Rally and back down to Willies again for Biketoberfest! I know that is a lot of shows on the eastern seaboard, but we have roving reporters all over the map. If you cannot make it to these shows, why not check out grass root shows close to you like The Boogie Farm Clam Jam in Indiana (August) or the wildly successful Born Free show in sunny California, also in June. Get out and see what your fellow brethren are doing. Let us see what YOU are doing. Remember... the best way to get better and to do greater more innovative things is to test your machine and compare it what others are doing. Swap some prefit and check again! Save yourself the and movies past, we have become some parts, tell some stories make some good heartache and aggravation, think ahead kind of heroes. Living on ‘the fringe” connections- get on your bike and ride! when you make a part (or parts) and how of society... the last cowboys or rather they will relate to ones they are attached rogue explorers... Heck man, come ride with us on the to. Regardless, we are not the lone 3rd annual Lucky Loser Ride at Daytona wolves that they may perceive us to be. Bike Week, it will be a Great Time! NOW.. A WORD FROM OUR We DO have a network of friendship, SPONSORS brothers, and sisters across this great Your Pal world. New Zealand, Japan, South spACEy Let’s break away from these tips and America, the UK, EVEN the Middle truths and examine why we do this all in East shares... The chopper spirit! The Follow me on FaceStooge and the first place! Horse boasts 250,000 active readers and Instacrime GETTING OUT THERE IN THE still stays true to the Mission Statement billy spACEy lyons WIND... on your own garage built on our website and I quote... machine! You know what I mean. I dedicate this article to Lemmy No matter where you go, whereever “While other publications cater to Kilmister of Motörhead and David you pull up, you feel like a BadMoFo. the so-called “master builders,” we here Bowie aka The Thin White Duke. Kids wave, dudes nod, women flutter, at The Horse recognize that the “real” Thank you for a lifetime of Grandmas frown, it just feels good! master builders are not those rhinestone inspiration and musical rebellion! Even breaking down can be an awesome biker lites that build $50,000 static experience. everyone wants to help displays, but rather the average Joe who “the chopper guy” thanks to TV shows struggles to make ends meet. It’s the
THE HORSE Page 15 George the Painter Get on your bike and ride ...Or Don’t short, it’s much safer to hang around than anything that anyone should view with me these days although a little less as good advice but I guess learning from exciting. my mistakes is still learning ain’t it?
I’ve been successful lately keepin’ It’s a pompous notion thinking that my head down and getting the things anyone will learn anything from your done that I felt needed done. I’m not writing but I always thought that would doing anything for any reason other than be a decent way to address what I am tryin’ to clear up the things that always putting on the shelves. Sure most of my drive me crazy and setting myself up for shit is pure nonsense and barely worth some smooth sailing for the next few the paper it’s written on but I can at least years. It’s boring shit and even more say that after all the stupid shit falls to the boring to read about but that’s what’s side maybe there will b e a few words in going on. there that might be worth a f@#k. That’s the best I can hope for, nothing that will y bike is down, It seems like I’ve been writing change your life but at least it is written nothing major about everything under the sun just to with total honesty and not smudged with just a shorted fill copy but in actuality I am trying in the repugnant air of somebody trying to Mstarter. I can still kick some sense to keep the direction towards be somebody. I’m nobody just like you, motorcycles as I write for a bike mag but a picture in a magazine doesn’t void it but I don’t want to. keepin’ it authentic to what is actually out normal human frailties, and the best My back is in good happening without makin’ shit up to you can hope for is to make give a few shape currently and I just be relevant. Anyone that has been chuckles before you get canned. writing anything for publication will tell don’t want to end up a you, it’s tempting to make yourself out I have to be honest, I am not nearly cripple just so I can go to be a super hero but thinly veiled lies as obsessed as I once was with the whole ride the coast. I have will catch up with you and in the end chopper/motorcycle scene. The scene another starter that I’ll you’ll just look like a chump. has failed me on more than one occasion and now that all the qualities that once put in later today so I Myself, out of all the things I’ve made this an edgy, antisocial way of life can get some grocery done and written about I have at least have been exploited, I find little to no shopping done before tried to be honest about what I’ve use for any of it at all. Fortunately there written about. Along the way all of my are some fine people still in the mix and the sky opens back up. strengths and shortcomings have been that is probably the reason I’m still doing documented on these pages and good it. I have found for every 5 irritating I have a van but it’s not registered, or bad I know at least I will never be asshole posers you run into you’ll find it’s mainly for my trip north for caught trying to snow my readers. To one stand-up guy that will make dealing relocation this summer. The Latowski me, that’s something. with the others worth it. To keep me has been my only transportation (again) interested with all that goes on with two for almost a year. It’s just what I do, not There’s a lot of drama and general wheels is to focus on that stand-up guy tryin’ to be cool or proving anything, bullshit that you can get yourself tied instead of those other five f@#ktards. just makin’ my way through life not into if you start paying attention to it. With this one seemingly simple angle of bothered by what everyone else is doing. Years ago I realized that if I tried to perception I have been able to eke out take on everything I found stupid in this some semblance of honest interest in I have successfully pulled the plug motorculture, that’s all I’d be known what is currently going on. on my angst that propelled me for years. for: a flash in the pan, a one trick pony I got fed up with being fed up. Taking and in the real world that would end up The amount of people involved things in stride is what I’m all about just costing you friends and followers. with the chopper culture these days is a these days. It might be age or weed but Although on a grand scale I am a pretty bit overwhelming and a ratio of 5 dick nonetheless I am content more often impulsive and my writing seems to be heads to every one honest soul ain’t that than I am ready to go fully auto on some more about bad knee-jerk decisions bad when you step back and look at all hapless faggot that crosses my path. In THE HORSE Page 16 the hype of this last decade or so. But I couldn’t live with myself if I not. Unless the basis of this whole scene who am I to pass judgement? I ain’t no accepted the invitation to this big two is to make yourself into a character like kind of an industry player and when all is wheeled masquerade that’s goin’ on this is some big game of two wheeled said and done I hope to be remembered and even if I did want to pretend to be Dungeons and Dragons, I see no reason for more than having written for some something I’m not, a biker would be the to be puttin’ on airs. damn chopper rag for a bunch of last thing I dressed up as. It would be years… maybe a junkie prophet or at really, really awesome if everyone that Not everyone can live the hardcore least a cool next door neighbor. was playin’ the part wouldn’t have that two wheeled life because they have glazed look in their eyes when you ask other responsibilities or interests and them how their ride to the event was that is very cool as far as I’m concerned. I’m trying to become that guy that (a pet peeve as of late and something There is NO reason why anyone has to says ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and means completely new to the history of be so ashamed of their lives they have it. It seems a simple enough goal but motorcycle events). to pretend to be living any way other in this day and age these words fall than the way that comes naturally to unnoticed and hollow, they are now Simple honesty mixed with a dash them. It’s f@#kin’ pathetic to think seemingly just simple components to a of humility could go a long way if your that anyone would find it necessary day’s basic human interactions. Much fragile ego can take it and if it can’t to pretend to be anything other than like the terms ‘hardcore’ and ‘biker’ no maybe you should do your best to dump themselves, imperfections at all. longer carry the same weight as they what ego you feel the need to hold on should and at one time did. I don’t much to. A guy on a bike is a beautiful thing So get on your bike and ride… care whether anybody notices or not, in all its simplicity, why anyone would or don’t but whatever you do make doing it because other people will notice want to get caught up in all its other sure you are doing it in a capacity that kinda defeats the purpose. frivolous trappings is beyond me. “Ride doesn’t force you into a situation that your f@#kin’ bike” is a war cry that warrants you having to lie to keep the Yep, I write from a point of view should go unspoken but unfortunately whole façade intact for the people that so far removed from what’s actually is ignored as everyone is running to get are watching. Is it really that important ‘relevant’ that it’s actually fresh again. their picture taken instead of ditching that you try? Is it really that important What I mean is that I love my chosen society for peace of mind instead. I don’t that people are watching? Not to me, a place slightly outside of the chopper know, somehow I blame it on the media campsite with a few brothers isn’t any box. I’m not building bikes, planning but it might just be that an ‘everyone’s a less perfect if there is no cell phone winner’ attitude all too prevalent these reception, you probably need to hang events or feel the need to do anything days. that f@#ker up once in a while anyway. more than write about my position on the back of my bike, for years, only It’s not about pissin’ and moanin’ I got a bike waitin’ for me to throw because I love it. All this other shit?, it’s about everyone being honest about a starter in it sittin’ in the shed. I gotta kind of funny really. what and who they are. Not everyone get to it so I can run to the store to fill needs to be neck deep in all this, myself my diminishing grocery supply. I’ll I was at an event here in Florida not included. There are those people who’s probably make it all the way there too long ago and it was a great event lives fit neatly and completely inside the and back without anyone noticing or even with its look we all get along vibe confines of what it takes to be a ‘biker’ shooting pictures of me while I do it. that was enjoyable if not a bit forced. and those who aren’t trying to do so. It’s just me and my bike doin’ what we There were choppers akimbo and long Nobody has to be either but at least do. I’m not doin’ it for you, that chick haired freaks running amok way past you can do is be honest with yourself with the big tits or that guy standing the time that I crapped out. The next and others about what you are. There next to you. I’m doing it because I love morning I woke to the casualties of ain’t no shame in being a civilian, being it, breakdowns, sore bones and bad the previous night’s debacle, some still honest about it demands more respect weather, I ride because I do, not because yellin’ and hollerin’ as they insisted than pretending to be something you’re it’s the next big thing or it’s expected you notice they still have a beer in their not. of me with my position as a moto- hand. Fair enough, all is as it should be journalist. until they started to leave, chopped Evo I have no reason to ditch what I Good luck with the new persona, Sportsters piled in the back of pickup have been doing since I was a strapping I’ll see you ‘out there’. youth but I also have no reason to try to trucks making what was a good party fit in with whatever it is folks are trying “GTP” into a lie as far as I’m concerned. If this to convince you of these days. Yea, I’m is the mentality these days why NOT all about living my life on two wheels just lie? It would probably go unnoticed but it’s a f@#kin’ shame that when I and it would be a lot easier than this meet someone else that’s riding I have whole ‘trying to find something to write to second guess the vibe they are putting about’ every month. out to find out if they are full of shit or
THE HORSE Page 17 THE HORSE Page 18 LNYC Inc. is a motorcycle shop in Queens, New York. SThe shop is owned by Alex Lerner and the shop name is derived from his initials. His real first name is Sasha, but when he came to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1989, the immigration officer suggested he use his middle name Alexander instead of Sasha, so Alex it was.
By: Fabricator Kevin Pics by: Angus Dykman / Northeast Sports Car THE HORSE Page 19 SLNYC is the kind of shop that can do almost anything apply a solution to the plating to dull it down and give it the from fabrication to heavy mechanical and engine builds to beautiful, industrial looking finish it has now. SLNYC has regular bike service. This shop works on Harley Davidsons bronze plated several frames this way and the finish is very only, and the only rule is the bike must fit on the lift in order durable. to get any work done. Radical long bikes or any bike with a The front end is comprised of two left legs from a rear tire bigger than 200mm are not something that Alex is Kawasaki KLR 650. The left leg on the right was shaved of interested in working on. all tabs and the other left leg was shaved of all but the caliper The machine you see here was in Alex’s head for six mount. Satya Krause made Alex a set of triple trees to fit the months before he ever started building it. He had already built forks to the SLNYC frame, and Alex made a bracket to adapt three bikes based around a Twin Cam engine in a four speed a late Harley 4 piston caliper to the left leg. The rear wheel is swingarm frame, so building the frame wasn’t a problem. This a 15” by 4.5” Ralley Wheel from Summit Racing originally frame started life as a 1977 FX. The only things Alex used on intended for a Chevy Nova. Alex cut the center hub out of it the donor frame were the neck, the seatpost base, the upper and sent the rim out to HD Wheels in California, who drilled seatpost casting and the rear swingarm mount castings. The the rim for spokes and laced it to his hub. rest of the tubing was bent to fit, and every tube has a .188” Locke Baker of Eastern Fabrication was back in NYC wall thickness. Why so heavy? Well, Alex never under builds for a visit, and that’s when he and Alex dreamed up the idea anything. He was expecting a lot out of the motor he planned to make the tail section like Goose’s bike from Mad Max. It to build, and wanted no part of frame failure from thrashing too is heavily built from ¼” aluminum. Just using heavier the bike on the unforgiving New York streets. It took about six materials doesn’t always mean more strength, but Alex seems weeks to get the frame fully sorted, as he spends time on his to have a better than average feel for what will work and what own projects after hours. The finish on the frame is antique will not. bronze. Alex sent the frame, swingarm, and a handful of other parts out to be bronze plated. When he got the parts back from Now for the real show stopper – the Twin Cam engine with the plater, everything was finished bright. Alex then had to two front cylinder heads. Alex had seen shovels and Evo’s built THE HORSE Page 20 The spark is provided by a Morris Magneto, which you can buy off the shelf for your Twin Cam mill. It’s probably the only bolt-on part on the bike that isn’t handmade or highly modified. The transmission is a 5 speed in a 4 speed from S&S with gears from a 1983 FLT. It also has a 2000 shift drum and a Jim’s trap door that accepts an early style end cover with a traditional release arm. The early style release arm made it much easier to set up the foot clutch, compared to using a later style cover with a cable. Unlike traditional transmission mounting plates, the one holding this trans is non adjustable. Alex calculated the exact location for the transmission to rest and milled the stainless steel trans plate to hold the trans in one spot. For insurance and to keep proper tension as the belt stretches, he designed and built a tension pulley that rides against the lower section of the belt. The exhaust took Alex several days to figure out. He wanted something crazy and he hit his mark. The steel tubing consists of four separate pieces of welded up bends that empty into a 3” by 9” Cherry Bomb auto muffler. The whole assembly is ceramic coated. The mid controls are hand made of stainless steel and rotate on needle bearings from the countershaft of a 4 speed gearbox. No slop, and built to last. There just isn’t enough room to write about all of the special touches on this bike. I particularly like the way he mounted the headlight directly to the neck. Alex said he had been wanting to do that for a while, but if the fork tubes are offset too far forward of the stem there isn’t enough room when the forks turn. This is truly a bike that would take hours to absorb, and it would be time well spent. How does it ride? I was curious how the back tire would affect handling. Alex says it rides great. Running a 165 series 15” tire was done back in the day in order to get a wider tire (long before the big fat tire craze). If he built another one, what would he change? Two things, says Alex. I would like to try Mikuni Carburetors for easier tuning and I would set the bike up as a this way, but never a Twin Cam. He wanted to emulate the look of the XR750, and he wanted the mill to look like a full on experimental machine. He spent hours searching the internet for even a trace of advice to help him make it work, all to no avail. If this motor was going to get built, he would have to figure it all out on his own. Alex started out with a set of S&S cases that are based on a Twin Cam but have Evolution motor mounts. The real challenge was figuring out valve timing, so he employed one of the best camshaft manufacturers in the business. After several months the manufacturer returned his deposit so he employed another cam manufacturer. This time he got a rear cam, but it was not right. It ended up going back so he was months into the project and no further than when he started.. Alex continued to fret over this issue until one morning he woke up and it hit him: use the stock rear cam and design a lifter block that crosses the pushrods so they can actuate the proper hand clutch/foot shift. The bike makes so much power that it can valve. This meant he had to design and build a rear lifter block be a handful when running it hard through the gears. Form follows completely from scratch. That is a lot of work for one sentence, but function for Alex, but the line between the two is very hard to see. he made it and it seemed like it would work. Next, Alex chucked The Industrial Style of the typical SLNYC Inc. bike is very well the stock 95” cylinders in his lathe and turned the square fin shape represented in this bike. You Lose? Well, it is hard to imagine to round. He also rounded the corners of the ’08 cylinder heads and beating the engineering and fabrication work that Alex put in on welded 5” long runners with S&S carburetor flanges directly to the this ‘sickle. heads. The heads were sent to Branch Engineering to be ported, polished and have the intake runner matched to the heads. Alex Want to know more? Contact Alex of SLNYC at: 347-642- said when he got them back from Branch they were beautiful. I 8047 or look him up on Facebook: SL NYC Inc. He has pictures of asked why he chose the Super B, and he said he was worried about the build process there, and you can see more day to day stuff on the accelerator pumps of Super E’s dumping too much fuel. The Instagram at @SLNYC_INC bike runs fantastic with the B’s: 110HP as measured on the dyno at 5800 RPM. He has documentation of 103 dyno runs (!), all in the http://www.slnycinc.com name of tuning. The bike was finished in the winter months, and street tuning in 20 degree weather was just frustrating. The Dyno was a big help.
THE HORSE Page 21 THE HORSE Page 22 THE HORSE Page 23 THE HORSE Page 24 yler Mullins of Tamiami Tyrants Custom Cycles spent “forever” collecting parts for this one. He started off by Tgetting the M51 Linkert-equipped 1940 UA 80” engine from Eric Spear (Empire of Rust), a friend of his in Florida. From there, it was a simple matter of scouring Instagram, eBay and Swap Meets to find the rest of the parts.
By: Englishman Pics: Keith Isaac Model: Keri Myers THE HORSE Page 25 THE HORSE Page 26 Parts like the OG HD Peashooter springer and the 1936 VL frame. No problem, huh? His buddies came up with parts he couldn’t find online and it took another eight months once he started on the build. Gas tanks came from Paughco, 1/2 style. They were trimmed and tapered, one side oil, the other gas and of course a tank shift. Magneto was another eBay item rebuilt in the shop. The transmission is a matching 1940 unit. Jillian Rossi did the paintwork up to her usual standards. The bars are out of Front Street cycle and the seat is from Redtail Leather. Both wheels are 19” drop center star hubs and the only brake is the stock mechanical. Tyler says this is the principal reason he didn’t get a boatload of miles on it, apparently it’s not suited well for speedy city riding. He says it was a blast to ride, like a bicycle with a big engine. His original plan was to make it to The Race Of Gentlemen but these plans don’t always (hardly ever) work out. Instead it was shipped out to a happy customer in Hamburg, Germany. Longtime readers may remember the turbo Shovel we featured of his in issue #124 November 2012. He’s currently working on another turbo Shovel that’s looking pretty good! In all, I think you’ll agree that it’s a pretty damn cool little bike! tamiamityrants.com
THE HORSE Page 27 And the winner, by a technical knockout, is… Titanium Rod, Grade 5!
SoftailPart twoin and drag... a half
By Tom Johnson Tank by Mooneyes, mounts by Fab Kevin. or the record, I do remember promising to cover Wes Brown’s Fengine modifications this time around. The Cycle-Ramatized S&S 124 is ready, but not the Softail. As of last article, it still lacked an oil tank (I wanted to replace the heavy stock part with something lighter), battery and mount, ignition, wiring, and whatever details it might get- paint, for instance. Paint can wait, given an occasional rubdown with WD40, but not the rest. Hmmm…this just might work!
I’ve admired the flyweight spun-aluminum tanks from hot-rod legend Dean Moon since my teens. Dean died in 1987, but fortunately for Moon fans old and new, family friend Shug Suganuma brought back his company, Moon Equipment, as Mooneyes USA a few years later. While Mooneyes’ one-gallon tank would be a better choice for some, I chose the smaller three- qt. version (more like two and change with a decent air space) for clearance. Holding it is one of Fab Kevin’s Deluxe mounting kits- perfect form, perfect function, as Kevin’s parts are. I’d planned to weld tabs onto the frame and suspend the mounts and tank from the seat area, but saw that an existing cross-member behind the oil-tank one of Twin Power’s new 335 cranking-amp lithium- space would make for an easy bolt-on installation if ion parts, # DLFP20H-BS-H. At 3.3 lbs., I doubt it will I placed the mounts behind the tank instead of above do much for wheelie control, even with the weight of them. With that figured out, drilling matching holes in the mount factored in. From what I’ve heard and read, the cross-member and brackets, cutting supports for the bottom from aluminum flat stock, and cranking out four Using original holes to line up the new ones. spacers with Mister Grizzly got the tank mounted in no time. Almost. Clearance for the return and vent fittings required minor grinding.
While there was room for a battery above the swing- arm pivot tube, I decided to follow my buddy James Simonelli’s lead by mounting it on a tray attached to the front engine mount. With the last battery weighing 13 lbs., placing it forward of the frame would have helped keep the front wheel down during hard leaves, where it’s obvious that my clutch and throttle skills are a tad on the undeveloped side. But all that became moot when I replaced the old battery, now deceased, with
THE HORSE Page 28 by the bye, lithium-ion batteries, most of which rely on lithium phosphate to store energy instead of lead-acid I got the angle of the dangle right with a Harbor Freight or lead-calcium, can be temperamental, with lighting air drill. themselves on fire not entirely unheard of. If you buy a lithium battery, do yourself a favor and study the instructions before installing it. Better yet, put in some quality time with your favorite search engine before taking the plunge.
Not wanting the new battery, light though it is, to break loose and trip me up or have a nuclear meltdown from slamming the positive terminal against the frame, I put a fair amount of thought into the mount. The shape was determined by the two ends- one would attach to the engine-mount bolts while the other would support the battery. I had originally planned to place the battery Love it! on top of the mount/tray, bolt it down and call it a day, but that struck me as pretty half-assed when I thought more about it. Lacking a milling machine, I couldn’t just buy a thick slab of aluminum and cut a recess into it, so that was out. In the end, I used 3/16” aluminum plate for the floor, hacked out an opening in another piece for the trap, and bolted the two together. Not sure about depending on a 3/16” floor to support everything in front of a hard-pounding 124, I drilled and tapped the trap for stabilizers, which I anchored to the frame with a pair of clamps my pal Jere dug up at his shop, Jere’s Cyclecraft. The clamps work fine, but I may replace them with weld-on tabs come the final clean-up. If not, black Krylon should tone them down a little.
You might notice an extra cut or two in the trap. To improve my chances of cutting the inside walls more straight than not, I cut the forward end off for saw-blade/cut-off wheel access. Then, to paraphrase the words of home-garage mongers everywhere, I took those two pieces of aluminum and cut, ground, or filed away anything that didn’t look like it belonged on a battery mount. After that, it was just a matter of The holes are all but invisible, but they drilling, tapping, bolting the end back on, and attaching eliminated .00382 grams of dead weight. the trap to the floor- followed by a few quick sweeps with a Scotchbrite pad to make the rough spots and gouges slightly less glaring. You may spot a few other cosmetic touches, counterbored Allenheads being the best example. Counterbored Allens were light-years past cool when they showed up on that first round of Frisco choppers last century, but have gotten a little less so as they’ve become more common. I still like them, though, despite the counterbores being something of a pain to get right without a mill. Cheap counterbore tools with guides like the one in photo 11 help, however, and are available from Enco and other suppliers. Treat cheap guides gently, or be prepared to make/buy new ones. It is too a chopper! Says so right on the oil tank.
THE HORSE Page 29 Now to explain the “Titanium Rod” bit in the title. A nice piece of 6061-T6 all marked up. It’s like this- I like titanium because I do. But really- how could anyone who knows a kicker gear from a flywheel not love a metal that, except for weldability, combines the best properties of high-grade stainless, aluminum, and chrome-moly steel? Whatever, I’ve been wanting to try my hand with “Element Ti” for years, and decided to make the battery-tray stabilizers from 5/16” Grade 5 rod from McMaster-Carr. There’s plenty of information online about working with titanium, but as usual, it can be hard to separate fact from speculation, bluster, and outright bullshit. I caught a good break a few months back, when I asked Paul Cox about machining it. Paul compared it to stainless steel, so I knew to stay on my toes, flood-lube it, and use sharp tools. Equally free A well-lubed hole saw cut the radii… of b.s. were tips from newfound friend Bill Karow, a professional machinist who makes things for very fast cars and steered me towards the correct lathe settings. Using his suggestion of 80 SFM (surface feet per minute) and a calculator at americanmachinist.com, I came up with a turning speed of 995 RPM. Bill also explained that titanium would tolerate a feed rate, the speed at which the cutting tool advances into the workpiece, at least as high as steel’s.
Bill noted that titanium tends to weld itself to the cutting tool if cutting pauses with the tool touching the workpiece, along with another tidbit that I can’t resist …which turned out better than expected. passing along verbatim- “Caution should be exercised with any chips/shavings, as they can ignite and burn fiercely.” Ignite and burn fiercely…. nope, I won’t have to hear that one twice. Welder’s attire it would be. And a chip tray free of flammable substances. And an extra fire extinguisher by the lathe. And anything else I could think of, including a big-ass bucket of soaking-wet rags, to keep my garage and Georgianne’s house from going up in flames in the event of a Tom vs. Titanium meteor shower.
I cut the stabilizers to length with the Craftsman reciprocating saw formerly known as “Mr. Sawzall,” watching the pretty white sparks very closely and leaving an extra inch for chucking them up in Mr. Grizzly. Then came turning them down to .307”, .0055” under the .3125” usually recommended for threading 5/16-24, per Bill’s suggestion, and going to work with a brand new, top-shelf 5/16-24 split die- the advantage of split dies being that they can be spread apart with a screw in the die or diestock for light initial cuts, then tightened as the threads take shape. Turning the rods down was no problem, other than creating jumbles of flammable, stiletto-sharp titanium swarf (waste chips Enco counterbore tool with guide. or threads), one of which bled me good when I came
THE HORSE Page 30 too close. Threading, however, was a different matter. Though bloodless, the first pass seemed to take forever, Drilling the guide hole out to 5/16”. despite the pricey die and trying every lubricant on hand, including a few drops from the Knuckle’s stash of 70-weight. Then I tried threading single-point style with the lathe. That worked better, but during the learning boomerang (“Curve,” my ass.), I managed to destroy my threading insert and the back-up. So for now, mild-steel stabilizers it is. Oh yeah- the threads are for Heim joints.
Oh yeah again. Please bear in mind that I completed exactly one basic “you should already know this stuff” math course during those tedious months of schooling that transpired between legitimate vacations and spur-of- the-moment drop-outs, so best do your own calculations It will have a straight edge. It will, it if you decide to take on titanium. will it will…
Irrational or not, the Softail will have a homemade titanium part or two before it’s done. Tricky though it is to work with because of my meager experience, I love the stuff. I dug up some information comparing titanium to premium steel alloys as a point of interest, but the more I tried to verify that information, the less confidence I had in it. The only thing I’ll commit to is that titanium is not stronger than premium steel alloys, contrary to popular opinion, but it is 45% lighter and more resistant to rust and corrosion. And according to McMaster-Carr, on the Rockwell hardness scale, Grade 5 titanium is 5 steps Milling with a drill press is a fine way harder that chrome-moly steel. Small wonder I got my to muck it up if you get too aggressive. ass handed to me when I tried threading it in Round One, but believe me- I’ll come out swinging when the new threading inserts get here.
I understand that some of you don’t give a speck of bug dung about titanium and metallurgy, but trust that you’ll cut me some slack. Wish I owned a mill, but my favorites of the trifling little parts I’ve bent, whittled, welded, ground, and beaten into shape over the years- which I like almost as much as the motorcycles they went into- have all come from the problem-solving required to get around an obstacle like not having a mill or some other wondrous tool. Need→ Problem→ Not finished, but getting there. Solution. That’s the one thing, besides a marrow-deep attachment to custom motorcycles, that I’d bet most of us have in common.
Yep. The next article may cover more odds and ends, but I’ll get to the Cycle-Rama dyno ASAP. Bear with me, Wes. I’m dancing fast as I can.
TJ
THE HORSE Page 31 THE HORSE Page 32 hat better reason for a gathering than to honor a legend. Even better when you stop and look around the crowd to see living legends walking amongst Wus. The David Mann Chopperfest never ceases to be a packed house.
Words and pics by: Twila Knight
THE HORSE Page 33 THE HORSE Page 34 This year was a little light because of the enormous threat of rain, and even still there was not a vacancy in sight. Each year the vendors come out and bring with them the best of the best. Vendors range from artists with paintings or clothing, craftsmen bringing their hand made motorcycle parts, to the big dogs in the industry selling one off and production pieces. As it is with most of us browsing the isles, somehow, I never leave empty handed. Each and every one of these vendors pour their heart and soul into their work, and it shows. You get to meet the owners of these small businesses that just do what they love, and that truly adds to both the show and to the motorcycle community, and walk away with new friends.
THE HORSE Page 35 THE HORSE Page 36 The other half of the show is definitely the biggest draw, the motorcycle show. The artistry that goes into each and every motorcycle astounds the crowd. The great thing about Chopperfest is the variety of the bikes in the show. Everyone may not be considered a “show bike” but every single one has a heart and soul of its own. Some builders end up bringing a bike out for one or two years, and some are lifers. Each year the builders come out with something new, something as individual as the builder themselves. One of these “Lifers” is Dalton Walker. Dalton started out as a vendor, setting up among the rows of those selling their goods, and it didn’t take long before he decided to enter a bike into the show. Something he has done since 2009. In 2011, at the 8th annual Chopperfest he won his first award, in fact he won 2 awards that year, both Cycle Source Pick, and Best of Show. He has won Best of show twice, that first award in 2011, and again in 2014. His awards have included 1st place in Special Construction, and in Radical Design, and of course this year, Best Pan Head. When I asked Dalton what draws him back each year, other than his obvious ability to come back home with a new award each year, his response was simple. The town itself draws him back each and every year, and the vibe of both the town and the Event itself. Chopperfest is one of his favorite shows because of that vibe. I am sure we all agree with Dalton in thanking Tory and the entire staff of the David Mann Chopperfest for keeping the show a continued success. One that we all look forward to each and every year. Cheers to all the success of past years, and to many more yet to come.
THE HORSE Page 37 THE HORSE Page 38 NEW, IMPROVED STROKER PISTONS FOR HARLEY 45’s. The perfect choice to go along with our stroker flywheels for the 45 cubic inch flatheads. These cast stroker pistons for your Harley 45” are made by a different manufacturer with correct cam grind and material to eliminate problems with piston seizing and loose fit. They come complete with rings, pins, and clips. Available in Std, +.010, +.020, +.040, and +.060. These pistons arrive at the same height in the cylinder as a stock engine, when used with 47/16” stroke. 4½” and 45/8” stroke also available. The piston will arrive approximately .030” higher in cylinder with 4½”, and the piston will “pop-up” above head gasket surface when used with 45/8” stroke. Complete engine and flywheel service. Write, Call, Fax or Email for pricing information.
3345 E. 31st South Wichita, KS 67216 (316) 682-4781, Fax (316)682-4853 [email protected]
Truett Osborn_2015.indd 1 6/24/15 3:34 PM
2800 S.Nova Rd, Daytona Beach FL 32119
THE HORSE Page 39 By: Chuck Palumbo Pics by: Matt Lingo
THE HORSE Page 40 his may be the most simple bike I have ever built and the most fun at the same time. I had to follow rules. You may ask yourself Twhat fun is it to follow rules? Especially when building a chopper? Well I figured rules make things challenging and challenges can be fun, especially combined with building a bike. So I had one rule and that rule was : Nothing on the bike could be bought new off the shelf. Except the tires, sprockets,chain, brake pads, rotors, cables, wheel bearings, neck bearings and races, gaskets fasteners etc. You get the picture. Basically the wear items. This may sound easy, I just mentioned a whole bunch of parts, but in actuality, that’s a pretty short list when it comes to building a bike.
THE HORSE Page 41 THE HORSE Page 42 Last year I did some miscellaneous welding for a a section of left over fender blank from the rear fender customer who had offered up a West Coast Chopper and added some one off struts. I tried to keep the battery frame as payment, so that’s where it started. I added a area clean with just a hold down to keep it from moving gusset to the neck area for a little more strength. Not around and a small piece for it to sit on. sure what the dimensions were but I had a set of 6” over 39mm tubes laying around the shop that seemed to work The drive train is out of an Evo Softail i picked out just right. The triple trees were factory take-offs from up years ago. Just a reliable set up with a mild cam, a Dyna. I machined off the cast fork stops and added a electronic ignition and some jetting to wake it up. To stainless internal stop. The lower legs were also factory me, rigids don’t need a huge amount of horsepower to take offs that I shaved. Wheels were next, starting with be fun. The exhaust is a stainless one off, again simple stainless spokes I mated to left over steel rims, an 18x5.5 and basic. in the rear and a 21x3.5 in front. Hubs are one offs out of 6061. Both hubs and rims were chrome plated. Tires are The base paint was left over from an early set brand new, 180 in the rear and a 120 up front. I mocked of Kawasaki Z1 skins I painted years ago. I added all of this up and put the bike on the floor to get a look some tint to the green to match it to the frame, added at the stance, which i was pleased with, so I moved on. some flames and shot clear over everything. The frame itself was actually powdercoated by my buddy Chris at The sheet metal was all pretty basic, except for Powder1 in El Cajon. maybe the oil tank, that took some time, it’s basic but still takes a minute. The tank was a factory take off. I had my friend Dean Semple carve the seat out of I flat bottomed it,relocated the petcock and fill hole and tool leather and he did a great job as always. added some mounts. The cap is a simple one off. I took The brake calipers are take offs from a sport bike. Fab Kevin sells brake kits which include calipers and brackets, you can’t go wrong there he’s one of the best in the biz. I got the brake light from him too. Rotors are stainless steel left overs. Foot and hand controls are classics that I had powdercoated. Everything else is pretty much self explanatory. Just what’s needed to make it functional. As it turns out it was close, but I wasn’t able to follow my one rule, then again what fun is building a chopper if you can’t break the rules? Isn’t that what choppers are all about?
THE HORSE Page 43 Dream On
By Mz Debo
Baker Six or Half Dozen; Depends How You Cut It No offense, but every time I asked someone one of the questions on my list, I felt as if I’d jumped onto a merry-go- round that was going at the speed of lightning. So as I sat in here are just some things that money can’t buy. As the gun shop with my feet up on my desk, I leaned back into you guys know I’ve started building my chopper. my chair, closed my eyes, and took in the Cerakote paint I have a strict budget in mind but I’m going to be which filled the air and my lungs. After about 10 minutes like that, my mind was still blank, except for the six-legged Tflexible with that if necessary. I thought it was going to dog running around the four corners of the room. With so be so easy to get everything I wanted since I had some many questions remaining, I decided to go over to Baker and money saved up. Well, that was like dropping a penny get the right answers from the experts. in the bucket. You know I have a list for everything; even one for what money can’t buy. This principle is I texted my Fairy Queen Kari to ask her if she could set applied to any part of my life, day in, day out. What up a day to go over to Baker for a person-to-person visit. It can’t money buy? Well, in my case it’s the knowledge, seemed like we were never going to get over to Baker. They experience, respect, satisfaction, good friends, time and lastly happiness. This is all coming together as my bike build is taking shape.
In my last article I had just purchased my transmission from Baker. I have to say that I’m still just as excited about it as if it just happened two minutes ago. Let me explain how it all transpired. First off let me say, I didn’t have any real knowledge about transmissions, so I asked a lot of questions, but didn’t quite understand the answers. So I pulled out my trusty Apple laptop and did a Google search. I especially searched for what I knew I wanted, understanding very well how search engines work on the technical side. I typed in “6 into 4 transmission USA.” That’s what I wanted, an American made transmission, one that was reliable and could handle a powerful 93” Shovelhead. In this search I got Baker Drivetrain.
I didn’t know much about Baker’s products, so I wanted to learn more and make an informed decision on my purchase. I realized that there was a lot to learn about transmissions and I wasn’t going to learn everything overnight. Puzzled at some of the terms, I hurriedly grabbed some paper and a pen and starting writing down my questions. After reading everything on Bakers website, I had about five pages of unanswered questions. Damn, now what do I do?
THE HORSE Page 44 were busier than ever, but finally she got a date and a time. I was excited. I felt like the monkey was off my back, you know the one that keeps asking when I was going to buy my transmission? Now that monkey and I were dancing around in harmony.
One thing I knew I wanted for sure was the Baker N1 shift drum. Hammer explained it to me and I know he has almost all of his Baker transmissions fitted with the N1 drum, so from what I understood, that was one feature I wanted for sure.
Hammer and I drove over to Baker and met with Mark, who was very helpful and explained Mark
Mark also explained that undercut of an OD6 is 4 degrees while the undercut of a direct drive is 1 degree. The purpose of the undercut of course is to hold the transmission in gear with the shift system detent. The 4 degree detent, compared to the 1 degree detent, will require slightly more effort in shifting, but is necessary in aggressive engine tuning. Some pro-stock V-Twins are undercut at 10 degrees. Engines with a violent power pulse need the higher detent undercut.
Then we talked about sprockets, which have a tremendous impact on rear wheel torque. Mark said that they recommend 23 tooth off the engine and 51 on the rear sprocket. Hammer is running 24-48. I’m thinking about going with what Baker everything to me so I understood my options and how the recommends. I can always change it later if I need to. internals actually worked. Bert was out of town but I did meet with his lovely wife, Lisa. She made us really feel like friends, Mark went over all the options with me, asked me a lot of not customers. questions and together we put together the best transmission suited for my riding style. I did add one little piece of Hammer had already steered me towards a six into four with customization that I’ll show you after it’s complete. Right now an N1 drum. I kind of understood why, but Mark helped explain the transmission is with Bill Dodge. Once Sugar Bear finishes how the shifter arm would make for an easier set up with my my front end the bike will come together quickly, more or less. foot clutch. If I had gone with the conventional six speed, with the ball and ramp actuated by a cable, the connection for a foot I have to say this before signing off. I didn’t ask for any clutch would be more difficult. I know Hammer is doing just that deals when I got to Baker. I didn’t expect any. They treated with his S&S 124, running his Baker six cable over to the left us like old friends, and in the case of Hammer, there is some side. Fab Kevin is going to make it all work as only Fab Kevin reason for that since he has known Bert for years. But this was can. But in my case, the 6 into 4 is perfect and more period. my first visit, my first time being there. It was one of the most pleasurable experiences I have had so far. I have to thank Lisa One thing I found interesting was that the 6th gear on the and Mark for making me feel welcomed and for their extreme 6 speed is not a 1:1 like many have speculated. Sixth gear is an patience in answering my questions and making me extremely actual overdrive, 0.86. Mark explained that their overdrive 6 proud to now have a Baker transmission going on my bike. speeds are different from the direct drives where 6th/5th gears Referencing back to things money can’t buy; yes, I can buy a are fixed at a 1:1 ratio. The overdrive 6’s have a 1:1 in 5th gear; transmission but you can’t buy genuine friendship like I found however all ratios greater than 1:1 are underdriven like 4th gear, at Baker. which is 1.23:1. Ratios less than 1:1 are overdriven like 6th gear which is .86:1 and that gives you that resultant RPM reduction at highway speeds.
THE HORSE Page 45 THE HORSE Page 46 THE HORSE Page 47 THE HORSE Page 48 THE HORSE Page 49 THE HORSEStory Page 50by: Billy Lane Pics by: Hammer and Mz. Debo Model: Elizabeth obody could have convinced me that this bike would have turned out Nlooking like this. Simply put; this is not how I’d planned it. I bought a mostly complete custom ten years ago, and the bones for V/G-13 came out of that deal. The 1941-1945 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead frame was raked to 35 degrees, notched out for a Shovelhead engine, with a Frisco- mounted Sportster gas tank, and late model Sportster narrow-glide fork. Wheels were 21-inch and 16-inch five-spoke Invaders. It didn’t look bad. I planned to keep the bike for myself, so I repaired the notched tubing, re-installed the Fatbob gas tank mounts, and restored the original neck forging to 30 degrees rake. With an offset Harley springer fork and original 1940-1946 Knucklehead 3.5 gallon Fatbobs, my partial 1946 EL engine and LittleJohn 5-speed gearbox looked at home in this piece of Milwaukee’s history.
THE HORSE Page 51 THE HORSE Page 52 My friend, Vinnie, saw the potential in the project, and showed interest in making my machine his own. We cut a deal, and it became crystal clear that our two visions for the same machine were divergent. Vinnie loved the look of my 1948 big flathead bobber, PlainJane. Which would have been perfect on it’s own- putting together a Knuck version of Plain Jane would have been a dream come true, (I still think about doing this every day). But Vinnie has vintage Moto-GP road racing roots, and he expressed an appetite for Moto-GP elements throughout. The connection between bobbers and Moto-GP is vague, and I tried to assemble several configurations- all, unsuccessfully. Vinnie liked my 1938 Knucklehead bobber, which rolls on vintage 19-inch Borrani alloys laced to an H-D star hub at the rear- and BSA twin leading shoe drum, up front. We both agreed that Borrani’s were the right choice, so I laced a 19-inch Borrani to an identical BSA TLS front drum. The idea was to mount road racing slicks front and rear. Plans crashed quickly. I could not find a supplier for 18-inch or 19-inch slicks. The only size my search was successful in finding was 17-inch diameter. I purchased a new 17 Dunlop slick for the front, and laced the same size rim to our hub. It looked awful. The wheel diameter was too small for the scale of the bike. We tried removing the springer, and replacing it with the late narrow-glide. This looked equally poor. Against my instincts, Vinnie convinced me to rake the frame back out to 35 degrees . The 17-inch wheel and tire still didn’t look right, so I laced the 19 back to the hub. My only choice was to mount a street tire, but the change in proportions was remarkable. THE HORSE Page 54 I never expected his suggestion, but Vinnie e-mailed me a
question regarding using an M&H drag slick for the rear tire. Although a drag slick has no place in Moto-GP, it seemed like it might be a viable option. I ordered a newly manufactured vintage drag racing slick, and M&H sent it on to me right away. I mounted the tall slick to the 18-inch Borrani, and final the stance of V/G-13 was firmly established . Vinnie likes the long, lost look of a lacquer paint finish, so I sent a nice set of original 1959-1960 Panhead DuoGlide tanks to Darren Williams at Liquid Illusions for black lacquer. As good as the lacquer looked, Vinnie insisted I swap tanks when he noticed a roached set of foot shift Panhead tanks mounted on another of my personal projects. Again, Vinnie’s call was the correct one. The black and white tanks cut deeper for the hard, raw look we both knew the bike needed . I made a small, simple, race inspired aluminum rear fender and a frame mounted seat pan. Adam Croft at Last Ride Customs tooled the bitchin’ leather for the seat. Most of the custom work on the bike involved a lot of riveting, drilling, and machining minor details to pull all of the random elements together. Vinnie- like anyone who knows great custom style- is a huge fan of Indian Larry’s work . Leaning on this, we opted for small, narrow ape- hangers and narrow forward controls with a racer’s influence. I welded up dual shotgun pipes, ceramic coated by Precision Powder Coating in Melbourne , Florida, and wrapped in kevlar heat insulation . Initially, we wanted to include considerable metal engraving on some of the cast aluminum parts, but I felt too much of Heather’s engraving would be too ornate for the raw simplicity of V/G-13 . Heather did engrave a vintage, cast steel, chromed shift knob to look like a #13 pool ball. My 1946 EL engine was far from complete, so we located a nicely rebuilt 1945 Knuck with mint numbers. Vinnie scored the engine for a fair price, and I sent it to the legendary Pete Hill for a look. Pete confirmed that the engine was properly built, and it fired immediately when I was ready to run the bike. The engine runs so good, in fact, that I started it by hand- cold- when Hammer was down to shoot V/G-13 for THBC. Most everyone thinks the M&H drag slick will be hard to corner with, because of its square-edged profile. Truth is, the tire is so soft that the transition into corners is unnoticeable. Forget burnouts on dry ground, though. This tire is made to hook up, and the little 61” engine loves to launch the front wheel at every clutch dump. Knucklehead. Wheelies. Yes. Shop Rags By: Mz Debo
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life.” - John Lennon
hat do you want to be when you grow up? That’s a question that some of us remember very well like it was yesterday. AlongW my journey last year, I met some really cool guys. I’ve mentioned these guys before in previous articles but now I’m going to take a step back and really offer some insight as to who they are. As you know, I’m building my bike with some of the best guys in the industry. These guys have worked their way up to where they are now by staying true to themselves and doing what they do best and what makes them happy, building bikes! Early last year we got an invite from Self Made Customs to come hang out with them in September at their shop. When the time came, I was the only one free to jump on the bike and ride the 275 miles. This was my first trip without Hammer, so I was a bit nervous. I was excited to meet some new people and more excited to be able to go to a shop and get some insights. First off, I didn’t know how big the shop was or where it was, but I had an address. What’s the worst that could happen? I could get lost, right? Yup, I got lost so I called Charlie only The motorcycle guru of the crew is Charlie. He’s been to find out I was right across the street from their shop. This building bikes for 20 years, so this isn’t new to him. When was about 4pm. I was late and dinner was set for 5pm. he was a child he was constantly asked what he wanted to be Their shop is located in a mixed neighborhood on the when he grew up. His answer was straight forward, a bike East Side of Columbus. When I finally arrived I was in awe builder. After acquiring a degree from MMI, Charlie hit the at the size of their shop. It was huge for a shop that just ground running, working in the industry with various people started 6 months ago. After a quick tour we rode our bikes to trying to make his vision a reality. Along the way Charlie had a restaurant called The Top. Along the way Mike’s bike broke some pitfalls, learned lessons the hard way and it cost him down. It was amazing for to me to see them come together as much more than a college degree while paying his dues. But a team to figure out what was wrong with the bike. his luck was about to change. During dinner I got the chance to meet the crew and Moving forward in his career, Charlie met up with pick their brains. The only person I kind of knew was Charlie Mike and they decided to put together a “dream team.” They from phone calls and emails. Mike is a true entrepreneur and purchased shop equipment, lathes, mills, forklifts, everything. business-oriented guy. He brings everyone’s ideas together On any given day they have a team from 8 to 20 in the shop and turns ideas into accomplishments. Mike, along with Josh, working 24 hours a day. It becomes a friendly work party. Perry, Chris and Jeremiah, has an extensive background in Mike and Jerimiah’s wives cook dinner for the team on a fabricating, especially old classic cars. regular basis. It’s a regular family run business with everyone treated as family.
THE HORSE Page 56 My one-day trip became a whole weekend. I got the chance to see the shop in full swing and just how they all work together. We rode to a few places around town, hung out at a bike show and the drag strip. During this time I spoke to Charlie one-on-one about how their shop got to where they are today. The answer was simple; they are a family. When he said that my mind wondered off momentarily. They are like a family and they were treating me as a part of their family the entire time. I had never met such a large group of guys who worked so well together and that I felt comfortable being around, let alone riding in a group, which was very different for me. Biketoberfest came up at some point, and me riding my bike there. They were interested since they had never been there before. I told them I had been there several times and would show them around. And plans were made. The plan was that I would ride down from Michigan to Columbus the Saturday before The Horse’s Bike Show. Well, things didn’t go exactly as planned, as you know if you read issue 157. Anyway, in the midst of the all the excitement, Charlie told me about a build they had in mind. He showed me what they had so far and that he had hoped to have it ready. It was to be their harbinger so everything had to be just right. Daytona was in three weeks and they had a lot to do. Charlie was extremely focused on that bike and put everything else to the side as he concentrated on that bike. While at the shop, I saw a few bikes that were already built and others that they were working on. As I sat there, watching them work, I thought to myself, “This is how a shop becomes successful, with everyone’s skill set being applied where needed.” With this assembly-line approach to building, they are able to have several bikes in progress at the same time with everyone gainfully employed balancing the workload. Self Made is a full bike shop, building ground-up customs or performing repairs on customer’s bikes, routine maintenance or scheduled maintenance; they do it all on all bikes, not just Harley’s. And by the looks of things, they are doing it all very well. The shop is full of work, bikes and cars. They have a very loyal customer base that spreads the word about the quality and customer service at Self Made. After just six months in business together, they are showing signs of growth and expansion. While in Daytona I continued to hang out with them. Again, my time was limited but I made the most of my time and spent a week with them that one evening. I didn’t even sleep that night before boarding my flight. We talked, joked and got to know each other as friends-family- not just business associates. It was one of those magical moments when it all came together and it felt just right. No wonder the “dream-team” is living the dream—they earned it. During these next few issues I will continue to visit various shops and manufacturers along with the men and women who make them successful. Maybe in the process I’ll discover what I want to be when I grow up, but for now, I don’t want to grow up!
THE HORSE Page 57 THE HORSE Page 58 THE HORSE Page 59 By: El Nomad THE HORSE Page 60 THE HORSE Page 61 THE HORSE Page 62 y buddy Kevin really nailed it with this little number! After hanging around with Mike from MMedusa Cycles he got infected with the long-bike fever, and over the course of a year and a half this is what ensued. It’s a giant step up from the yellow-ass Sporty pile he was ripping around on before! I’m a sucker for a UJM 4 cylinder motor, and it’s hard to argue with a proper long bike with a sweet old girder on it. This bike started life as a 78 CB750, although all that’s left from the original bike is the motor and the back wheel. Red Good from Cycle 1 Mfg. made the frame, and in my opinion he really hit it out of the park! There’s a lot of handmade goodies on this sled, like the handlebars and sissy bar, and the Ironhead oilbag that was adapted to this frame. The Red Dragon Performance breadboxes behind the carbs are a super nice touch too. All in all, it’s a pretty bitchin’ sled that gets ridden daily, and looks good getting down the road! Good job, dude! And thanks to the lovely Leia for making it look even better! (find her @leia_ruthless on Instagram)
-el nomad
THE HORSE Page 63 THE HORSE Page 64 THE HORSE Page 65 By spACEy Pictures by Kristal Blue
ast June 13, while out on the road, filming Tattoos and Turnpikes, the whole crew took a two day break in KeyL Largo. Just a bunch of mangy mutts and a EVEN dirtier film crew getting together for an evening meal, the night before we were to get back on the road... Some of the ole ladies flew in to visit and I remember everyone sitting around laughing and having a great time when all of the sudden... almost EVERYone got quiet and began looking at their phones... it was dead silent at our table of probably 20 people...
A STORM ON THE HORIZON
News came back in a hurry as some of us were not in the loop. Bare Knuckle Choppers had been hit by a huge tornado. Big Dave and the whole crew was pretty much from that area and were like family to Paul and his wife Nicole. Phone calls back home began, as questions about people’s safety were a great concern... no one was hurt but BKC was demolished. One of THE best bike builders around AND a very awesome friend to many, Paul Wideman’s WHOLE livelihood was pushed down by freak storm. The storm was
THE HORSE Page 66 see so many faces eager to lift BKC back up! That night, Kristal Blue and I met up with Robby to play guitar at a gig with him in town. It was fun as hell and everyone was pretty cool to us. Robby has a great voice and really lets loose on guitar when he plays, so I sat in and jammed some solos on my sweet Gibson SG. They even had a few barroom brawls to make us feel right at home... I felt like I never even left the dear ole South! Fists clenched, and a lot of “HOLD ME BACK MAAANS” later... the place settled back down into shots beers and hugs. On the way home, we saw on a darkened road, two Sheriffs walking the banged up and bruised, shirtless, severely drunk A-hole (who started the whole fiasco) to an awaiting patrol car. It was just like a episode of COPS!!! MAN! I bet he was pretty hungover waking up in the drunk tank. Oh well, its the price you pay for being the baddest dude in the Bar!
LET’S RIDE... AND THE LEGEND OF THE DITCH JUMPING SPORTSTER! an EF1 with 110 mph winds, 50 miles wide with a two mile path! It plowed STRAIGHT through his building leaving only We woke up early the next day and got ready for the ride remnants of what once was a thriving business. that would take us through the Missouri River Valley. There were maybe 30 bikes and we all met at the old shop which That certainly took a shot at Paul’s soul, as he was used lay in ruins. It looked like a ancient archeological dig site as to working everyday. I have to say that he has been a leading the building was reduced to rubble. We all got together for a innovator in the motorcycle industry for more than 10 years. group picture and then we were on our way. The weather was With over 101 products and even a co-author of a book, incredible, chilly and brisk but felt damn good. “Custom Motorcycle Fabrication,” Paul has worked very hard The line of bikes was long and Kristal Blue was on the to get where he is. NOW IT ALL LAYS IN RUINS! back shooting pics of the riders as we got out front then Where do you go when all seems to go to pieces? Well in Paul’s case, he does what he does best... get back to work, sorting through the wreckage and recovering was the first thing Paul, Nicole, and handful of friends did.
TORNADO RELIEF PARTY!
Fast forward to October 3rd, Kristal Blue and I headed up to show our support to Paul at his new shop in Hawk Point, Mo. When we arrived, we were happy to see Roadside Marty and Bill Dodge already there. Dale Yamada of Mad Jap Customs flew down from Calgary also to hang out, as well as many, many friends and family. It was awesome to
THE HORSE Page 67 slowed to let everyone pass us, so she could get passing shots. A couple miles out, Kristal and I were playing catch up, when we came over a hill and everyone was sliding to a halt! WTF MAN!!! Derek Seiber who was on the cover of The Horse last year, was in front of us and veered off into a ditch to avoid hitting anyone in front of him. Launching himself and his “Over The Top Sportster” into the air NO... SOARED over a metal culvert with utter ease! He was at least 4 to 5 feet in the air! He landed with no problems AND pulled back up on the road! Bill went over to check on him and his pants as we were all frozen with our mouths open in awe! Yep, his pants were dry and he was not even visibly shaken! Damn what amazing sight, Kristal and I saw the whole thing, I had to check MY pants! Dale had borrowed an FXR and the rear brake cylinder had locked up causing a near pileup. They loaded it up and we all laughed it off... time to keep on going! PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT! We hit some great curves of which I straightened out for everyone behind me thanks to my limited steering on After the ride, we all got together for the party, the chopper me ole two wheeled friend, Indian Giver. We made it up to show was full of eye candy and there were a good amount a cozy roadside tavern and warmed up to a few brews and of vendors. It was held at the Hawk Point VFW Post 7560. conversations and hit the road through wine country. Man Several hundred people enjoyed bands, food, and seriously it was exhilarating weather and a great wind down, after all AWESOME giveaways! My band, Sneaky Tree played and of the miles I have been on this past year. Great friends and tore ears off as well. We had a great amount of interest at The brothers all together again for this great cause! Roadside is Horse/Lucky Loser booth. It seemed like everyone we met always fun to ride with... he always has this big cheese eatin’ grin on his face every time we passed him! made us feel right at home. The auction was off the chain! THE HORSE Page 68 Motors, frames, artwork from Darren McKeag. After the show, we headed over to The new Bear Knuckle Choppers World Headquarters! Man is it huge and cavernous! Upstairs we hung out and played pool, downstairs there was indoor drag racing. It was fun and we stayed out too late to get up at a reasonable time the next day. I left Indian Giver there as my driving was surely impaired. Speaking of impaired, when I pulled up on the loading dock, my low as hell bike got stuck on the pivot point so Paul reached down and grabbed the rear peg to lift it over the bump and ripped it off with one mighty swoop! Yep... time to put the old two wheeler up for the night! We all laughed... Damn man, y’all are eating to much cornbread up here! I guess the bolt had came loose, miles and miles back and was only held on because I welded a bead on the pegs to keep them from vibrating loose. Good thing Kristal Blue is a little lady!
REBUILDING A DREAM
The next day, I drove back to get my bike, no one was around and I walked around the place for a bit. I tried to put myself in Paul’s shoes. I tried to imagine the reality of it all. I walked around the ruins of his old shop. I picked up pieces of the bricks and stood on the old floor where, I could only imagine what raw metal glory was once made here. The ups and downs of a triumphant business in this small town. A town that was very proud of a local boy who had NAILED his name into the wall of an industry of global importance... And now it was gone. Then, I thought about the demeanor of my friend Paul, a former boxer like myself. How many times did he get knocked around in the ring in those old glory days? How many times did he get back up-just to get back in the ring again... was this now, no different than then? I know Bare Knuckle will get back up again... even further than before. The hardworking American spirit that has made our country great, lives in Paul and his company. I ask you to give him a shout and check out his products ALL made in the USA, BY him. You will not be sorry... tell him spACEy and The Horse sent ya!
Your pal spACEy
Check out BAREKNUCKLEPAUL and BAREKNUCKLEUSEDPARTS on Instagram www.bareknucklechoppers.com There is a GOFUNDME set up Atomic Trent www.gofundme.com/8c7d3c
THE HORSE Page 69 Lucas K2F Magneto
By: Dan Patterson Guide ucas K2F magnetos can be found on many post-war General Next, remove the brush holder nearService the mounting flange, British bikes, and while Lucas Electric products and both the pick ups are often the butt of jokes from the Brit Bike community,L their magnetos can be, in my humble opinion, rugged, reliable, and trouble free when they are properly serviced before being put to work.
This guide is not an exhaustive or overly technical dissertation, and thus, if your magneto has serious problems you may need the help of a professional, I will provide some resources for that later in this article. That said, there is rarely a need to spend a ton of your hard earned currency to see a Lucas K2F back to its former glory.
The first step to getting your Lucas mag back in service is to completely disassemble it. Start by removing both the spark-gap screws near the pickups. These small, pointy screws will damage the slip ring if you fail to get them out before pulling out the armature. The points housing is next. Remove the end cap, and then remove the ¼” bolt holding the point plate, use small pliers to carefully rock the points plate off the armature. Different K2F models may have different number/position of fasteners that hold the points housing to the main body. Remove them all, but be careful not to damage the shim(s) between the points housing and the main body. If you like a nice fresh finish, Glass bead blasting at low pressure, after degreasing, will have your mag body and points housing looking like a new penny. Every old magneto has a story to be told. This story began with: “Dude, I seem to have lost the little red plastic insulator. I guess I’ll just use this bit of rubber as an insulator”. At least he understood the concept.
THE HORSE Page 70 This red insulator is what should have been there. The But it’s not a tough to fix. Simply hold the points plate hold-down arm swings over on top of it to hold the points with the depressed key at 6 0’clock, place a small flat-blade down. screw driver inside the bore and on top of the depressed key, and carefully tap with something that is NOT a hammer.
After each light tap, visually check the position of the Guide key and test fit it to the armature. This is about where the key General Service needs to be positioned.
The points plate told another story: It was cranked down without the keyway being indexed, crushing the key into the boss.
Next is the cam ring. Removing this ring can be tough, or, it could just fall out. If it is stuck, pry it up from the bottom, but be sure to do so evenly and with the help of WD40 or some other penetrating oil. The points housing is thin in places and can easily be cracked or broken, so this is not a job for ”Team Ram-Rod”. This cam ring looks like it has been in the sea for a couple years. It needs replacing.
THE HORSE Page 71 I pulled a couple greasy vintage ones from the stash, cleaned them, and was back in business. This is a tool I made to install the drive-side race/ insulator/oil seal. You don’t have to use this type of thing, but it does make it into an easy operation. Smear a little Three- bond sealer on the oil seal and give the install tool a push.
This is the new cam ring. The notch you see at 5 0’clock is where the points housing locating pin engages it.
Getting the bearing races out is not too tough. On the drive-side, use a deep well socket that is slightly smaller than the opening in the mag body. A moderate tap with a smallish hammer should be enough to liberate it, the oil seal, and the insulator paper. The other bearing race takes a little more patience. Of This picture shows the race, insulator and oil seal installed course there is a special tool, use it if you have one. For everyone else, a few skillful twists of a flat-blade screwdriver under the race will free it up just fine. Upon inspection, these races were deemed too crusty to use.
THE HORSE Page 72 The armature was up next. Assuming the edges of the slip ring aren’t destroyed (spool looking bit on the right) I skim the earthing path (on left) and the slip ring valley on the lathe to keep the brushes from bobbing around in their holders. Skim off as little material as possible.
Pop the bearings off the armature and clean them with solvent and a brush to remove any petrified grease and grit, blow them dry and pop them back on the armature. Grease them right before final assembly.
The new condenser setup will not require taking the magneto apart to this level again. It will only require taking the stationary points boss off the point plate. Take a moment to remove the points arm and boss from the plate and file both contact faces of the points. They do not have to be filed perfectly flat; just make sure they are clean. This type of condenser can be bought on ebay from user “skipsoldbikes”. They cost about $30, shipped. This picture shows the Bright-Spark condenser installed in place of the thin plastic insulator under the points boss. We have run this new style condenser on our personal bikes and on client bikes for years with ZERO failures. It is WELL worth the modest cost.
The condenser: Don’t plan on it working. Even a new- old-stock magneto will need its condenser replaced. This part of the service is revolutionary, compared to the old way of condenser replacement.
On the drive side on the armature, 180 degrees from where the slip ring tower goes into the armature, you’ll see two wires that are soldered to the stock condenser. Unsolder the two wires from the metal terminal, twist them together and re-solder them. Insulate them with heat shrink, and tuck then back in so they won’t move when the armature spins. This operation removes the tired condenser from the circuit. This picture shows the two wires, freed from the condenser, and soldered together…
THE HORSE Page 73 More history with this magneto body, in the form of stripped threads. One Helicoil later and we are back in business.
When you install the armature into the magneto case, and bolt down the points housing, you should have about only To keep water out and have a nice finished look, I turned a couple thousandths of end play. When you turn the armature up an alloy bung that is threaded 26tpi for the housing and by hand, if it feels like it is binding at all, STOP, determine tapped ¼-20 for the stainless socket head bolt. why and sort it before proceeding. You may need more points On your pick up and earthing brushes, clean them well housing shims, or the slip ring safety screws could be too with brake cleaner, and verify they are dry and move freely. long (wrong ones). To install the points plate, make sure the key is properly registered in the armature’s slot. Install the ¼” bolt. Remember to re-torque this bolt after the first few miles to be sure it is fully seated. Gap the points at .012”. The gap should be the same on both lobes of the cam ring.
When you get the magneto put back together, clamp the bottom mounting tab in a vise to test it. Use spring clamps to This magneto was formerly manual advance. We are hold the spark plugs on the upper mounting tabs. I use a short going with auto advance to keep the handle bars free of bit of fuel line and a drill to spin it counterclockwise. Your clutter. But this leaves a hole where the manual advance used fresh mag should be able to consistently create a spark across to live. This “rain collector” was likely the likely culprit for a .200” gap at 200 RPM. The spark should be thick, bright, the very rusty cam ring. and dead consistent.
THE HORSE Page 74 Looking good and working like a champ!
There are also a few tests you can conduct on the armature, while it is out, with a multi-meter to let you know the condition of the windings. These tests, a list of Bright- Spark vendors, and magneto service centers can be found at: www.brightsparkmagnetos.com However, you have nothing to lose besides some of your time and a few affordable parts to service the magneto as shown. If your armature and magnets are in good shape, which is not unheard of, you will have a reliable Lucas magneto again, and you will have the pride in knowing you did it yourself.
1 888 441-3331 crankandstroker.com