Jim Giuffra, was born February 16, 1960 and today, is the most awarded and well-known custom metric bike builder in the world.

In 1969 at the young age of 9, Jim began his life long 2-wheeled journey atop a Zebra mini-bike which he laughingly remembers crashing into a neighbor’s fence. But that did little to dissuade him from getting back on it. By age 14, he was racing Motocross in the 100cc class. He moved to 500cc Open Class at age 15, and was the youngest rider to do so at that time. At age 17, he moved up from Novice to Amateur, still “placing” in every race, Jim turned Pro at 23 years of age, and stayed there for two years, and again, placed in every race.

In 1976, Jim built his first custom bike, a Honda 750F(four), which he proudly still owns to this day. More pictures of his bad-ass 750 will be on Bikernet Metric very soon.

Jim began working at Spinetti’s Bike Shop in Jackson, CA in 1977 at age 17. Spinetti’s was one of the largest multi-line dealers in the nation at that time. He started out just like everyone else; sweeping floors and doing minor repair, except he was radically customizing all the locals Honda Goldwings in his spare time! His attention to detail soon paid off, as he was sent to Honda for formal training and became one of the first 500 Honda Factory Certified Technicians in the country. He is factory trained in Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha service and repair as well.

In 1987, Jim started Amador Fine Tune. He was blessed with an overwhelming amount of business due to his reputation in the area. This soon blossomed into AFT Customs (a division of Amador Fine Tune), as Jim took on more extreme custom projects. AFT is also the home of the 8” Headlight for cruisers. To this day, A.F.T. Customs has been on countless magazine covers, has received 18 world-wide features, and more than 28 globally recognized awards/trophies for their unbelievable custom work, including the title:

2005 and 2008 World Champion of Custom Bike Building, again establishing Jim as THE BEST in the industry.

“My future plans are to develop a parts line that truly exceeds the quality and performance standards of today’s products, while making them available to everyone.” says Jim Giuffra of A.F.T. Customs. “However, I will always keep to my roots of working on bikes whether it is an oil change, tune-up to a complete ground up builds.”

This year, AFT Customs built a Yamaha Roadstar for the AMD World Championship at Sturgis. While at Sturgis AFT not only won the AMD world championship for metrics but also won Best of Show at the Bikernet Brouhaha. For that reason and many others, we are pleased to show the readers the bike. You will be seeing tons of this bike in the months to come. From the cover of V-Twin magazines to a month on the LA Calendar (www.fastdates.com) and even the Yamaha corporate calendar, it is going to be everywhere. Congratulations to Jim and his team and we look forward to more builds and contributions to Bikernet Metric in the near future.

Bikernet.com Extreme Tech Chart

Regular Stuff

Owner: Jim Giuffra
Bike Name: Er Hed
City/State: Martell, CA

Builder: Jim Giuffra, Ron Abel, Kylie and Elaina
City/state: Martell, CA
Company Info:
Address: 12370 Martell Road, Martell, CA 95654
Phone: (209) 223-3848
Web site: www.aftcustoms.com
E-mail: aft@aftcustoms.com
Fabrication: AFT Customs
Manufacturing: AFT Customs
Welding: AFT Customs
Machining: Knowles Design

Engine

Year: 2004
Make: Yamaha
Model: Roadstar

Transmission

Year: 2004
Make: Yamaha
Gear configuration: Stock
Final drive: Chain
Primary: Stock
Clutch: Hydraulic Clutch Conversion. (AFT Customs’ original design debuted in 2006)

Frame

Year: 2008
Make: Redneck Engineering
Style or Model: Mutant
Modifications: Oil in Frame-Custom Design (AFT Customs)

Front End

Make: RMD Billet
Model: Billet Girder
Length: Custom length
Mods: (shortened)

Sheet metal

Tanks: Redneck Engineering
Fenders: AFT Customs
Oil tank: Frame AFT Customs/Redneck Engineering (Oil in Frame design)

Paint

Sheet metal: Scott Hultquist, Riff Raff Customs-PPG “Ruby Slippers”
Graphics: Scott Hultquist, Riff Raff Customs
Type: Gold Leaf
Frame: PPG Ruby Slippers
Base coat: PPG
Graphics or art: Scott Hultquist, Riff Raff Customs
Special effects:
Pinstriping: Scott Hultquist, Riff Raff Customs

Wheels

Front RMD Billet
Make: Eiffel
Size: 23” (front and rear)
Brake calipers: Beringer Caliper
Brake rotor(s): W8less Products

Rear
Make: RMD Billet “Eiffel”
Size: 23”
Brake calipers: HHI/Sprotor
Brake rotor: HHI/Sportor
Tire: Avon Cobra 130/60 x23”

Controls

Foot controls: Vortex (Custom) C/S Sprocket
Finish: Anodizing
Master cylinder: Beringer (front) Honda (rear)
Brake lines: Drag
Handlebar controls: Beringer (levers)
Finish: Anodized
Clutch Cable: Hydraulic
Brake Lines- Drag
Shifting: Yamaha
Kickstand: Matt Hotch

Electrical

Ignition: AFT Customs
Ignition switch: AFT
Coils: Dynatech
Regulator: Yam
Charging: Yam
Wiring: AFT
Harness: AFT
Headlight: Independent Cycle (modified by AFT)
Taillight: Chris Products
Switches: Euro Components (hi/lo switch)
Battery: *Interstate

What’s Left

Seat: Duane Ballard

Specialty items:

Comments:

Everything on this bike is custom built. The Frame and the handle bars are making their first debut.
Frame-oil in back bone-removal of sump and chain case from engine. Right side chain drive.
Handle Bars-First time ever handle bars are also the brake fluid reservoir. Clutch and brake fluid in “univoir”.

Credits:

Special thanks goes to Ron Abel for his fabrication, Kylie for her engine dismantling and rebuilding, and Elaina for her welding. Kylie and Elaina are two of the AFT Customs’ Girls….

Sponsors:

Jim wanted to make sure as well that all of his sponsors were noted on this tech sheet so they get the credit that they deserve.
Scott Hultquist, Riff Raff Customs
Duane Ballard
Redneck Engineering
Avon Tyres
All Balls Racing
Baron Customs
Beringer Brakes
Crime Scene Choppers
Dynatek
50’s Boy Inc.
Motion Pro
Yamaha
Vortex
Works Connections
W8less Rotors