I recently discovered a Triumph chopper builder in our LA Harbor hood, so we rolled over to Earl's digs at 786 Miraflores in San Pedro. Here's the rest of Earl's contact info:

Cycle Art by Earl
(310) 218-2979
Earlsbikes.net

Earl is a classic craftsman who almost exclusively builds custom rigid-framed Triumphs.

"I trade stock shit for Custom parts all the time," Earl told me.

He doesn't restore bikes, and when I visited his shop, there were at least ten rigid bobbed triumph 650 vintage projects in the works.

While visiting, a local kid rode up on another classic Triumph custom and it caught my eye like a jewel glistening in a asphalt parking lot. The good Doctor Hamster and I wandered over to take a look, and with each viewing angle, we spotted a new detail. This kid had classic talent written all over him, so I initiated a feature with the esteemed Peter Linney handling the photography. I knew Peter would also enjoy the craftsmanship.

As it turned out, this kid, Jordan Nuttman, is a master machinist and toolmaker. He's 33 and this was his first Triumph effort, inspired by Earl, but it wasn’t his first motorcycle project. Born in Kansas, he and his brother, were uprooted a month later and they spent their first four years in Chicago, followed by another 4-5 years south of the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

His dad rode as a young man and grew up in Southern California, but lost two friends to the historic Ascot Raceway. At age nine, his folks moved back to Socal in Rancho Palos Verdes. Jordon started a paper-route and bought his first motorcycle, a trashed Z-50 trail bike.

"The wiring was fried," Jordon said.

Delivering newspapers on steep hilly streets, he discovered another deal on a Yamaha Chappy, then an XR75 Honda, and started riding in the dirt behind his folks’ house with his brother. They were just 18 months apart and partners in every two-wheeled adventure.

"We rode too hard and often," Jordan said. "The cops came down on us."

He moved onto a RM 80 Suzuki, then an XL 150 dual-sport Honda, while his brother stepped into another riding ring with a Yamaha TI, a bigger bike with a 400 cc engine.

"It was an endura-styled bike and so high, I couldn't reach the pavement," Jordan said.

With each bike, he became savvier with internal combustion, suspension, and wiring. Then he graduated from high school and his life went to shit in the back of a Toyota camper shell, partying and following the Grateful Dead from concert to concert. I'm sure a couple of girls were involved in the process.

"That era was just a blurr," Jordan muttered and scooped up a fish taco. He looked so serious most of the time, but once in awhile, he broke out a brilliant smile and started to laugh. Maybe the Dead acid returned.

Somewhere between the band breaking up and the death of Jerry Garcia, Jordan came back to earth, slapped himself in the face with a cold, wet shop towel and challenged himself.

"I bought a Russian BMW, Ukranian Dnepr, piece of shit," Jordan told me and scrambled for another Miller. "If I could rebuild it, I could rebuild anything."

He restored every aspect while making trips to Century Motorcycles in San Pedro, California. The mad redhead owner, Cindy Ruthaford, sent him to Earl's when he stepped up to the Triumph.

"I bought this running basket case on E-bay," Jordan said. "The frame was a mess and I replaced it with this BCS frame."

He bought the tank from Earl and went to work using as many '73 Triumph parts as possible. The wheels are stock, and so is the front end. Other than the aftermarket frame, all other components were hand built by Jordan.

"I thought it might be a rare Duplex Triumph frame," Earl said of Jordan's classic frame lines.

The Garage Company crew rebuilt the engine and Jordan tucked all the electrics under the tank in the tunnel, made all the classic stainless bracketry, oil tank, and his wild shift linkage.

"Since I was nine, the brake was always on the right, so I shifted the brake to the other side," Jordan said, "and built a toe/hand shifter."

This is just the first of more refined motorcycle classics I expect to witness from Jordan Nuttman. He has the touch, eye, and the talents to build anything.

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