There's something more to riding a chopper than any other motorcycle in the world. There are economical deviates who buy low cc metric bikes to get to work on a dime, save space, reduce air pollution and make a gallon last for a month, but not us. Custom motorcycles, bobbers, rats, choppers, and hot rod bikes represent romance, danger, anti-social activity, creative freedom, and criminal commotion. No wonder the establishment slams us with all the restrictive legislation they can dream, attempting to control our whiskey-drinking selves.

Tom Foster resides at the pinnacle of depravity. He only builds chrome criminals capable of out running 44 magnum bullets. His icons are Indian Larry, Jesse James, Johnny Chop, and the Ron Simms. He lives to build the toughest motorcycles on the planet and ride them out of East Los Angeles crime ridden Avenues district, through Echo Park, to find glitter on Sunset Boulevard until he reaches solace on the coast in Santa Monica, and then slices north through Malibu.

He lives to collect tattoos, work with Roland Sands and Mooneyes, and build bikes for celebs and guys who breathe adventure. When Tom came to the Bikernet Headquarters for tacos and a feature bike interview, he packed $20,000 in his baggy pocket for his run to Performance Machine.

"I only work with a handful of companies in the industry," Tom said. "Performance Machine, BDL and Chopper Guys are at the top of the list."

All the bikes he builds contain PM Wheels, brakes, and controls. All his primary drives are BDL. He likes components that work and fit every time.

This tight rider, "Captain Insano," has been shipped to Japan for bike shows, published in a dozen mags, and featured on American Thunder TV. Most of the fab work was handled at Roland Sands Design facility, then final assembly took place in Tom's home (of 25 years) in the barrio of East Los Angeles, called the Avenues for the 3rd largest street gang in LA, recently featured on the History Channel's "Gangland" show. "It was hairy for some time, before the SWAT, ATF and FBI team cleared it out," Tom said.

So, why the hell would Bikernet feature a bike that's garnered this level of previous exposure? The girls, natch, and the photography. Peter Linney captured the grizzly side of Los Angeles, downtown, at dusk with the lovely Destiny Monique. Plus Tom has a romantic story to tell regarding building bikes and his fiancée, "Claudia," who is an attorney in a large downtown law firm.

Tom decided to build a tribute bike to his pal, Johnny Chop, after the last Discovery show.

"Johnny never mentioned his ailment," Tom said. "He just loved building and riding bikes fast and ignored the rest. He lived the dream."

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