Here's a man who builds his scoots from the ground up in his garage. The only bristeling steel aspect of the project that he doesn't handle in house is the engine work. Ken leaves the forming of his power plants to Delzani Cycles in Cleveland. The engine is a 113-inch S&S motor that is capable of 130 hp without the nitrous. Once he fired off the nitrous system the bike Dyno'd at 50 hp above the original 130. He's currently working on a bike for his friends at Accel and another project for Redneck Engineering. During the day he hammers out a living working on elevators and escalators in Akron, Ohio.

This scoot began with a prototype Pro One frame. It took him six months before he could press the starter button and watch it come to life. The gas tank is a Ken-modified D &D steel job. He changed the mounting tabs and stretched the unit another 1.5 inches. The rolling chassis is raked 38 degrees solely in the frame.

Years ago he worked with his dad who was also a rider and a wrench. His pops was a persnickety bastard who tore down stock bikes and refined them but didn't build customs. His father was killed in a bike wreck in August of 1990. This is Ken's fourth creation, and he wishes the old man could have witnessed his training come to fruition.

Ken is not a fan of rear belts. The wheels are Performance Machine, Seville design, combined with PM rotors and sprocket for a clean right side. The controls are all Performance Machine, Contour line. The primary drive was handled by BDL, their Top Fuel Belt Drive.

The nitrous system was designed by Nitrous Express, Brian Haven. Ken sent out the manifold and carb spacer and Brian's crew created the system to fit. Air and fuel flows into the monster engine through a Brian Murray modified S&S D model carburetor. He opened the idle circuits, added three thunderjets and polished the unit for a $900 price tag. The exhaust escapes through a Mean Mothers Supertrapp unit.

The sheet metal design was based first on a D &D front fender and Paul Yaffee rear. The rear was a bare bones uncut fender that Ken modified to his own styling, cut and designed his own internal fender straps to fit the 12-guage lines.

Ken built the seat himself to fit the fender, frame and tank. He adjusted the ride height with a Legends Air system. It was the only hiccup to the construction of this night racer. The system hung too low and shock mounts had to be cut off the frame and moved. "When it's lowered, it's a rigid," Ken commented on the ride. He spruced up the front of the bike with a Pro One "Monster" wide glide front end.

The transmission is a JIMS 6-speed. Ken chose a Headwinds, 7-inch swoopy headlight, but he installed a HID, High Intensity (2 to 3 times the wattage) electronic system. "Katz make 'em," he said as I wrote notes as fast as I could. The Pro One oil tank was used for an easy fit. Finally all the wiring possible and Russell brake lines were run through the frame. "I re-tap the calipers and master cylinders so I can use pipe thread fittings and eliminate the old banjos," Ken explained that he feels they make for more secure and sealed connections.

Ken also handles his own body work, paint and graphics. In this case he used House of Kolors Black BC-25 base. He faded a maroon marble under the graphics and then worked 3D, silver artwork into the tank panels. Clean.

This rocket ship currently has 2,000 miles on the motor and is for sale ($35,000), while he works on a couple of other projects. Next we hope to work with Ken and lay out his next rigid chopper in stages as it comes to life. Here are some teasers of projects to come. Now let's ride.

--Bandit

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