This is the most recent PIC of the bike, even though it has a new air cleaner since. My partner Matt and I got together with a couple friends (Saskia and Andrea) and I shot some photos of our bikes in the old southern part of Fresno.

I entered all 50 or so of the PICS I took that day and we got a spot in a calendar being produced out of Virginia. I met JB (producing the calendar) on The Horse's message boards and he was a big help in setting up nice shots. I had never done anything like a photoshoot before, but it was a lot of fun. The calendar should be available through The Horse in the next couple of months.

When I was about 17 and lived in the Bay Area, I wandered into this shop called "El Sobrante Custom Cycles" in El Sobrante Ca. and saw my first "Frisco" style chopper. The bike belonged to an HA, and was on the floor for sale. I didn't have anywhere near the money, but I always carried a PIC of that bike in my head. Seemed like every time I got my shit together and started looking for a bike, they were always just out of reach. About five years ago I moved with a new wife to Fresno. I finally had my shit together for good this time, and started buying parts. I knew what I wanted, and I never could find a bike for sale that I liked, so I figured I would just have to build it.

This was the first time it sat on the ground behind Precision Cycles. I remember thinking it was perfect. Everybody joked about pushing me around the parking lot and making Harley sounds...

The frame, wheels/brakes, forward controls, grips/pegs and front end came from a guy here in Fresno named Paul who bought out the CMC inventory when they became the new Indian. I took the whole thing into a shop in Clovis called "Precision Cycle" owned by Mike Dong and his father Wes. Mike raked and stretched the frame, as well as welded up the area between the seat and tank and fabricated a custom neck brace. Mike also performed some welding for me on the Sportster tank and the fenders (from Jesse James), and got me interested in and taught me a lot about the Voodoo of metal fabrication. Together we made the top motor mount/coil mount and the license plate holder.

I bought an Iron Cross light from Custom Chrome and then cut the License mount out of steel to fit it. Mike Dong bent the mounting tubes and welded them to one of the spacers. Matt Beal and I welded the plate holder to the tubes and it was plated by Western Chrome in Fresno. Our shop Road Rage may start offering a similar version of this in the near future.

Mike also made the Stainless Steel exhaust pipes. (In the time since Mike closed down Precision Cycles, I have moved on and continued to learn about metal fabrication and have fabbed new parts for a few other bikes. I began hand forming gas tanks and fenders, and I owe a lot of what I know to the solid foundation that Mike gave me.) Wes was a retired master mechanic and taught me a lot about V-twin engines. I was out of town when he suffered a sudden heart attack while working in the shop and passed away. Wes was one of a kind and a lot of people including me still miss him.

This is my favorite side. I like the very "mechanical" look of the open belt with no cover. The pulleys were a bitch to polish because of the coating on the inside. The front one grabs my pant leg once in a while and snaps me pretty good, but I figure she's just making sure she has my attention.

I made the motor mount/coil cover with help from Mike Dong and a buddy named "Blue". There is a Nology miniature coil under there too.. I also made the shift rod out of aluminum tubing that I polished.

The engine and tranny are stock H-D that were pulled apart, massaged, polished and powder coated. The infamous "Buckshot" put the motor together for me, and sometimes I think it still smells a little bit like Rebel YellSThe open belt drive from BDL bolted right up and Mike and I polished the pulleys.

This was the final paint job. Actually when the PIC was taken I had just color sanded it to be ready for final clear coat, so it seems a bit dull. It had been a few years since I messed with autobody paints, so it took five tries to get it where I was happy.

I picked up a bugler striping tool and striped the flames myself, and they really didn't come out half bad. The striping tool is better for long straight lines (I found out later) so I am practicing with a brush for the next time.

Mike and I accomplished the molding on the frame. I molded the tank and fenders as well as painted the whole thing from primer to pinstriping the flames. I had worked in a body shop years ago, so I had a basic idea what I was doing. Although it was painted about five times before it got to where you see it here. I have since painted a few other bikes for people and I am getting better and better.

I dig Iron Crosses. There is a couple spread out throughout the bike. Steve Navarro in Fresno did a great job covering the seat pan and threw in the Iron Cross for the hell of it. It's pretty comfy too...

Once the bike was about 90% complete, Mike decided to close his shop for personal reasons. Through Mike I had met Matt and Melissa Beal who decided to open their own shop up. I took the green bike there for the final finishing touches like the seat pan, which Matt and I made from steel. We also strung all the wiring. Steve Navarro in Fresno, who did an awesome job, covered the seat. I had planned on riding it just long enough to work out the bugs and then tearing it down to repaint (again), but I am having too much fun. This bike has been in my head for 15 years and took two years to build, so I am gonna' ride it as long as I can, then maybe fix the few blemishesSmaybeS.

Some PICS I shot a while ago for this feature. The stainless pipes sound good and polish nicely, but I may replace them this winter. The shape is cool, but not perfect...

Since then I've joined up with Matt and Melissa as a full partner in Road Rage Performance. We finally moved into our own permanent address about a month ago and are trying to get settled in besides working on a few complete ground up customs for different customers and keeping up with our service and repair clientele. We're in the process of lining up several different lines of parts and apparel for our retail side too, as well as our own parts and apparel.

We're at Road Rage Performance 4566 E. Pine st.,Fresno (559) 252 1700 and we're on the net at www.roadrageperformance.com

The End

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