My dad has a 107 Merch motor and was dying to stuff it into a chopper, so we ordered a West Coast Choppers frame.

As soon as we got it out of the box, my dad didn’t like it; he wanted something with more stretch and rake. It just so happened that I had an H-D Evo motor and tranny at the shop, and I decided to build the chopper for the showroom. Parts were ordered little by little over the next couple months. Andy at Custom Chrome and Elizabeth at Chrome Specialties were great about getting the orders out quickly. If you follow the Bikernet news section, you might have an idea of the whole build. It’s taken 2½ months.

One thing that makes a project easy is knowing beforehand what the bike will (sort of) look like and what components will be used. With that in mind, let’s get to the build.

The salty Caribbean air and chromed aluminum parts don't go together. We had some parts that were new but already showed chipped chrome, including the forward controls, triple trees and grips. They were going to be powdercoated anyway, so it didn’t matter. Besides, it was dead stock that we were moving. I'm not going to mention names but anyone with a keen eye will know the manufacturer.

The first mockup was so-so. The rear fender was back ordered and the fork legs were too long. The plan was a narrow glide front end and 19-inch wheel, to make it look longer. When we received the tank (WCC CFL, which is built and sold by Custom Chrome), it was wider than expected and the skinny front end looked out of place. It was ditched and a wide glide took its place, as well as a 21 wheel-tire combo.

The rear fender was in, a Two-eight by WCC, made for the frame. Well, the radius of the fender was too much and we could spin the 200-by-18 Avon tyre around with the fender stuck to it. Some heavy cutting and grinding took place in order to free them both. I was expecting a better fit from the WCC fender. With all the "custom" work we did, we ended up with about 8 inches less steel.