We threw the potentially radical chopper that Bandit and I have banged together up to this point, into the back of my pickup and jammed over to see the Doctor. Dr. John, the frame doctor took one look at the bike in the back of my truck and shook his head. Behind that scraggly beard and those beady blue eyes there is a wealth of experience. He's seen a lot of biker hopes and dreams, sometimes nightmares, come through his Anaheim Hills shop. He's managed to salvage most of them. His wry humor snuck through that tangle of beard, "Hmmm, that's one nice looking Rev-Tech engine." Bandit ground his jaw, I fidgeted, kicking at the asphalt.

He looked at our hopeful faces and didn't want to disappoint, "Ok, I'll take the challenge, but it's going to take me a couple of days to figure out how the hell I'm going to hammer this thing into shape." Bandit and I smiled, knowing that the Dr. was going to save our scrap-iron baby.

The whole idea was to shrink the Pro-Street frame around the engine, with just a slight additional rake to the front end. I'm 5'8" but with short arms and legs, so we wanted the bike frame to be custom fit to my body- frame proportions. We had been looking at some of the bike designs from Japan (where the guys are built more like me) for inspiration.

Just with the modifications that Bandit and I have done so far gives some hint as to the unique feel of this design. With the massive Rev-Tech 88-inch engine and 6-speed Revtech transmission squeezed into place, it looks like a Star Wars space sled. I kind of like the rusty, unpainted Pro-Street frame. It gives it an elegant rat-bike look. But then that's just my twisted sense of humor.

With the rubber-mount engine we have to leave some room for wiggle, so the frame can't fit like Saran-Wrap. Cutting an inch or so off the swing arm will bring the back tire teasingly close to the inside-front of the swing arm. With a tiny back fender and stretched our front, the ass-end of the bike will look like it's tucked in below the seat. I said it's going to look like a running, weird-assed wild hyena. Bandit didn't care for the comparison and shook his head discustedly.

When we built the Blue Flame, the whole bike was engineered to fit Bandit's stretched-out body dimensions. Not every bike rider is built like that gangly orangutan, Bandit. So we've put a lot of thought into the design of this bike, in terms of scale and proportion. Even the choice and location of foot pegs, shifter, brake pedal, style of handle-bars, and primary shield, will reflect these concerns.

While the doctor is bending and welding the frame into shape, we will be working on paint design, tank and fender design, and ways to clean up some of the wiring, break lines and cables. Or maybe we'll just fuck off until the doctor calls. Hey, it's summer and we need to mellow out some.

-- NuttBoy