General Posts

Not long ago an issue of American Rider was devoted to lowered models contrived for shorter more compact riders. It was natural to feature a custom devoted to the tight-is-right crowd. In a custom world gone nuts with bigger, stretched, wider, fatter and pumped up motorcycles it was a lengthy chore for Buzz Buzzelli to […]

It all started when the Horse Magazine issued a challenge to four talented builders for their annual Smoke Out this year. The challenge, to build a cool rideable bike, for under 10 grand, and have it at the Rowan County N.C. fairgrounds for judging on June 25th. The builders accepting the challenge were Josh Mills,

</centerThe new issue of Cycle World features this bike on the cover and a rather bizarre article that’s not really a lot about the bike. This piece does a little better job telling the real story and is told by a secret agent imbedded within the Performance Machine compound… Strangely enough, bike building has become

I’ve been intending to send a few shots of the FLHS, the “S” believe it or not means Sports. It is a 1990 Sports bike and for those familiar with this model will verify, it is far from a Sports bike. But it must be because my insurance premium is about $300 more than my

Alex is a techno/engineering guy who builds stuff to blow up terrorists by profession, so naturally he went hunting for his dream bike on the Internet. He was searching for a fat tire bike, and wanted a performance bike that he could ride. He actually narrowed the field down to 3 builders, and intended to

No, it’s not a trick of the camera. We’re not squishing down this bike through some chicanery of digital lens/Photo Shop machinations. It is muy limbo low to the ground.The guys at the Garage Co. in L.A. got their inspiration from vintage Bonneville racers…big fat tires, skinny profile, kicked out springer, high pipe, we don’t-need-no

There are many unique things about being an American. Being able to begin your life in humble circumstances and rise to greatness is the pilot light in the furnace that makes up the American soul. You can do anything here. Another part of American culture is that the people who often fully appreciate the American

Roger, Chris and Darren. Everyone has their dream bike in mind but very few people have the vision, let alone the money to make it all happen. But once in a while, a customer comes along that gives builders the chance of a lifetime. My friend Chris was one of these customers. Returning from a

Jake and Jerrod Walter are 21 and 22 year old brothers who worked side by side to build this bike, and what a bike it is. Their main business is farming but dreams of cultivating mechanical masterpieces co-exist with corn. They’re from New Berlin, Il., which is approx. 15 miles from Jacksonville, Il. This is

The Steed 200 Pegasus isn’t your dad’s land yacht bike. The Pegasus 200-TM is the performance Touring Steed. PERFORMANCE, it’s just a word to many gear heads. At Steeds we view motorcycles as the ultimate freedom machine. To us, performance means that you can get on your bike, ride it anywhere, and have the confidence

Sometimes you have to head west when the crowd is heading east to find something truly unique. This was the case during Biketoberfest. Rather than joining the bustling throng in Daytona Beach yet again, I headed west to Santa Fe, New Mexico to hook up with Carlos Calles and his Irish Rich/Shamrock Fabrications built Santa

It was hard to imagine, when we stood in front of the garage doors, starring at a pile of boxes, that somewhere in there, somehow, a custom bike lurked. As it developed, except for a non-existent nut or bolt, the CCI Goliath kit was complete. The chromed quandary, could a novice builder, an average American

“Here’s some new shots of Bree, the naughty schoolgirl. If you can get pastdrooling over Bree, there’s one of our bikes with a cool devil chick in redpainted on the tank,” Said John Covington, president of Steed Muscle Bikes. She’s straddling one of John’s Steed 300-VM AppaloosaChoppers. Bree has straddled plenty of Motorsports modeling and

Following his dramatic successes with ‘Hot Climbing’ at last year’s European Championship (second) and World Championship (third), Belgian builder Freddie ‘Krugger’ Bertrand scored big again in this year’s European Championship with fourth place for a second board-track style custom called ‘SpeedBowl’. I’ve admired Freedie Krugger’s style and engineering, his use of the new and look

This is the second bike built by Kustom Fab in Oahu, Hawaii we’ve featured. We’ve Sponsored and attended all three Choppers only shows in Hawaii, and I believe that Roger And Darren Ho have won the coveted Best of Show awards at each event. This is also another opportunity to bring you a feature from

I discovered the first 300/300 bike in Sturgis. Reminded me of when we ran big tires on the front and rear of bikes in the ‘70s for the fun of it and a different design. Here it was the first beach ball front and rear bike and I’ve been chasing Branscomb and Bob Page for

I met The Devil today. He wasn’t quite what I had expected. For one thing, his horns were smaller. He was also calmer than I expected. No, I’m not talking about Lucifer; I’m talking about Kent Weeks. Kent is owner/operator of Lucky Devil Metalworks in Houston, Texas. I was sent on a mission to see

You must be a hard core Harley-Davidson rider if you bought a brand new motorcycle in 1980 (when Harley-Davidson was owned by AMF) and you’re still riding it today, everyday. Joe Radnich bought this AMF Shovelhead 25 years ago, and massaged it into the road eating configuration you sere here. Joe handles all maintenance and

Rick, the US Choppers master. The variety of builders growing up around the planet is expanding daily, but only a few have the touch. They garner the ability to form metals, machine parts and select components that deliver a sense of oneness with the machine’s design. Rick, from US Choppers in Santa Ana, California, has

It looks like a radical big twin chopper packed with a monster, gasoline munching monster S&S motor. It should sound like a Patriot Missile and set off car alarms just sitting still. But forget those earplugs and don’t bother stopping at the gas pump, just look for a wall plug and some 110v juice. Believe

Here’s a fine looking Knucklehead from an old school builder who dumped his ol’ lady and opened his own shop in Lake Elsinore, California two years ago. “I got this motor in 1969,” Algie said of his roadworthy Knuck. “I haven’t run it all these years,” but he held onto it for the perfect chassis.

February 05. On a long night trip back home, I urgently need to fill-up gas and myself. Next exit is a truck stop (even on the road, not necessarily the best food destination). On the other side, surprise: the waitress is extremely young and hot looking. Must have no Hooters in town. Don’t know why,

For those who haven’t followed the build, Lucky Devil 001 is the first manufactured production bike from the house of Mr.Devil. They have been slow to turn in the final material on this build, but there’s good reason and here it is, at last. After the long and arduous process of becoming a licensed manufacture

The master, Roger Goldhammer. The second annual AMD ProShow in conjunction with the Custom Chrome Dealer show was held in Las Vegas the weekend of November 18th-20th, 2005. Billed as The World Championship of Custom Bike Building the event is sponsered by American Dealer Magazine (<http://www.amdproshow.com/>www.amdproshow.com) is a well-respected trade magazine published by Robin Bradley