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Interestingly, when this Ironhead Sportster motor went down the line at Harley-Davidson’s Engine Plant in Milwaukee some time in 1967, carbon fiber hardly existed. Sure, it was back in the 1950s that the first carbon fibers were developed for use on missiles, but they were primitive compared with today’s product. And it wasn’t until the […]

Editor’s Note:This Departure Bike Works feature came via many motorcycle talents including the Departure crew, Michael Lichter, Wayne Scraba and the American Iron Magazine Team where it was originally published in 2009. Thanks guys. Richmond, Virginia’s Departure Bike Works is a busy but low-key place. The truth is, the entire low-profile, relaxed atmosphere is by

Editor’s Note: We looked at 2009 as the Year of the Sportster, due to the economy in the USA, and because we ran into a vast assortment of rigid framed Sportsters at the Smoke Out this year. It was a strange year, but good for Sportsters, then this one landed in our laps from a

Here’s a strange one from the Sheriff in Sweden. As it turns out these shots were taken in Finland. The Sheriff shoots bike features and events all over the world. He’s one of those guys who never sleeps unless he’s resting on a trans Atlantic flight. When we quizzed him for the tech chart or

Mid fall of 2007, I picked up a rusty old 1968 Triumph TR6C with the idea of doing a quick bob-job and selling the bike. The profits from the build were destined to help support a few Children’s Charities I help out through my TBearWear T-shirts.As we all know, no good deed goes unpunished, so

Once in a while, you stumble across a bike that stops you dead in your tracks.That’s exactly what happened to me at the Victoria Hotrod and Bike Show back at the end of May this year. I was wandering around the show checking out all the cool rides and not so cool barges, when I

Over the years, I’ve interviewed motorcycle brothers and sisters all over the world. We are all members of a passionate breed. In each case, specific feature bikes represent vast undertakings in a mission for love, freedom, or artistic expression. To Roy Gregory, this motorcycle represents overcoming a life of alcohol and drug abuse. It was

Several years ago, when Discovery Channel was exploiting the bike builder as a conquering hero and reaping monetary benefits off of his back, Indian Larry was finally getting his just due. People around the world were being introduced to one of the premier bike builders as well as a first class human being. Sadly, in

I have a lot of full custom bikes and love to ride them but when you’ve got that much money and time invested in something it’s hard to take it out and beat it up on a daily bases. When you leave a $50k bike on the street in front of the bar its hard

“My wife wanted something legal,” said Todd Silicato of Todd’s Cycle. Todd is a nondescript builder’s builder. He’s not a celebrity type. He’s a biker who works his ass off building anything from modified stock bikes to world-class customs and billet products, to speedway racers, and now he’s tempted to roll to Bonneville. He’s also

The man with his creation. Bob Carrillo is the quintessential bike builder: part renegade, part Renaissance man. He is a man of many talents. Trained as a stone mason, Bob’s family hails from the East San Fernando Valley area of metropolitan Los Angeles. Bob started riding dirt bikes at a very young age. His grandfather

Maybe it smacked you at a local bike night, maybe it occurred at a bike show, or maybe you were out for a ride. We all run into bikes that stick in our brains like the first touch from a gorgeous woman after a hazardous tour in Iraq. In this case, “Peckerhead,” the motorcycle, slapped

Lodi, CA~August 24, 2009 – Bryan Schimke, the immensely talented custom bike builder and owner of TPJ Customs out of Lodi, CA and his good buddy Satya Kraus, owner of Kraus Motor Co. from Cazadero, CA, hit the road for Sturgis this year on badass custom steel with a pocket full of optimism and a

Click on any image in this feature for a chance to win this beauty. Have you ever wanted to roll on the throttle while riding down the twists and turns of a back country road on a pure American classic — say a pristine 1947 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead? Easy question, right. What if I told you

This all began 38 years ago on the Big Island of Hawaii. Chris Calicdan’s dad, a phone company lineman, rode a raked-out Panhead at the time. Chris, at 2-years-old, stumbled into the garage as his father’s engineer boot kicked the starter lever and that rigid, with upsweeps, fired to life. It was the first time

US Choppers is alive and well. Rick Krost, the boss, knows business. He has a degree in finance, but his heart belongs to vintage motorcycles, so he designed something new that would make new shit look old, the US Chopper Board Track Chassis. He focused his love for vintage bikes and built a frame configuration

People work for it, people steal for it, people dream of winning it, people sell their bodies for it, folks killed for it, people sell their souls for it, and songs have been sung about it and in these days of legal thievery and corporate greed, the world spins on it ! You all know

On the way to a motorcycle photo shoot starring his recently award-winning bike build; a funny thing happened to Pat “Mongo” Kelly. He was aboard his daily ride, or should we say a road-ripping terror that passes for a street bike. In truth, it is a highly modified 2005 Harley-Davidson Dyna FXDXI Super Glide Sport.