That road called Life often takes some seriously strange twists and turns as Lugnut Customs honcho Louie Isenberg will confirm. Recently he set out to smooth out that road from the past with a bike literally built with blood, sweat and tears…but also plenty of great memories.
The bike is a composite of components that once were bolted onto Louie’s many previous choppers as well as pieces donated by friends and family, some no longer with us. In a way, the bike is a reincarnation, in part and spirit, of bikes that took Louie smokin’ tires down several forks in that proverbial road.
One turn brought him from a rural Pennsylvania junkyard full of cool old cars and bikes, the place he grew up on with his father and brothers. In the early morning hours, he also milked 364 cows at a local dairy to earn some coin. Milking cows, helping in the salvage business, bolting bikes together was a big chunk of his early life. Another fork carried him into Semper Fi service with the Marine Corps. A more recent path brought him down to South Florida, in particular Riviera Beach, a town nestled on the east coast of the Sunshine State and adjacent to posh Palm Beach.
While the shop is immaculate, posh is not the name of the game at Louie’s shop. Old School is. His crew at Lugnut Customs Service Station includes ace mechanic Rob… and they offer, just as the name says, full service, everything from oil changes to big bore kits. They also build bikes restore vintage iron, whatever strikes their interest.
(left to right) The crew gathers at a recent bike show in West Palm Beach….Rob, Bit, Louie, Kelly Lynn, Louie’s Dad Moe and bro’ Logan.
Checking the stats on Louie’s bike, it turns out the motor is a 1973 Super Glide and you could say he took an axe to the 1957 H-D straight-leg frame. Take a close look at that frame neck. Welded into place is a real double headed ax, something Louie’s Dad had lying around forever.
A friend’s legal rum distillery serves as backdrop.Says Louie, “That’s how we got the rake. And another ten inches of the backbone is stainless steel. Way back I was riding that frame with a 93-inch stroker in it. Coming out of a bar, I hit third gear, went straight up in the air and came down hard, wham, broke the neck, the only thing holding me together was the gas tank so some repairs were in order.”
 Beautiful quad-belt primary is one of only ten made by Mike Pruss, eight of them out of the country. |  Handy derringer fits the bill as the tranny’s handshifter. |
 Signature “Lugnut” seat support, the saddle made from leather from Louie’s family farm while the stitching using the laces from his old welding boots. | |
The custom primary set-up is a modified 3-inch BDL while the quad-belt pulley system is one of only ten in the world, made by the bike builder Mike Pruss of South Florida Choppers, Louie acquiring the very last one. The tech sheet also includes FXR handlebars Louie modified, leaving him a scar in the process. No pain, no gain. Front brake is a Joker unit, ignition via Daytona Twin Tech while the bike’s front end a 35mm off a ’79 FX. Harley calipers clamp on H-D wheels, 19 front, 16 rear, and rolling Dunlop rubber. Along with the signature “Lugnut” seat supports, the saddle pan was sourced from his Dad’s junkyard, the leather gleaned from the dairy farm while the stitching are the laces from his old welding boots. The classic biker black paint was sprayed by the Skeldon Bad Boys of W. Palm Beach.
 Classic S&S “teardrop” air filter echoes Old School. |  Harley wheels, Harley dual discs… |
Louie also made the oil tank, one that previously served on three of his other bikes. The carb is early S&S Super E handed down to him and also used on three of his previous customs.
Motorcycle, surfboards and custom brew rum…what more could you want?
Says Louie, “The old style FL kicker pipes were NOS, still in the crumbly plastic wrappers when my Dad just gave them and a whole truckload of parts for last Christmas. First time I had been home for twelve years whether I was off in the Corps or being an asshole somewhere else in the world.”
The 74-inch Shovelhead was bored ten over and fitted with 9.5/1 compression Wiseco pistons. Three of the four valves are original and so are the cases as well as the flywheels which still bear the hammer marks from where someone used a steel hammer on it in the ‘70s.
Louie and Kelly Lynn, bike and shop truck are a matched set.
Says Louie, “We also added new Crane cam lifters, now if I want to ride home to Pennsylvania I can. I really learned a lot on this build and the bike means a lot to me. It’s the Lugnut bike and everybody knows it.”
Over the years the frame has held knuckleheads, panheads and five shovelheads and ten different front ends since Louie has had it. All told there’s over a 100, 000 miles on that bike, a lot of good stories, and a lot of good times.
Kelly Lynn and Louie – Ink is Forever
Kelly Lynn Welsted aka “Kelvis” in addition to being an integral part of the Lugnut Service Station operation is a professional model with a considerable portfolio.
Summing it up, Louie says, “In the past it’s always been a rusty beat up old thing. Now it is what it is…and will always stay that way.”
Contact Info:
Lugnut Customs
Riviera Beach, FL
561.795.3343
Click for website
