Bike Building Boot Camp
or A Crash Course
In Chopper Building
The 50th Team.
A rare e-mail address flashed across my
in-box. Jesse James from Monster Garage
wrote, "Wanna help build an Old School
Chopper?"
I wrote back, "I'm not a master
builder, you have a number of talented
builders at West Coast Choppers. I'm
just an old school hack."
My mind whistled with considerations.
Would the 2004 Harley become a protein
shake blender? I was assured that the historic
50th segment would mirror the Old School
'54 Chevy Custom Build--a group of
classic masters, in the custom car art, turning
a stock coup into an unreal lowered cruiser.
Our team was made up of accomplished
chopper industry innovators and suddenly I
was of the age to fit that seedy category, 56.
Don Hotop
The Old School Chopper Team fell into
place with Don Hotop from Don's Speed
and Custom in Fort Madison, Iowa, a master
mechanic for 30 years and builder of over a
half-dozen Drag Specialties project bikes;
John Reed, a wry Englishman, and master
product designer from Custom Chrome for
20-odd years; Carl Morrow of Carl's
Speed Shop in Daytona, Florida, a man
whose entire family has devoted their lives to
making Harleys fly, (His son Doug just broke a
Land Speed Record at 183 mph for an
unfared Sportster on Gas); Finally Marc Rowe
of Rowe Engineering in New Hampshire, a
master hotrod frame manufacturer who was
encouraged 15 years ago, by a Hells Angel
friend of mine, to build chopper frames.
He's been building them ever since.
The famous speed freak, Carl Morrow.
One item struck me immediately.
I've known all but Marc for almost 25
years, as the editor of a motorcycle magazine.
They've all been distant friends and men
I respect. Suddenly I was thrust into a dark
garage to work 10-12 hour days with them to
build a old school chopper out of a wrecked
2004 Heritage Softail in five days.
The dynamics of our
relationship would certainly change, hopefully
for the better. I assumed
that I was about to face a crash course in
Chopper building, fabrication, frame geometry,
welding, machining and design from
accomplished masters. Sure, I built a few
bikes and rebuilt engines along time ago, but I
never worked with both arms elbow deep in
metal shavings daily. I was humbled by the
challenge.
Day One: Carl Morrow hauled his
entire rig from Florida with his son, Doug, and
quiet race team member, Serge. They brought
a state-of-the- art dyno. It was parked out front
so we hauled the dented Softail into his rig
and dyno it for a 61 hp result, from the stock
88-inch fuel injected twin cam engine. We
watched Doug peel the race rubber off the
back of their award winning Sportster as he
performed a masterful burnout and peeled up
Lindon street next to the abandoned Chrysler
dealership, now Monster Garage, anchored in
the coastal Long Beach ghetto.
Custom Chrome's Designer, John
Reed.
First the camera crew, directed by
Episode Producer, Brian Lovett, positioned the
chopper team on elevated scaffolding for the
designer meeting. While Jamie Seymour, who
designs for Thor and studied at the Pasadena
Art School of Design, sketched as we
discussed the various elements of the bike
with Jesse James. The bike would surely
contain a West Coast Choppers' theme.
Jesse explained that WCC wheels, including
a 21 for the front and 200-18 for the rear
waited in the offices below along with a Baker
6-speed, over-drive transmission set up for a
chain drive to utilize the modified stock rear
swingarm.
As we discussed the design, and the
artist sketched, our minds whirled. We
didn't need no stinkin' renderings.
We knew exactly the direction to take. But even
in the beginning obstacles emerged. John
Reed rode his hand built Rev Tech 110 inch,
prototype V-kit sportbike to Long Beach. He
bounched off a woman's car, who pulled
out in front of him on the 400 mile road south
and bent his air cleaner.
A few years back John endured a stroke,
"It burned the common sense portion of my
brain," John muttered in his slang ridden
English accent. "I'm lucky, I never used
that area." He was as spry and agile as ever.
Jesse recently slammed a NASCAR into a
wall at 130 mph, fracturing several ribs and
broke several bones in his left foot.
Barely released from his
hospital bed he raced a Monster Garage SUV
project in the Pikes Peak hillclimb event the
day before our start date.
During the design meeting he announced his
goals to hand-form a classic copper metal
tank, fender and seat pan, but, all the while,
his foot hammered with pain and his chest
creaked as he breathed.
That wasn't all. Don Hotop, who I
looked up to as one of the finest builders in
the country, recently endured throat surgery
and still couldn't eat solid foods. He lived
off Boost vitamin and energy drinks, but never
blinked or complained. Hell, I recently
discovered the constant pain in my hips was
arthritis and I had to give up martial arts to get
a good nights sleep. We were old farts, as my
pappy use to say. Marc couldn't hear a
word we said unless we were standing face to
face. But the group cooly ran at the challenge.
Marc Rowe, the frame master, and Don
Hotop. Oh yeah, I'm there wiping tools
down.
While in the design meeting Carl
explained that he would tear the engine to
it's roots and bore the stock cases to
allow 4 1/8 pistons (from 3.750 stock) to fly
through Carl's Axtell big inch cylinders.
Coupled with the stock 4-inch stroke the
engine would jump to 107 inches of Twin
Cam energy. West Coast Choppers planned
to polish the cases and heads and Carl would
install his polished signature barrels,
gear-driven performance cam set (Carl
Morrow or CM 600 lift), chromolly Andrews
adjustable pushrods, Carl's priority
cylinder heads with 2-inch intake and 10670
exhaust valves ( stronger valve springs and
titanium valve collars) and his torquey 2-inch,
constant velocity Typhoon carburetor.
His goal was to boost the
bike to 120 hp with 118 pounds of
torque.
The design discussion called for John
Reed's old school notions, use of the
stock triple trees with classic rubber fork
boots, a chopper fender mounted to the
swingarm, a traditional solo seat, short apes
with WCC risers, a traditional chopper
headlight, WCC pipes although Carl pushed
for his new-tuned performance system that
was ready to rock.
A Rivera belt drive system was already
nearby. We needed an alternative wiring
system. Jesse pushed for 2000 Softail front
foot controls and Brembo Brakes front, rear
and Brembo hand controls. We needed a new
petcock, coil, ignition switch, taillight and
Genny at Custom Chrome was poised to help
order components. Marc Rowe was
responsible for modifying the heavy Softail
frame.
We returned the lumpy stock
Softail to the power lift and tore into it like mad
dogs. We were burnin' daylight and
needed to strip the frame, and pull the engine
for Carl's team to dissect.
I looked to Don for everyday mechanical
guidance as we tore the Heritage down
beginning with the gas tank working rearward
until the rear wheel was removed. After lunch I
sorted tools for workable access while we
discussed the safety aspects of the build with
the on-site EMT, Moose. After 50 episodes the
tool selection was scattered and worn.
Suddenly we were surrounded by cameras
from Dylan O'Brien, Director of
Photography, and a jib arm aimed by
Chris Deichl with his assistant Jason Lange.
Tod Mesirow the producer and Brian, jetted in
and out of the scene with constant questions.
Yeah, a horrible shot of me through the
frame.
We were given a tool tour by Ben Wood
and he pointed out the massive, impressive
wall of Mac Tools, English wheels, two tube
benders, tubing notcher (wish I had one of
those), broken drill press, cut off saws, mig
welders, three grinders, TIG welders, torches,
plasma cutter (another handy device), radial
cut-off saw, band saw and we went back to
work.
We tore that bastard to the ground and
Carl's crew hauled the engine to a bench
for tear-down. Don Hotop and Marc Rowe
lifted the frame to a reasonably flat metal table
and discussed the frame gig that needed to
be fabricated in order to modify the chassis. At
7:00 p.m. they kicked us out the door.
Day two kicked off with a flurry of
activity at 7:30 a.m. I ordered parts from CCI
while Carl figured gearing for the new
monster. Marc headed to West Coast to
manufacture the components needed to build
a quickie frame jig.
"When we watched Mark lay down his first
TIG weld and saw that it was perfect," John
Reed said, "Don and I looked at each other
and I knew, that for sure, I wouldn't need
to do any welding."
Jesse started massaging the soft copper
into a rounded shape using two mighty-loud
stretching and rounding machines, while his
foot throbbed. John Reed, who pissed off Carl
Morrow the previous day, when he suggested
an alternative engine, if Carl couldn't
complete his mods, showed his masterful
talents immediately shaving the heavy lumpy
frame with a harsh array of grinders, sanders
and saws.
The parts list called for Custom
Chrome fork boots, coil, ignition system,
headlight, trees (maybe), WCC risers, H-D
forward controls, lowered shocks, throttle and
throttle cables from Carl's truck. We
needed a chain, an '03 Softail manual,
and '03 Softail wiring harness,
sprockets, petcock, grips which Bill Dodge
made us at WCC along with pegs. Hope
Moore, assistant producer, kept track of every
part that rolled in or out of the Garage. We all
had a crush on the gleefully inspiring blond,
although the entire crew was tops.
Day two was a
dream/planning/preparation day. Several
interesting elements surfaced. Although we
had over a century of experience, this was a
new motorcycle with new trials, parts and
scenario. We were bound to run into blind
curves. Like anyone facing a five day project,
prior to a run, we tried to over-order to prevent
last minute snags. We attempted to
second-guess any future mishaps. Jesse
supplied a frame neck and WCC internal fork
stops and we began to slice and dice the
stock wide-glide trees only to discover that the
internal fork stops won't work with the
customary bottom tree. Don suggested we flip
the neck before the frame was welded and
fasten the fork stops under the top tree.
Another possible dilemma solved.
Marc stripped the frame of its stock
backbone and Don and Marc worked diligently
to remove the down tubes without damage to
the factory castings. Again at 7:00 p.m. the
staff kicked us to the streets.
Day three, another 6:00 wake up
call and I rolled up to the Monster Garage
aboard my 1948 Panhead. The helpful
enthusiastic crew of Original Productions fed
us three squares a day, but at every meal I
looked at Don, as he swigged down a Boost
and dove back into the project. I gazed
longingly at the exotic chow, grabbed a bite
and followed the master back to the fray. Two
problems surfaced regarding television set
working conditions. This was the 50th
episode and the tool array was battered,
lacking and saw blades were dull. Since this
was a stage, lighting wasn't set up for
working conditions but filming, adding to the
challenge as we squinted to see the chuck on
the beat-up drill press.
We needed a solvent tank badly. Parts
rolled in from Custom Chrome, WCC, H-D
and Rivera. Ben, the Monster Garage tool
man, made runs for hacksaw blades and our
parts cleaner tank. The polished cases
slipped in the door from West Coast
Choppers and Carl went to work on the
engine. We discovered that Jesse's
chosen brake calipers were sans the front fork
bracket and John Reed grabbed a chunk of
billet aluminum and attacked the project.
Marc Rowe and Don Hotop did their best
to figure wheel spacer lengths and headed to
WCC while I dug through the Heritage parts
pile and reassembled the rear brake controls
and shifting mechanism using the new 2000
Softail H-D parts. I figured that anything that
was bolted together and ready for final
assembly would save time down the road. As
it turned out, WCC had a bracket for the rear
brake caliper. Don also suggested that we
contact Motorway in New Hampshire for an
Evo/Twin Cam ignition system that would
eliminate all the trying Twin Cam wiring maze
for a two-wire ignition system. We ordered and
received the proper coil from CCI and were
ready to rock.
It was day three and we were praying that
the engine would be assembled, the frame
modified (we were waiting for a tubing
delivery) which would mean we had two full
days for assembly. I have so much respect for
this team, for a myriad of reasons, but one
sticks out.
They went at this
project as if we were snorting valiums during
the perfect storm. Everything
didn't fall into line ideally, yet when
member of the team experienced a glitch, they
stood back, shifted direction and went at it
again. We made parts like a handmade Softail
fender extension and threw it in the trash. We
ordered parts that didn't fit Carl's
performance package and tossed them in the
trash.
Marc Rowe and John Reed were
uncanny. Marc took to any job with the calm of
a sea captain on a flat ocean. He never
flinched. His welds were perfect, his
fabrication abilities excellent. John Reed
constantly had a humorous quip coupled to an
artistic solution. The front brake caliper to the
wide glide bracket was precision made but
lacked aesthetics. John whipped it off the front
end and the "Grinder Bitch" (our nickname for
John as the week rolled along), went after it
and formed the bracket into a work of art.
Another element of the old school
chopper build surfaced--Quality. This
wasn't a slam-bam build by any means.
It was a timed challenge, but every aspect was
handled as if the bike would be ridden to
Sturgis the following week and compete in a
master builders' show. We weren't
building just a chopper quick, but a world
class custom within old school principals in
five days. We still needed Terry Component
battery cables, a battery and a high/low beam
micro switch for the headlight. We needed fork
oil, tranny fluid and fortunately Carl had
motoroil. Don Hotop and Marc Rowe
constructed the frame jig on a large 1/4-inch
thick steel table and the frame began to fly
back together. Marc hand manufactured a
boxed-in neck gusset, but couldn't start
on the top motormount until the engine was in
place.
The motor was flying together, but the
polished heads weren't back from the
WCC's polishing shop. Famous dirt
riders raided the shop after lunch, then we
were lead on a field trip to watch as these
world class two-wheel competitors performed
jumps in a dirt lot behind Jesse's shop.
We watch them and our watches in awe. We
wanted to be back in the shop under grinding
dust, welding slag and nut-and-bolt drawers.
They kicked us to the street at 7:00 and we
rolled to the new Bikernet.com Headquarters
for a quick tour. My lovely assistant, Nyla, was
even pulled into the battle and made runs to
Radio Shack and Home Depot for high/low
beam switches, stainless Bucking rivets, and
a brake light switch.
Day four, we made a pact, no
more field trips. We would ditch the crew, sort
the tools, make sense out of the nut and bolt
bins and keep working. They cut us a break
and announced that launch time
wouldn't start until 8:00 a.m. I was
grateful for another half hour of sleep, but
wanted my hands in the tool boxes quick. I
pushed for Thursday assembly to afford us
additional glitch time on Friday, but that
wasn't the case.
We welded the neck on upside down to
accommodated the stock trees then used
WCC wide glide, three-degree trees. Marc set
up the neck for 35 degree rake so the trees
took the bike to 38 degrees; a moderate
angle. Unflinchingly Marc looked over the
problem. Don consulted and Marc, with
precision accuracy, TIG welded beads along
the bottom of the neck cup forming the internal
fork stop tabs, then Don carefully ground them
to perfection. Another obstacle overcome.
Jesse ended up on crutches to prevent
more damage to his foot.
John Reed carefully ground factory welds
and formed the swingarm into a final slim,
sleek work of art. The frame was ready to rock.
The controls were waiting, the Baker Tranny
also lingered on another bench. We set up a
parts counter to house any products that rolled
in including a spare tank and several sets of
handlebars from Bikernet.com headquarters.
As the week rolled on Jesse's foot
swelled with growing pain until he was forced
to escape for medical assistance. By
Thursday his foot was bandaged and he was
compelled to hobble around on crutches. We
weren't sure his piggy bank shaped tank
would make it, and although he spouted that
the fender would only take a couple of hours,
we nodded and went back to work. Our plates
were full, so we kept the fires burning with our
own projects.
Finally, in the afternoon the frame
returned to the center lift and the driveline was
ready to install, along with the Rivera/Primo
open belt drive and Rivera hydraulic clutch
cover. As the sun waned the polished engine
was mated to the polished Baker Tranny and
swingarm. I installed the shocks and adjusted
them low. Marc went to work on the top motor
mount and John Reed grabbed another bare
chunk of aluminum and began to blacksmith
the coil/ignition mount between the heads. In
the afternoon Don and I escaped the garage
for a hardware run for the fork spring
extensions. WCC cut the tubes exactly to
Don's specifications for perfect ground
clearance, but we needed simple PVC pipe
chunks for the 14- over front end springs.
Unfortunately two runs to the hardware store
scored the wrong diameter. We went as a
team to insure that the job was handled
correctly. Some 24 feet of PVC pipe was
purchased for a measly 28 inches that was
used.
Jesse's copper gas tank.
Finally we could fit the front end together,
oil it up and mount the front wheel. From time
to time we ran into like glitches. Such was the
case with the front wheel spacers. We
couldn't seem to get them right and kept
running back to WCC for lathe time. I
don't remember why, but from time to
time we installed the rear swingarm for the
final time only to remove it once more. For
instance the chain alignment became a
problem with the wide 0-ring chain and the
Grinder Bitch was called to duty once more to
notch the swingarm.
At 8:00 p.m. they production
crew showed us the door.
Day five started with a bang. I
installed most of the controls and shifting
linkage. Don hand fabricated a Don's
sprocket alignment tool and aligned the rear
wheel with the tranny sprocket for the final
time and proceeded to poor over manuals and
wiring diagrams since we couldn't use
the Motorway Evolution ignition.
Don's handmade alignment tool.
Carl's performance upgrade called
for his CM600 cams and a gear-driven
assembly to replace the chain driven stock
unit. The Motorway system was designed to
connect with chain driven cams. Don's
challenge was to create a ground-up wiring
diagram that would transfer the fuel injected
system to a carbureted model in less than a
day.
Jesse struggled into the shop on
crutches and handed Marc a WCC rear fender.
He was determined to complete the tank. Mark
would need to modify the WCC unit and create
brackets to secure it to the swingarm. John
Reed and I started making hydraulic clutch
and brake lines when Jesse announced that
we needed to make the seat pan. I took over
the hydraulic brake project while John began
to hand fabricate and create a mounting
system for the one-off seat pan.
In the meanwhile Carl installed his
Typhoon carburetor. I made the hydraulic
brake lines, installed the inline brake switch,
which was a project in itself, and began to
bleed all the systems and discovered that I
had installed the Rivera pressure plate on
backwards. Chopper Dave wandered in from
WCC with more brake line components and
informed me of the secrets to bleeding
Brembo controls. They actually have bleeders
in the reservoirs.
Mark Rowe never quit, as he built the top
motormount to match his neck gusset. He
modified the old school headlight to fit down
on the lower tree in WCC fashion which was a
thin-as-paper welding challenge. He handled
it like a champ while Don wired, John finished
one seat pan, shit-canned it and started over. I
drilled and ran wires through the frame. Jesse
crawled around the frame with his leg
bandaged while under severe pain
medication and welded tank tabs in place.
The Chopper Challenge flew together as
the hours swept past. Hydraulics were
complete and bled, Tranny and oil tank filled
with fluids. The front end was oiled and the
brakes were centered over the rotors. We
installed WCC pipes and they ran into
Carl's billet carb. We shifted gears and
grabbed another set of WCC pipes. This time
they ran too close to the Custom Cycle
Engineering starter button mounted to the
Hi-Tech starter solenoid. We cut the pipes,
Marc rewelded them and we were good to go.
John's fabrication talents shinned
while Jesse explained that the molecular
structure of copper wouldn't allow us to
use the sharp copper gas tank unless it was
lined and we wouldn't have time. Mark
from WCC darted for the door. He returned
with a gadget they use to fuel bikes without
tanks.
We were ready to rock
by 9:00 p.m., but when Don turned the ignition
switch it wouldn't fire.
We pulled the plugs, spun the engine and
made sure it was oiled for the start, but spark
eluded us.
Don wired in the VOES switch, the vacuum
sensor, the ignition module, circuit breakers,
and the flywheel sensor, but no security
module, still no fire. He began a careful
investigation. We switched coils, checked the
plug wires and took voltage readings. New
2004 models come with a security breaker
that's involved with the turn signals. If
it's tripped or disturbed, it shuts off
ignition power. Don removed it during
teardown. We considered it, then Jesse
mentioned that he had ran into a similar
problem. We had to dissarm that system, by
grounding the link to the missing TSSM unit.
Don researched the wiring diagram and
powered that plug on the ignition
module--nope. Then ground the #10 wire and
it fired.
The chopper came to life like a beast
from hibernation. It stood tall, sleek, contoured
and alive and I was stunned.
"My heart gave a tweak at the end when it
fired," John Reed said. "I apologized to Carl
about my engine comment, and he said that
we will always be friends and gave me a hug."
I immediately shook each
member's hand including the Carl
Morrow's race team and the staff of
Original Productions. We did it. Whatta rush,
and I hope that this segment of Monster
Garage conveys the pure adrenaline high this
opportunity afforded me, coupled with the
superb opportunity of working with this highly
respected team. But that wasn't all.
The Carl's Speed Shop Dyno.
Carl warmed the motor to a temp of 180
degrees and let it cool three times while
adjusting the massive carb. Then the doors of
his impressive trailer swung open and the
dyno was charged to life. We rolled the
chopper onto the ramp and onto the rollers.
Doug Morrow climbed on board and fired the
Monster Garage, 50th Segment, first
motorcycle build, machine to life. The O-ring
chain flexed and spun through the gears like
the wake behind a competition ocean going
cigarette boat. It sang and screamed as the
rear wheel spun faster and faster to a top
power rating of 117 hp and 115 pounds of
torque.
We hadn't built just a sharp, stylish
chopped Heritage, but Carl Morrow made the
bastard run like a raped ape. It couldn't
have been a finer week. That's my
Monster Garage tale and I'm sticking
with it.
It was stripped, chromed and Jesse
painted it (first bike he ever painted), by the
WCC crew. Then they put it back together--not
bad.