A true Viking Warrior on two wheels.
That's an accurate way to describe
Master Leather Smith, Paul Cox's
BERSERKER Panhead. Sporting enough
hand carved leather armor and dangerous
sharp edges to make Odin and Thor proud,
The Berserker blends various Paul Cox
talents together. Hell, any Viking would be
elated to ride it into Valhalla.
Paul Cox is a born artist. Drawing and
sculpture have always been in his blood. Paul
started working with leather when he was a
kid. He got his hands on a bundle of scrap
leather pulled from a dumpster when he was
about 12 years-old and immediately put his
talents to good use making himself a pair of
home made hockey gloves.
He was pleased with his results from the
beginning so he kept working with leather and
soon had a shop in his home.
In the early '90s Paul hooked up with
bike shops Psycho Cycles and 6TH ST.
Specials in New York City. The blend of
leather and custom motorcycles was a natural
for this talented artisan. Paul also met with
master builder Indian Larry back then and
fostered an active working relationship.
Currently they both share space at the
Brooklyn, NY. North 14st shop.
The BERSERKER was a labor of love, a
work in progress for over seven years. Paul is
quick to say, "It's NOT a theme bike!!!!!
It's just what I felt in my heart. The only
thing it represents is ME!!"
The BERSERKER has seen a ton of
exploration creativity and massaging. The
leather-covered monster began with extensive
Viking rune research.
The
hand carving on the rear fender, seat and gas
tank symbolize Strength, Protection, Journey
and the Viking Warrior
Code. He carved 6 oz.
American cowhide leather and took upwards
of 200 hours to complete the sheet metal
padding. The leather was then painstakingly
hand fitted to the modified Sportster gas tank
and hand made rear fender.
The bike is a 1958 modified 88-inch
Panhead. Indian Larry worked his magic on
the engine and it roars like a dragon. It's
lower end is an H-D Evo, static balanced
featuring Andrews cams and JIMS solid lifters.
The engine is made up of H-D cases, STD
heads and S&S pistons. It features a Morris
Magneto and a S&S Super B carb fitted with a
brass candy dish air cleaner cover to round
out the look and home made pipes that snort
fire.
The tranny is a true jockey shifter with a
tank shifter lid. The frame is an old cut up
Paughco that Paul pieced together. It's,
of course, a rigid with a 31-degree rake and
2-inch up stretch. Painter Robert Pradke shot
it with semi flat black and handled the detailed
pinstriping on the frame.
The front end is radical as well. Paul and
long time friend Knucklehead Steve had a
blast putting it together. It's a "girdraulic"
front end. Basically a custom girder with a
custom built-in shock absorber to make it ride
and handle like a Caddy. The legs, trees and
rockers were E.D.M.ed and the articulated
rockers have a double row of precision
bushings. The dampening is sweet.
The fun doesn't stop there. The
narrowed drag bars are held in place by
6-inch glide risers and both are drilled for
internal controls. The taillight is a one of a kind
brass creation and the front and rear pegs
were also made by Paul Cox out of a
combination of stainless steel and brass. The
gas tank is a modified Sportster tank, covered
in leather set off by a hand made brass gas
cap. The oil tank is also a custom design by
Paul and Indian Larry with an S&S oil pump
sending life through custom coiled hard
copper oil lines. The jockey shift handle is a
pistol grip style stag antler giving it a battle-axe
feel.
The rear wheel also fits into the Viking
style with a sharp stainless steel rear fender
bracket is reminiscent of a warrior's
broad sword.
"The rear wheel
also fits into the Viking style with a sharpened
stainless
steel rear fender bracket," Paul said, "that is
reminiscent of a Nordic inspired broad
sword used for ceremonial
knightings."
The front 21 x 2 1/4-inch wheel has a
modified H-D dual flange hub inside of an
Akron Aluminum rim. The rear wheel is a
160/60 x 17 on an Excel Aluminum rim.
Looking at the BERSERKER in all its
glory, it's no wonder that Paul Cox
Leather is in such high demand. Having made
seats for the likes of Indian Larry, Jesse
James, Exile Cycles, and Billy Lanes
Choppers Inc. as well as a host of others.
Paul's work continues to be sought after
final polished detail for any old school
chopper.
You'd think with all the great work
Paul puts out for the master builders,
he'd have a huge shop with a bunch of
workers like Le Pera or some of the other
high-end shops. Not Paul. He wants to keep
his hands on every job that comes through his
shop. He feels that it's not a Paul Cox
seat unless Paul Cox makes it himself. Each
and every seat is totally hand made directly by
Paul himself, from the shaping of the seat
pan, the fitting of the padding, the hand tooling
and stitching of the leather and the final
assembly and shipping.
Paul wants to keep his
business totally hands on and not expand too
much. "I like to specialize and work with
builders I respect."
"Physically and psychologically it's a
lot of work for one person," Paul said.
"Endless hours in the shop can burn you out,
if you're not doing something your really
into. I could do black leather seats with the
Iron Cross or flames on them all my life and
make more money, but I'm not into that. I
want to do work that excites me and turns me
on."
"It helps having an understanding wife at
home when the work constantly keeps you in
the shop till the wee small hours," Paul said
as he put the finishing touches on a custom
seat for Russell at Exile Cycles.
Anne, Paul's wife, is a clothing and
jewelry designer and quite talented in her own
right. They both share a passion for the arts
and work as a well-oiled mutual support
system for each other. Paul plans to keep
putting out quality leather work for many years
to come. Don't let the big reputation
scare you off. Paul Cox Leather will always
welcome commissions from individual
builders like you and me. It's the guy
whose butt is in the seat that Paul wants to do
work for. Turn around time is fairly respectable
and you just can't match the quality of a
seat that's custom built for you.
Paul has recently developed and is selling
his RIGIDAIRE ADJUSTABLE PNEUMATIC
SEATING SYSTEM. In kit form for you
do-it-yourselfers.
The Universal kit includes everything you
need to set-up your air-ride seating system:
Airspring assembly with mounting bracket
Seat adapter bracket
All fittings, check valve and air lines
Solenoid valve for emptying the springs
All wiring , terminals and two way switch
Heavy-duty, compact compressor with
mounting bracket
Stainless steel nose mount with oil-light
bushings
Complete, illustrated instruction sheet
Tech support from beginning to end, if
needed
The kit retails for $1,200.
So whether it's a new seat or a
complete air ride system that you're
interested in, Contact Paul at:
PAUL COX LEATHER
151 N. 14 STREET
BROOKLYN, NY.11211
PHONE 718 609-9067
EMAIL: PAULCOXLEATHER@AOL.COM
OR CHECK OUT HIS WEB SITE:
HTTP://WWW.PAULCOXLEATHER.COM
And be sure to tell em TBear and Bikernet
sent you.
Berserker Tech
Sheet
GENERAL
Fabrication: by Paul Cox
Year and Make: modified 1958 Panhead
Model: PANHEAD
Assembly by: PAUL COX
Time: 7 YEARS +
Chroming: VARIOUS
ENGINE
Year: 1958
Model: PANHEAD
Rebuilder: INDIAN LARRY
Ignition: MORRIS MAGNETO
Displacement: 88"
Lower end: H-D EVO
Balancing: STATIC
Pistons: S&S
Cases: H-D
Heads: STD
Cams: ANDREWS
Lifters: JIMS SOLIDS
Carb: S&S SUPER B
Air cleaner: BRASS CANDY DISH
Pipes: HOME MADE
TRANSMISSION
Modifications:
Year: MIXED
Shifting: TRUE JOCKEY,TANK SHIFT
LID-SELECTOR TOP
Engine Sprocket: BELT
Trans sprocket: 24
Wheel sprocket: 48
PAINTING
Molding: PINSTRIPING BY ROBERT
PRADKE
Painter:
Color: SEMI FLAT BLACK FRAME
Type: FIEBERLINGS LEATHER DYE
FRAME
Year: CUT UP OLD PAUGHCO
Builder: PAUL COX
Type: RIGID
Rake: 31 DEGREES
Stretch: 2 UP
ACCESSORIES
Bars: NARROWED DRAG, INTERNAL
CABLES
Risers: 6-inch GLIDE DRILLED FOR
INTERNAL CABLES
Fenders: ONE REAR
Headlight: 5 3/4-inch PAUGHCO
Taillight: CUSTOM BY PAUL COX
Speedo: WE DON'T NEED NO
STINKIN' SPEEDO
Front Pegs: STAINLESS AND BRASS
MADE BY PAUL C
Electrics: LEFT SIDE CASE
ALTERNATOR
Gas Tank: MODIFIED SPORTY
Oil Tank: INDIAN LARRY, PAUL COX
CUSTOM
Oil System: S&S PUMP & COPPER
HARD LINES
Seat: YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING
FORKS
Type: CUSTOM
GIRDER,GIRDROLIC..SHOCK IN GIRDER
Extension: 2 inches OVER
Builder: KNUCKLEHEAD STEVE AND
PAUL COX
WHEELS
Front
Size: 21X2.25
Hub: MODIFIED H-D DUAL FLANGE
Rim: AKRON ALUMINUM
Rear
Size: 160/60X17
Hub: MODIFIED H-D DUAL FLANGE
Rim: EXCEL ALUMINUM
