Non V-Twins
Although a lot of period customs had a bolt-on aftermarket hardtail, Daniel upped the ante by welding his on for good measure. With Brit twins noted for notoriously shaking fasteners loose at the slightest opportunity, firing up the Lincoln and having at it seems like a no-brainer. Stock dimensions were kept as this bike was going to be a rider for Daniel’s dad who owned a Triumph Daytona 500 when Daniel was a wee lad. “From what I saw then, Triumphs were one of the most chopped motorcycles out there,” said Daniel. “We decided not to change the front end because it was decent looking and the fork gaitors gave it a nostalgic look. I did polish out the fork legs as I think it looks better than chrome.”
Rolling stock only rolled after some hard work. The ’68 Bonnie’s twin-leading shoe front drum brake was retained and stainless-spoked to the stock 19” rim after Daniel blasted the peeling chrome off the rim and painted it black. The stock rear drum/sprocket assembly ended up sitting in the middle of a similarly finished 16” Harley rim with a chunky (for ancient times) 130mm Maxxis tire. As for those vintage drums, Daniel said, “They’re kinda scary.”
Causing the hair to stand up on the back of Daniel’s neck when he’s nailing the brakes is a totally refurbished, high-compression 650cc vertical twin sporting dual Mikunis replacing old worn-out Amals. Regarding the peek-a-boo exhaust, he said, “It’s something a little different. I’ve never seen them run between the frame and fender. Yeah, it’s loud, but I was expecting that.” The transmission lurks inside the unit-construction engine and gets this light bike up to speed quickly despite having only four speeds.
Feeding that mill is a re-worked King Sportster tank that Daniel kept whacking away at until it sat exactly the way he wanted. “I kept cutting the tunnel deeper until I got it level with the engine. I wanted to draw a line from the top of the triple trees down to the back fender,” said Daniel. Next, he fabbed up a rear fender from a blank and topped off the Old School look with a proper set of apes. What could be better to cover all this than a coating of candy apple red paint? How about adding some tasteful graphics and twin stripes over the tinwork. Yup, he’s a painter too.
Nostalgia and current tech are combined to make the perfect machine for Daniel’s dad to take a trip down Memory Lane and beyond.
Builder: Daniel Sadey Infectious Triumph
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That old saying could certainly apply to the world (and business) of building custom motorcycles as we see it today. More and more professional builders seem to be retrenching and going back to their roots of garage building or anything that’s on a smaller scale to meet the economic times we’re all dealing with. Daniel Sadey has joined the ranks of builders who are downsizing or doing it part time now. “Previously Infectious Customs was my full-time job, but since the custom building industry has kinda gone down the tubes, I’m doing it part time,” said Daniel. “Now, most of the working class people don’t have the money for toys. I still do a lot of fabrication though.”
Like so many other builders, he’s downsized to a well-equipped shop he built behind his house to avoid paying high rent. “I still can do almost everything in-house like all the bodywork, paintwork, and fabrication. First and foremost it’s V-twins, but English bikes are right behind.”
Interestingly, Daniel’s day job isn’t too different than what he was doing full time at Infectious Customs and it keeps his building skills sharp. “During the day, I’m working with a friend building hot rods,” said Daniel. “I’m real mechanical as far as motors, trucks, and cars go. I’ve got a ’64 GTO that I’ve owned for a long time.”
Daniel’s built quite a few bikes of all types over the years, but the one thing that stands out is that they must be everyday roadworthy. “I have the same theory about guns. If I can’t shoot it, there’s no reason to have it,” said Daniel. If you’re looking for a real straight shooter for your next rideable custom, give him a call at 941-809-7410, or by email at hdsadey@aol.com.
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