As soon as I looked at Jack Cofano’s tiny .jpg of Mark Irvin’s long and really low ode to long and low choppers of the recent past, the first thing I saw was it was a nice bright orange so I guess was predisposed to like it at first sight. Never mind the fact that it wasn’t a bagger or a bobber like everything else these days, it was a lovely experience just to look at something that is now a bit unusual. Long, low, sitting on the ground even, with lots of smooth custom touches and completely overpowered by that hulk of a 147-inch motor spinning a corner-defying 360mm rear tire, Mark’s bike he calls Orange Juiced is a throwback to our extremely-recent custom past with an eye on the future. The old saying “What goes around, comes around” is probably true regarding long and low overpowered custom bikes. They’re a little out of current fashion overtaken by the bagger craze, but just like General MacArthur, they shall return.

   Like any true ground-up custom, Mark began with an idea more than anything else at his Newtown, Pennsylvania, world headquarters. No whacking away at a Street Glide or an old Shovel until it is unrecognizable as production based. He had Wayne Kemp Kustoms in Wichita, Kansas whip up one of his WKK fully-suspended frames with a rather rad 55-degrees of rake to keep things on the down low. Helping the how-low-can-it-go factor is front and rear air suspension that eliminates the need for a pesky sidestand by dropping down until Mother Earth telepathically tells it to stop. There’s a few more tricks up this frame’s sleeve (actually tubing) with the right-side top and bottom tubes holding 4.5 quarts of engine oil while on the left side, the top tube channels and hides unsightly wiring and air lines while the bottom tube keeps pressurized air handy at a moment’s notice.

  Up front is a heavily-modified Harley fork that’s been totally revamped internally and externally until you have no idea it once graced a bike sitting on a showroom floor at some time in its life. Out back, there’s a non-linkage air shock connected to the swingarm that’s a real pleasure to a guy like Mark who’s normally a rigid-only guy. That swingarm cradles a getting rare (for now anyway) wider-than-wide 360mm Vee Rubber tire mounted on a three-piece 18” Psycle Ward Delusion wheel with a trans brake connected to a jackshaft to stop the chain spinning to the rear wheel and eventually the bike itself. Back to the front, another Delusion wheel, a 21-incher, sports Avon’s finest while a single Jaybrake disc brake setup does what conventional brakes do in an unconventional for motorcycles way. Mark’s got everything linked and running through the brake pedal-only with a Wilwood proportioning valve keeping things working correctly. Hey, I hear this type of setup works in cars, trucks and such so maybe it’s okay here. Certainly does clean up those tidy almost control-free bars.

 In true all-out fashion, Mark went over the top with an engine worthy of a Bonneville streamliner or adrenaline-junky quarter-miler (legal or otherwise). How does a 147-inch 176hp Engenuity Motors International billet twin cam engine made by EMI owner Mike Garrison sound to you? It makes my throttle hand sweat just thinking about it. Mark topped this off with a dual 42mm Mikuni setup he fabricated himself with one-off Wimmer Machine velocity stacks to make sure you notice even if you’re visually mechanically challenged. What goes in must come out, so Mark whipped up a neat header-wrapped exhaust that dumps out behind the engine and under the swingarm pivot. The funky wrap is an unexpected contrast to the shiny smoothness everywhere else, but probably more necessary than just a cosmetic twist because of the close leg and BAKER transmission proximity.

  With all the other parts and pieces fabricated, adding color to what is essentially a black and white (with shades of gray) mockup was the next show stopping step. Bill Clark of Creative Design shot a lovely House of Kolor Tangelo Pearl with Vivid Black paintjob that makes my orange-lovin’ heart start a fluttering. Minimal, but important graphics by Billy Neyer of Scribbles & Drips Lettering and Graphics in Laurys Station, Pennsylvania, accentuate the flowing lines without needlessly competing for attention. Topped off with a seat by Hot Tails Custom Seats in Murrels Inlet, South Carolina, this baby is ready to head for the nearest show or the big AMD World Championship 2012 in Sturgis.

  The only question I have after Mark’s two-year build is what’s next my man?