“My bike was starting to show some age from the last time I customized it. I wanted to do something different while retaining the Old School-look and the springer front end. One day I was surfing the Internet and ran into a build done by Warrs Harley-Davidson in London, England, called the Kamome Springer,” said Sean. “The builder utilized ribbed aluminum fenders and a nickel-plated tank on an H-D Cross Bones and I thought it looked awesome. He went for a dark look as he used different textures of black and gray. I loved the fenders and tank and realized I could achieve my vision using that idea.”

Sean got to work by hacking off the rear fender struts and running the fender inside the swingarm. “I fabricated all of the fender brackets from steel I got at the hardware store. The front fender also posed a challenge as I had to heavily modify a Cross Bones fender mount,” said Sean. “The fenders are polished aluminum units that match the nickel–plated gas tank perfectly. The tank was a challenge, as I had to send it to San Antonio for plating and then get the scallops done on top with a gold pinstripe to tie in the brass bits I put on the bike. The tank and fenders add a Brit bike aspect to the build and look completely different to me than other customs out there. I think I did a good job of tying in the brass work, powdercoating, and nickel/polished aluminum.”

Swapping out the original 16-inch H-D front wheel for an H-D 19-incher, Sean stayed with the black powdercoated look of the previous version and actually incorporated more of the dark side throughout the bike. All engine covers and the primary along with the chrome springer spent time in the black powdercoating oven while he also swapped out the more pull-back bars and high-mounted headlight for a set of black drag bars and low-mounted light. “I elected to keep the wiring out of the handlebars and used custom switches on the dash for the horn, starter, and high-beam,” said Sean. ”It was tough getting all the wiring to fit under the dash.

The original chrome upswept Samson Sidewinder pipes had a date with Sean’s cutting wheel and a bunch of header wrap for a whole new look that didn’t fight with the tank/fender shiny bits and tasty bits of brass Sean used here and there for accents. One major philosophical change from stock or previous custom was going to a LaBriola Machine jockey shifter which not only cleaned up the bars, but made it a different feeling and committed ride compared to the original foot shifter. Speaking of cleaning up the bars, the chunky H-D front brake lever/master was replaced by a polished aluminum and brass Euro Components setup. “It’s not cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for,” said Sean.

One change that gave Sean a bit of a problem was cleaning up the seat area. “I would say that the most difficult part was getting the area under the seat flush. The stock H-D battery does not allow you to do that as it sticks up about an inch on the backside,” he said. “To fix this, I used a Bullet Lithium battery that is a third the size of stock and ten pounds lighter. They are expensive but they have a great warranty.”

One of the nice parts about this makeover is that it only took Sean a month from start to completion. “I did all of the work except for the welding and painting. My good friends Brian Daw, Dave Brezius, and Jared Kimber helped out with the welding while ARTEC Auto Body did a fine job on the classic Jaguar burgundy scallops on the air cleaner and gas tank,” said Sean.

The nice part about this whole bike is that Sean uses it as a motorcycle, not a stationary object. “I ride to work and get an occasional weekend ride in as I have small children. This is definitely a bar hopper as it is a bit rough on the kidneys,” he said. Using the bike as a bike means that someday Sean will have to do another refurbishment/makeover and we’ll just have to wait and see where he goes with that. In the meantime, Sean would love to do a nut-and-bolt restoration on either a Knucklehead or an old Indian just to keeps his chops fresh.