Modified Stockers
But when Jim asked Rob what he wanted for the bike, “All he gave me was 21, that’s it,” Jim said. “I don’t even know what that means.”
Free to do whatever he wanted with the bike, Jim was psyched. “I did feel some pressure to make it right, for sure, but that’s what I like to do, chop up the frames and get in there,” he said.
One of Jim’s trademarks is a drop-seat frame. “I dropped the seat about 3”, and the overall height of the bike about an inch-and-a-half,” he said. “It’s easy now, because I’ve done it a few times, but it’s not that big of a deal. Basically I chopped the frame directly in half, behind the transmission, and then I add in about 4” of stretch, which allows me to bring the seat back an end up behind and below the head.”
At the top of the frame, Jim cut the backbone halfway through, starting at the neck right behind the motor mount. “I cut off the fender struts and everything else involved with the seat. Then I just made my own little backbone and drop-seat conversion,” he said. Getting the tire into the swingarm wasn’t difficult for Jim. “Softails come in pretty much two different ways, ’84 to ’99, and 2000 and up,” he said. “So basically, when you buy a 180 wheel, the hub is the same on the ’84 to ’99 Softail. The way I accomplished it, I put a nine-tenths-of-an-inch offset sprocket on the tranny and converted to a chain final drive. Then I was able to squeak the rear tire in there with the stock brakes, stock axle, stock everything.”
Jim had a fender lying around, which he cut and narrowed to adapt to the swingarm.
The 3.9-gallon gas tank took about 22-hours of labor. “They have these stretch Sportster tanks and it kind of bolts on in the stock position,” he said. “Basically I cut the tunnel out of it, cut it down the middle, and just trimmed it up so it was narrower, and put a new bottom on it with a nice radius that I liked.”
Jim spent a day making the oil tank from scratch. “It holds about three-and-a-half quarts,” he said. “It’s filled from under the seat. It’s made out of fiberglass so I kind of molded it to the frame. It’s easy to remove.”
The seat is by Global Aircraft in New York. “My first shop was by the airport,” Jim said, “and they had a place by the airport. Somebody told me Global made their seats, so I went over there.”
Jim kept the ’98 H-D Evo motor. “We didn’t touch the motor because it wasn’t in the budget,” said Jim, but he did make the open exhaust. “It’s loud when you want it to be. It’s not crazy or anything. It started out an inch-and-three-quarter, and ended up two-inches in diameter.”
Jim made the handlebars and the risers. “I like the look of drag bars and so did the customer, and basically I didn’t want to bolt stuff onto the bike so I made my own,” he said. “I try not to bolt stuff on, that’s kind of key. Buying a bunch of bling-bling stuff and bolting it on…I shy away from that.”
As for choosing a color for the bike, Jim was on his own. “All I had was that 21 to go by,” he said. “So I just did what I wanted to do. I used House of Kolor Orion Silver, then I put a layer of heavy metal flake over that. Then I masked out the flames and painted it Cobalt Blue Candy.” All in all, the build was affordable, Jim said, and took about 150 hours to complete. “That’s with everything, including the paint. In my mind it’s not really expensive, not for that particular bike,” he said.
When Rob Simone got his finished bike, he was off and running. “I couldn’t really get my hands on it to ride for a year after it was done because the owner is a real die-hard rider, he was out and about all over,” Jim said. “But then I had it for a couple weeks to take pictures and I rode it as much as I could. Rob was okay with that. It’s a dynamite-looking bike. I wish it was mine.”
Up Close: Jaybrake Classic Hand Controls
Staying power in the aftermarket industry involves more than just being obstinate, it requires constant innovation, high quality parts, and good customer service. Jay Brainard, founder of Jaybrake and now director of Jaybrake’s Research & Development since being acquired by Horschel Brothers Motorsports in 2005, has been at it for 25 years that should almost be measured in dog years in the custom business. The acquisition took him away from the boring business end of things and allowed him to do what he does best, design new and innovative products that enhance your bike looks and your riding enjoyment.
The Jaybrake Classic hand controls on Jim Shadler’s bike are a mainstay of Jaybrake’s extensive line going back to the beginning of time it seems. They’re available with three different-size brake master cylinders (9/16”, 5/8”, and 3/4”) to suit your needs and have an option of incorporating a brake-light switch if necessary. The clutch setup is available as cable or hydraulic with the same bore sizes as the brake master. As far as levers go, Jaybrake has five different lever options to fit the style you’re looking for. But that’s not all, there are three finish choices; polished, chrome, and black anondized for both hand controls and levers, so mix and match if it pleases you. The clean, simple look of the controls is sure to not only standout in a crowd, but give you years of reliable riding pleasure. Replacement parts are available so you’re not looking at a throwaway piece and everything is made right here in the good ol’ USA in Jaybrake’s plant in Springville, New York.
See all the cool Jaybrake products at www.jaybrake.com or call 716-592-0554 for more info.
Builder: Jim Shadler, South Shore Chop Shop
Now and again a builder comes along who is effectively keeping his dance card full by shying away from expensive ground-up customs and focusing instead on his own passion: the endless possibilities of customizing a Harley. Jim Shadler, owner of South Shore Chop Shop in Farmingdale, New York, is one of those builders, catering to Harley riders who want a bike built especially for them, but is still made for real riding and is easily titled.
Jim is a guy with a sense of humor, and although the real spelling of his name is “Schaedler” and his family and friends were somewhat shocked to see it spelled “Shadler” in the April-May issue of Barnett’s Magazine, he says it’s nothing deep…just a matter of convenience. “I spell my name phonetically because I got tired of spelling it for people,” he said. “I know it’s weird, it’s a weird thing, yeah, but I got tired of spelling it out over and over again for people.”
The Internet community, however, has come to know Jim as “SuperUnknownMC”, and homemade videos of his bike builds are garnering a world-wide following. Posted on his MySpace page (and a few on YouTube), Jim’s video fan-base is swiftly growing. Diligent about updating his page every day or two with videos, photos, and blog posts, he’s reveling in Internet freedom and says, “With MySpace I can update every day for free, post new pictures and videos, but with a website it could cost a thousand bucks just to update…a thousand bucks!”
To see Jim’s groovy little shop in Farmingdale, check out his website at www.SouthShoreChopShop.com. If you want to see Jim explain his 21 chop, or see video of his Affliction build (featured in the April-May 2009 issue of Barnett’s Magazine), check him out on MySpace at www.MySpace.com/SuperUnknownMC.
| SPECIFICATIONS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||