But, but, it’s a bike that looks like a fire truck so that must make it a theme bike you’d think. Well you’d be wrong as the man behind it and Bloomfield, Indiana’s, Hoosier Daddy Choppers, Jon Shipley, just doesn’t build theme bikes per se, but “idea” bikes. He just takes an idea, plays with it, and somehow he doesn’t have the terrible taint of theme bikes stuck on him. Jon’s as serious as hell about imagining, crafting, and building the best bikes he absolutely can, but he’s also a hot shit who really, really enjoys what he does. As far as his Fire House build goes, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I found out that this all came about because he had Arthur Brown’s nutty-loo 1968 hit Fire stuck in his head. Or, that he somehow had gotten the title to the Commodores’ song Brick House mixed up with Fire House. Of course, I’m making this all up and Jon’s obviously a lot smarter and sharper man than I am, but in a different world, it could’ve happened. Maybe. Possibly. Probably not.

  Definitely not according to Jon as he told me how this came to be and it’s kinda nutty, but cool in its own way. “I like to use different things on builds. I wanted to use a fire extinguisher for the oil tank and that is where the Fire Bike idea originated from,” he said. Please notice that he said “idea” and not theme. He takes an idea and has fun with it instead of stuffing a preachy theme down your throat. I’m totally okay with that as Jon’s finished result is more important as a motorcycle than getting some sort of theme/tribute across.

 What this bike was built for other than showcasing Hoosier Daddy Choppers’ work was as simple as can be ─ winning shows. And not just winning some local or even national shows, but international shows.  “We set out to build a show stopper and it has proven itself with Bike of the Year at Easyriders in Columbus, Best of Show at the Indy Motorcycle Expo, and first place in the over-1000cc class at the Rat’s Hole Show during the recent Daytona Bike Week,” said Jon. As a little aside to all these awards, when I asked him how this bike rode and handled, he added, “We haven’t even ridden the bike yet because the AMD people are sending us to Essen, Germany, to be entered in the modified Harley class at the 2013 AMD World Championship as part of Team USA.” Yeah, by all these awards so far, I’d say Jon’s rather successfully built himself a “show stopper” and then some. 

   By the way, you might have previously noticed that he’s contesting the “modified Harley class” with an all-out, balls-out board tracker that looks about as much of a modified Motor Company product as a funny car does to a production car. Hey, I would never have guessed in a million years or so that this bike has a York, Pennsylvania-stamped VIN on the head tube unless Jon told me. “The frame is a ’97 Harley Softail front clip with a custom rigid rear section. This bike was a bitch to build because we put a 96” Twin Cam in an Evo frame. I don’t recommend this,” said Jon.

 

   One thing Jon was adamant about pointing out about this build was how he called on others in the trade for help and they stepped up to the plate. “Andy Boersma and Scooter Otto from Kalamazoo Choppers [in Portage, Michigan] let me come to their shop to fab the frame, tank and fenders. The entire f**king thing was a problem, but we made it all work,” said Jon. “It was cool working with guys who are friends and fellow builders. We had a great time.”

  With the basics now out of the way, Jon got on to some of the fun things on this non-riding ride to the Rhineland. Everywhere, and I mean everywhere, you look you’ll see delicious little details that encompass the Fire Bike concept, but in a way that doesn’t scream “Hey, I’m a fire fighter tribute/theme bike so accept it and don’t you dare say anything bad.” Yeah, he incorporated a fire hose of sorts like others, but as an exhaust?  That wild exercise in white and brass could be pulled off this bike and bolted onto another bike and it would still look way cool without the slightest hint of a fire-bike theme. Hey, just like any aftermarket production slip-ons, you could change the tips for a different look if necessary, but I do like the unusual header setup. Or take the whole springer front end including the wonderfully-curved bars and brass headlamp that has a mechanical look worthy of an old horse drawn pumper. All nice styling cues that fit in period correct with the board tracker era this design is based on.

   All in all, Jon’s hit a homerun all the way to Germany, but we’ll have to wait until May 12^th to find out if his home run has turned into a grand slam. One thing that might be in Jon’s favor is that German is the largest ancestry reported in Indiana and hopefully he’s picked up enough tips about being German brats and beer to sway any judges who might be on the fence about choosing a local lad over some guy from America.

  If you’d like to see more articles we’ve written about Jon’s bikes then swooze your cursor over to here and click and if that’s not enough, click again. If you’d like to know more about Hoosier Daddy Choppers directly, visit http://hoosierdaddychoppers.com/.