Speed Goblin’s unique frame consists of two drilled-out, curving, mirror image flat-stock pieces joined together by welding small tubes between them. “I got the idea from Steve Mull of Mull Coachbuilders, an old hot rod builder out on the West Coast,” said Jay. “I was looking at a picture of his spring mounts and they were like that.” The single-sided swingarm came about in a roundabout way. “I wanted to run an outboard sprocket and I had stopped in at RC Components and saw their single sided swingarm hub and said, ‘Heck, I could take this and incorporate it in so it wouldn’t look so modern,’ ” said Jay. No stress analysis was used making this swingarm work correctly, just good old trial and error. “The two stress rods that go up the back of the engine triangulate that section using the engine as a stressed member,” he added. ‘I’ve ridden it quite a bit besides the 600-mile Build-Off run, popped wheelies, and it works really, really good.” Rear suspension is by a couple of softail shocks, which Jay is still dialing in. The Redneck springer is an obvious choice for Jay’s retro look and sits at a mild 30-degree rake giving the quick handling Jay’s used to from his sportsbike daily rider. Skinny 120 tires front and rear makes sure this bike is ready to roll through a tight corner without a lot of advance warning.

A set of one-off 21” wheels by Mike Baister of Jaybrake have the look of the old Halibrands that graced those gorgeous front-engine Indy roadsters until their unfortunate demise in the mid-Sixties are cunningly labeled “Hart Brand.” If you saw the Build-Off on TV, you might have noticed a change in the brakes from the Baldwin-Wilson 360 brakes to a set of large rotors Jay fabbed with powerful Brembo calipers latching on to them. Jay uses and abuses this TV custom and wants all the braking power he can get. Personally, I like the more mechanical look and anything stamped Brembo is a good thing in my book. The sprocket still lays outboard and connects to a Baker tranny that’s spun by and through a clutch and primary by Tech Cycle. This exposed mechanical merry-go-round is powered by a 93” Shovel assembled by Dangerous Dan Von Berg and features Delkron cases, JIMS internals with Keith Black pistons slamming through S&S cylinders. “I learned everything I know about engines from him,” said Jay. “Dan knows every little trick, every little thing about Shovelheads. They’re not his favorite engine, but I love ‘em. When they’re built right, they’re indestructible.” The cool Hammerart 2-into-1 exhaust is simple and straightforward, until it starts snaking all over the place as it looks for a place to dump out combustion residue and noise.

It’s so neat the way Jay’s fuel tank fits into the frame’s jogged downtube indentation making you wonder what came first, the tank or the frame. Hanging from the backbone, the tank looks to have been pulled from a 20s bike and I love the way it just seems to float there somehow. The oil tank hangs off the side and looks like it might have had a previous life holding something other than oil. Moving with the swingarm, the fender fends off crap like it’s supposed to. Nate Spainhower of Sure Shots did an ace job with the red, white, and blue paint and Shadow Graphix gave it pizzazz, but not overwhelmingly so.

Hank Young helped out on this build and came up with the elegantly simple mid-foot controls and the velocity stack that looks like an old Ford horn. Jay modified a set of Independent Cycle handlebars and called on Jaybrake for those stylish hand controls with wooden grips by Jay himself. “I got the idea for that from a set of fireplace tools,” said Jay who refused to be coerced by TV people into falsely declaring he got the idea from an Indy car wooden steering wheel. Jay machined up the headlight and I’m sure you know what he was attempting to emulate. Jay’s leather saddle sports his V2 logo and finally, it’s showtime!

So how does Jay feel about this ten-day wonder? “I’d sure like to build this bike again. I’m excited about doing another one like this, but very different,” said Jay.