But while he had plenty going for him in the fabrication department, he’d never built a bike before and needed guidance from a knowing hand. For that, he turned to Jimmy Pacwa at Twisted Twin in South Haven, Michigan. Jimmy’s a custom bike builder whose work has been showcased at events around the USA and featured in magazines. It was his knowing eye that kept Kirkey on the path to building the great looking chopper you see before you now.

Kirkey had looked around at plenty of bikes before he decided on a chopper as the style of choice. At 6’1” he’s not exactly compact, so a long chopper would fit him just fine. To accommodate his size, he based this bike around a Rolling Thunder Softail frame with a 37 degree rake to kick the front end out and plenty of stretch: 4” out, 5” up. Add to that the bike’s long Mean Street forks and you have the basis for a larger-than-life custom bike.

Moreover, the bike’s raked trees help keep the front nice and manageable. Handling wasn’t just a consideration with the forks, though. Kirkey also wanted a balance between power and ease of use in the motor department. For that, he chose a 100” Merch mill with Grumpy’s pipes and a Wimmer air cleaner. He rounded out the motor/trans/driveline equation with a 3”open belt primary from Primo and tied to a Baker 5-speed RSD tranny eliminating any offset primary and the tendency to pull left, which is inherent with a lot of wide rear tire machines not RSD equipped.

Now that Kirkey had the powerplant and a roller to hold it, he turned toward finishing the mock-up with skin and controls. Just like the chassis, the tanks and bars were made by Rolling Thunder. After they were in place on the bike, Kirkey added P.M. Contour hand and foot controls to the mix, then his shop made the fenders and taillight for the bike. A Headwinds headlight later, his chopper was ready for the home stretch of its construction: finish and paint.

And that’s where Jimmy Pacwa’s shop took charge. Kirkey turned his raw baby over to Jimmy who was tasked with turning this rough diamond into a flawless gem. He molded the tanks, fenders, and frame to flow together in perfect harmony. With that done, Twisted Twin got down to business on the bike’s finish. Red and black are Kirkey Racing’s colors, and they were generously applied to the surface of the chopper, then followed up with checkered flag graphics. The end result of Jimmy’s hard work was a beautiful custom ride that Kirkey is proud not only to ride but also to have representing his shop. Needless to say, Kirkey Racing’s experience in building race car seats turned out a beauty here.