Jeff has the ability to look at a derelict bike and see something entirely different like the hunk before him doesn’t even exist in that mode anymore. It probably has something to do with his other favorite pastime, photography, where he looks at bikes like looking at an image through his viewfinder. There’s nothing in his viewfinder that shouldn’t be there and it’s the same for his bikes. In case you don’t believe me, check out a few of his previous builds that Barnett’s Magazine Online has featured like his 1964 Harley-Davidson Panhead or his 1976 FLH or a Sportster too sexy for its shirt. They’re all different, they’re all beautiful and yet every one has an identifiable SpeedKing touch.

   This elemental beauty in white was built for the Smoke Out 17’s Pro Chop Off competition where it won against extremely stiff competition. I’m just glad I didn’t have to decide who won between Jeff, Jeremy Cupp of LC Fabrications and Bill Dodge of Bling’s Cycles. Three builders who consistently build stuff that’s right up my alley and to pick one would be one of those Sophie’s Choice moments. Well maybe not quite the same, but pretty damn close. 

   You know when I first looked at this bike I really didn’t think custom motorcycle as there’s something about the bike that makes it look (and feel) like it could be a stocker, some early model Harley we all forgot about. Maybe it’s just because everything compliments each other so well that nothing looks modern, nothing looks flashy and it flows front to back like it was meant to be this way. There’s that same purity of line that you’d find on a stock ’65 XLCH for instance, yet you know it’s not stock in any way. Could be that I wish there was a vintage stocker that looked exactly like this bike that makes me refer to it as kinda a factory model. Maybe it’s the surgically clean incorporation of vintage Harley pieces and Jeff’s twist on them that gives this an aura of clean professionalism, I don’t know. But, I do love it. 

   One thing’s for sure, I can guarantee you that the springer front end is the real thing and not something shipped across the Pacific. Jeff loves using real stuff and if you’re a Midwest guy, that means American stuff and that means alrey stuffHarley stuff

Harley stuff. Out back, Jeff used one of his drop seat setups which strangely enough have suspension. Maybe not a lot of it, but sometimes just a little is a whole lot better than nothing. I love Softails, but I don’t mind the twin shock look one bit. I will have to admit I never took the shocks off my old bikes back in the day and replaced them with flat metal struts like a lot of my friends did. On this bike, they’re a styling and roadworthy plus and I can’t imagine it any other way.

  Wheels were a relatively easy choice as Jeff stayed with laced wheels in stock sizes sporting vintage square tread tires front and rear. It’s a look that never ever grows old to me. The lack of front fender and front brake give the front wheel an even beefier look like it could tackle anything and get through it unscathed. The similarly-sized rear wheel does double duty with a pair of four-pot calipers on a lovely drilled-out mount working on a drilled-out rotor that hopefully makes up for the lack of any stopping power up front.

  The legendary AMF-era 1972 Shovelhead mill is a thing of beauty to most Harley freaks and the one is this bike is Shovelhead perfection. Clean raw aluminum castings with a touch of polishing on the rockers and chrome engine pieces against the black barrels is the way to go with a vintage engine like this and Jeff doesn’t disappoint. The black S&S tear drop air cleaner hides in plain sight while Jeff’s 2-into1 exhaust ending in a Bates-style trumpet megaphone brings on the style in a thoroughly clean modern way. The exhaust just flows with the bike and doesn’t try to be the focal point even though it’s a stylish SOB of an exhaust. Strangely, one big element of this engine is the fat rubber kicker pedal hanging off the upgraded 5-speed tranny. Strong legs only need apply to ride this bike.

   Bodywork couldn’t be simpler with a cleaned-up Fat Bob-style tank sporting a leather strap with two toggle switches mounted directly on top. I would assume one is ignition and the other lights and what more do you really need? The rear fender is again, simple and clean, with lines enhanced by those lovely S-curved struts. The oil tank/battery box is nothing over the top either, just a nice round cap cylinder with a machined cap. Nothing crazy, finned or machined out of billet, an oil tank like you thought you remember. Frankly, it’s what good design is and good design, not something trendy, is what lasts.

   The rest of the details from the headlight to the hand-tooled sprung seat to the eight-inch mini-apes continue the “right” look. Chuck in a set of foot controls with a stout clutch linkage and that über-cool hand shifter topped with a bright red ball and it’s ready to go. That’s after the arctic white paintjob with the sheen of snow and minimalist SPEEDKING RACING graphics on the tank became the perfect compliment to all the black parts and pieces of the build. The matching white grips pull it all together much more than a set of grips should, but that’s the SpeedKing magic at work.

  So I’m not the least bit surprised that I like this build so much as I’m a fan of Jeff’s work and always have been right from his Sucker Punch Sallys days. Matter of fact, the only thing I’d be surprised about anything SpeedKing related is if I didn’t like one, I’d have a lot of soul searching to do and maybe a trip to the doctor’s just to see if I’m okay. Something would be wrong at this end because I know whatever flows out of SpeedKing USA is gold. Jeff’s got the Midas touch and there’s no way he’d ever lose it.

  For more info on SpeedKing USA visit http://www.speedkingphoto.com/, Facebook, Instagram, whatever you got.