Right off the bat, Andrew Usich and his shop, Usich Customs in Long Beach, California, probably don’t fall off the tip of your tongue when you think of builders, but after only his third motorcycle build and either winning or placing each one in every show he’s entered, you will in the future. Coming from a background of auto customizing working under the likes of legendary customizer Gene Winfield where he learned metal shaping and custom car building, it was only a short step to entering the highly-competitive world of custom-built motorcycles.

    By now you’ve probably guessed that the Pink Panther moniker in the title has to do with the bright pink hue Andrew chose for his build and you’d be partially correct. Anytime you see a pink custom motorcycle, it seems it’s named after the cartoon character in the Pink Panther series of movies starring the late Peter Sellers as bumbling 

 Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Google for yourself if you don’t believe me. But that’s not the case here as the motorcycle came first and the paint came second.

    By that I mean the engine in this ground-up build is from a highly unusual 600cc Panther motorcycle from Great Britain originally intended for slogging around while smoking a pipe or hauling a sidecar. The sloping single with twin exhaust ports might make you think it’s a twin, but it’s a big single cylinder engine that was made from 1932 to 1963. I used to see small black and white ads for these in the back of Cycle World magazine when they were still new and they always had a strange fascination for me for reasons unknown. Over the 30+years they were built, they didn’t change much. Andrew’s version is a 1949 unit he found on craigslist and he could have said it was any of those other 30 versions and no one would be the wiser except for the seven or eight Panther freaks still out there.

   But, this has to be the crème de le crème of Panther singles when it comes to outward engine appearance. No Panther ever had this much polishing, this much chrome and I doubt any had the brass plating and engraving featured on this cutie. I’ll go so far as to say I’m absolutely sure on that finish as that’s something you don’t see a lot on any motorcycle these days, Harley-Davidson included. I somehow doubt there was much hop-up work done on this 23hp 4-speed powerhouse, but I’m sure Andrew got what’s there working like a charm. These silly singles can make a slow-idle lope on a Harley sound like it’s revving too fast. Thump-wait-thump-wait etc. It’s charmingly British.

    The engraving and brass work on the engine was done by Herman D’Aloia of Engrave-It Inc. in Ontario, California, and what a difference an engraver makes. Instead of the industrial look of the ‘30s, it’s all about detail, metals and hand finishes or what we tend to refer to as bling. This thing’s got bling and then some. Andrew’s exhausts are amazing the way their angle mimics the cylinder and then seemingly disappear into the engine. A closer look shows how Andrew seriously integrated them into the engine and you have to look to see those brass-ribbed turnouts with rounded ends. Saying “different” doesn’t begin to express how cool this exhaust system is.

    There’s some other cool stuff going on like that whacky electric starter setup involving a length of gold chain and a couple of sprockets whirring away between the engine and seat post. The left side has chains and more chains going on. The open primary shows one off nicely while the clutch passes the power to the final drive. I’m not a fan of wearing gold chains, but I do like them on a bike. Or take those lovely bits of foot controls that are miniature engraved leaf springs turned into shifter and brake pedal to compliment the look of Andrew’s one-off similarly engraved leaf spring forks. I’ve seen Indian-inspired leaf spring forks like that before, but never foot controls built of the same construction. Good one Andrew.

    You probably noticed that there’s a bunch of expected frame tubing missing and that’s because the engine is used as a stressed member of the frame. What there is left of a frame came directly from Andrew’s hard work. Straight tubing became curved and with custom molding that really brings back the Old School chopper heavily molded looks. This time it’s not in Bondo, but metal. The ribbed rear axle plates are their own little work of art and almost disappear into the chrome of the rear wheel.. Actually they’re not little but quite a piece of billet carved out by JC Manufacturing Inc. of Long Beach, California.

    Besides that lovely metalwork, JC Mfg. also made the two-toned “seat” which features more ribbing as an ass pad. Somehow I don’t think much consideration was taken into account of actually sitting on this, but I’m sure somebody will tell me it’s comfortable. Either way, it’s a pretty cool setup for a show bike and I’m pretty damn sure this bike has no pretense of being something you hop onto and go for a long ride to nowhere in particular. It’s something for the show circuit and maybe riding around a parking lot, although that’d be enough to cause ass displeasure on my part for sure. Where are my astronaut diapers?

   Like I mentioned, this bike is one piece of molded metalwork from the rear fender to the “oil tank” under the seat to the headstock and tank. There’s a whole lot of molding going on and it doesn’t look too over-the-top on an over-the-top build like this. All things being equal, it makes perfectly good sense in this application. Andrew’s one-off Indian-style leaf spring fork is probably the prettiest one I’ve seen. Usually they come across as a bit clunky and that’s their charm, but here Andrew’s slimmed things up and the curves are Art Deco graceful. Matter of fact, I’d say this fork with its chrome and brass finish and svelte legs is pretty damn snazzy.

    But, the elephant in the room is the screaming pink paint, no doubt a potential deal breaker for a lot of you and I can understand. Unless you’re an extrovert’s extrovert, you’re probably not gonna feel comfortable on this ride. Personally I think Andrew made this an obvious point of his build that’s sure to catch your eye whether you want to admit it or not. Maybe it’s his custom car background where shocking colors like this are not out of the ordinary. Either way, he got your attention and mine too, and that’s the first unwritten rule of a show bike goodness, get their attention through shock and awe. I gotta give a tip ‘o the hat to Danny Galvez of Danny D Pinstriping and Custom Paint in Baldwin Park, California, for the incredible pink paintjob with graphics straight out of the ‘70s. He nailed it on this one.

   Like I said earlier, you’ve gotta keep an eye out for more work from Andrew Usich as he’s not afraid. His other two builds were Harleys so he’s not just a custom Panther single nut and all bikes have won more than their fair share of trophies so far including winning the freestyle class at the recent IMS J&P Cycles Show in Long Beach. Just remember the name Usich Customs as Andrew doesn’t believe in web sites of Facebook, but he does like Instagram so if you want to look him up, that’s the only game in town.