If one truly desires something in life, it seems like nothing could hinder him from attaining that goal. Even in undesirable situations, hope exists. When doctors reach the limit where they can not do anything more, there are companies like Design Worx that can make miracles happen. Initially, Chris Freda did not have the slightest intention of ever building a trike, but things...

  With the intention of making the bike look as good as it handled, Craiger disassembled the entire thing. He kept the frame’s original stretch and rake, but fabricated a swing arm with a pair of steel tubes and a hidden one-inch heavy-duty axle. Attached to the custom swing arm are two Progressive Suspension adjustable shocks with a Dyna Sport 39mm adjustable front end, modified...

Admittedly more of a design guy than a builder, Kevin had become friends with Tom and drew for him the chopper he had in mind. “I’d always liked bikes,”  Kevin said. “Growing up as a kid one of my friends was friends with Dave Perewitz and I thought custom bikes were pretty cool. When I wanted to build my own bikes I had a certain style in mind.” Kevin left the details up to Tom,...

  “I built the bike originally as kind of a street tracker because I’m a huge fan of dirt track mile racing and I miss the mile racing, it’s almost extinct now,” Joe said. “I thought I’d build a fun little street tracker so it would remind me of all the fun dirt track races.” Using the same Casino Lighting & Sign CAD system employed to make such works of art as the motorcycle...

He removed the motor from the Discovery bike; it started out as a 92” S&S Indian mill with round cylinders. Greg kept the displacement the same, but machined the jugs and heads in a hexagonal shape, polished it, and topped it with a set of square shaped rocker boxes that were brushed to bring out a color similar to the stainless steel pieces on other parts of the bike...

Probably just as well as The Love Machine was already taken by George Barris’ famous shag-carpeted custom van back in the ‘70s. Good choice then. Rear suspension? Have the Detroit Bros. gone soft? “I called up Dave Kaye and said I wanted to do a Softail. He said, ‘It just so happens I’m ironing out the details of building a Softail.’ I flew to Detroit and we sat down and he drew up...

Keeping his costs low right from the start, Steve procured a’99 Sportster Custom as a donor bike. Other than the driveline, there weren’t many stock parts he planned to use on the final version, but he was able to get the entire bike for less than the price of a Big-Twin motor. He upgraded the 883cc engine with a Dyna 2000i ignition, a Mikuni 42mm carburetor, a set of straight,...

  Ah, if only the entire build could have been that easy. It took about 18 months to get his bike up and running due a false start with a company that went out of business. But Jerry is nothing if not lucky, and he got his money back and began looking around for new help. “Finally I looked into Ace’s Choppers,” he said. “I sent them over the spec sheet and they reassured me they...

  Dan starts with a frame that he built himself. The “elliptical bent” single loop rigid frame features an adjustable rear axle, a 67” wheelbase, and a stretched section between the seat tube and rear end. “Stretching the rear allowed me to position the oil bag lower on the frame and mount the heavy battery behind the transmission. By lowering the bike’s center of gravity the bike...

The stock frame was put on the operating table to be raked (40-degrees) and stretched (7” out/-2” down) beyond recognition. “I cut the frame in half behind the transmission and put 3.5” behind the transmission, which allowed me to bring the seat behind the engine’s head and drop it a little bit,” said Jim. “I think it’s a nice look.” Leaving no stone unturned, the twin downtubes...