Manteca doesn’t like a destination worth seeking out and you’re probably thinking, “Why would I want to visit Manteca? Is there anything special about it?” Yes there is, but it has nothing to do with history or agriculture or even communing. Manteca is the home of Binford’s Custom Cycles and with the unbelievable builds they’re doing including this BikerLive build, there’s plenty to see in The Family City. This striking Harley-Davidson Panhead-powered board tracker/bobber/bagger alone would be a good reason to pop in for a look-see and maybe a chat with the Binford’s boys.
Binford’s biggest boy, Paul Binford is the owner, boss, and hard riding buddy of a bunch of talented guys at the shop. Paul collaborated with Binford’s motor man, Tanner Shackley, on the design of this build which is a pretty damn radical accomplishment if there were no ridiculous TV time limits. Somehow this all purportedly came together in less than a month which I still find shocking every time I watch a builder show. How the hell do you do a one-off build even with a good crew in less than a month? Especially one that’s full of one-off everything, finished to such a high degree, and incorporates lots of new thinking.
I might be able to sum up the zaniness of what they accomplished from scratch in a month in 13 words ─ FXR-style rubber mounted original Panhead with 30-inch wheels front and rear. That’s a combination of words I’ve never seen before and it shows that Paul and Tanner think big ─ really big. Luckily Paul and Tanner had a bit of help from shop fabricator, Johnny Matthews, painter, Ricardo “Rico” Saldana, and Paul’s son, Paul Jr. Not a big crew, but they were able to pull off their version of Manteca shock and awe with this wild to the limit and then some. The sighting of a vintage Panhead in a custom bike like Binford’s might have literally freaked out a world that was afraid of a UFO invasion at any time when this Panhead originally left Milwaukee. Ah, the good old days when the only fear was alien invasion.
Paul and Tanner’s frame is a bright point for me as most show bike builders don’t give a damn if their bike vibrates like a twerk gone mad. Like a lot of builders, Binford’s claims it builds its bikes to not only ride, but to go fast too. Using FXR-style rubber mounts probably doesn’t win any show points, but it sure makes an old Harley engine smooth and the riding comfortable. Nothing wrong with that in my book as excessive vibes are something I avoid like the plague. I’ve seen too many solid mount big-inch motors do a number on electrics and sheet metal never mind the human body. That type of setup is fun to talk about, but definitely not fun to ride. Especially fast.
Building that frame around a set of Sinister Wheel’s 30-inch wheels could have been an unsolvable design problem if they hadn’t thought it through so carefully. It’s a risky thing to attempt, but they pulled it off properly without a hint of looking disproportionate. Somehow everything looks in scale in photos and not over the top even though it is. There’s a nice flow going on that doesn’t even just look good for a bike with extremely tall wheels, but can put up its dukes with the best of them. Big-wheel baggers can get lost in the wheel while this big-wheel bike just looks like a bike. Not easy to do, but they did it.
There are a lot of neat takes on custom parts like the leading link, air shock fork that doesn’t seem to have much in the way of visible hardware holding it all together. Nothing breaks up the lines of the fork and each piece looks smooth and incredibly finished. Hey, if I could make that fork alone in a month or even a year, I’d quit while I was ahead. Same goes for the curved and mechanically sexy, almost an I-bean swingarm that also has a Legends Suspensions air ride keeping things on the up-and-up or the down-low depending on the rider’s preference. Just watching that thing power down on TV was like watching some sort of animatronics animal go through its paces. Man, it really drops.
Three’s a ton of other cool stuff too like the air-bladder sprung seat or the double four-pot calipers working the rear wheel only. I gotta think things might get a little touchy back there when it’s being ridden and one has to hit the brake in less than perfect conditions. All I’m saying is it might be a bit of overkill on that skinny rear tire (or just about any tire), but then this is supposed to be a jaw-dropper as well as a possible rider. There’s also the liberal use of brass knuckle-inspired parts like the mid mounts and the pegs, but that’s kinda a trademark of any Binford’s build. Oh, can’t forget the Binford’s bastard of an exhaust that looks ready to execute something or someone on a moment’s notice with that big-ass opening.
Where this takes a quirky left turn is that jerry can thing hanging off the back left-side. I mean, who puts a modified jerry can on a custom motorcycle? Now I know the answer to that question. Apparently that’s where all the things that technically makes this a custom bagger of sorts are hidden. You know, things every bagger has now like Bluetooth, WiFi, an audio system and probably a few things more that I’m not aware of or not particularly interested in. I think Paul and Tanner were just having fun sticking it to the man on that one. I look at this bike and the word bagger is just about the last word that comes to mind. But hey, being born without an imagination has its problems.
Every custom build, no matter how ingenious, comes down to paint as a make or break it point. Binford’s in-house painter, Rico, came up with a quietly elegant paint job that doesn’t scream “Look at me!” but rather, “I’m just one of the many beautiful things you’re gonna see.” The white- and cooper-colored design catches your eye immediately, but it’s not the only thing you see. A tasteful bit of pinstriping and a declaration-of-purpose tank graphic (“Panty Dropper”) add some spice to an otherwise subtle scheme. Same goes for the pretty leather saddle which blends right into the whole scheme or is it possibly the other way around? Either way, it’s a nice paintjob, a nice bike, and a nice group of builders and this is a wrap.
If you can’t get to Manteca or simply don’t want to bother, but would like more info on Binford’s, hit the information highway by punching up http://www.binfords.com/ or visit their Facebook page.