Now I know (wink-wink) that about 99% of the Harley owners I’ve spoken with deny ever having owned or ridden anything from across the Atlantic or Pacific. Apparently everybody just went out and bought a new Softail or whatever Harley model for their first bike and never looked back. Good for them. Unfortunately for the wonderful lore of that story, most riders started out young and penniless on something cheap and metric and enjoyed the hell out of it just because being on two wheels, any two wheels, is an experience like no other. Maybe it’s time to get over some silly prejudices and start looking at things with a different perspective of building something they can actually build and not farm out.

Many Harley guys still have that metric bike “they never owned” sitting in a shed or a garage or they have a brother-in-law or neighbor who has one leaning against a wall with boxes piled on it just gathering dust. It really doesn’t even matter what it is as long as it’s cheap and available. Most of these bikes were just put away after their owners lost interest and mechanically, it’s hard to kill a Japanese bike. A tune-up and a carb clean along with a fresh battery will usually get them running again like it was yesterday. Yeah, they might be a bit rough looking, but now’s your chance to try out some new skills you’ve learned from books, the Internet, and especially YouTube videos. Generally, these engines are ridiculously easy to work on and if you have a problem there’s always an answer whether it’s a service manual, a knowledgeable friend who’s dying to show you how knowledgeable he is, or again, perusing the Internet. Parts are readily available from many companies and, of course, the best invention of the 20th Century — eBay. Hey, so you screw something up while you’re learning, don’t fret, check eBay. Also the amount of helpful Internet forums for your particular bike would astound you. These older bikes also don’t have fancy-schmancy computers like new bikes that take a rocket science to work with, but simple electrics that just about anyone can understand. Quick and simple (and relatively pretty damn cheap) bolt-in electronic ignitions provide reliability, consistency, and quick starting that points and condensers never did. Most of these old bikes had both electric and kick starters and with an electronic ignition providing a good , consistent, and strong spark, you could toss out the electric starter and lighten and clean up the bike even more. Plus, the act of kick starting a bike is always impressive and satisfying. And, even if you’re an old guy, they’re no big deal to kick over. Matter of fact, it’s even more impressive if you’re an old guy as not a lot of hit-the-button riders today have ever kick started a bike.

Always wanted to try your hand at welding or painting? There are so many great and inexpensive alternatives out there that can take the black art out of both processes. One of the first things you should do is check out an Eastwood catalog ( www.eastwood,com) as they’ve got anything and everything you’ll need for reasonable prices. Yeah, it takes some practice to become proficient, but you’ve got time as you’ve still got your Harley to ride while you’re learning skills that you used to think you’d have to sell your soul to the devil to master. Maybe you’re first try won’t make Dave Perewitz hang up his spray gun or Fay Butler give up metalworking, but you did it and you can always practice on something until you get it down and that’s something that should satisfy you tremendously. I guarantee if you get either down, you’ll get a lot of “new” friends quickly.

A good example of taking on a project is our feature bike, a 1974 Honda CB450, belonging to Shannon Hulcher of Orlando, Florida, that he probably built for the price of just a rebuild of a Harley engine. He transformed a beater into something cool in only three months that he not only entered at the Rat’s Hole Show, but he’s got a fun bike to burn around on too. Obviously Shannon spent a lot of hand-time polishing up the engine to perfection and it was definitely worth it. There are a lot of nice and fairly simple touches too like the polished lower fork legs and cleaning up the mid-section of the frame of extraneous lugs and tabs to create an open and airy- space. Removing the huge stock plastic airbox and utilizing screen-alloy velocity stacks gives it a racy look and sound. The header-wrap exhaust culminating in what appears to be a set of Paul Dunstall-style mufflers gives a nice style-flow and sound along with a bit of extra horsepower over the heavy, restricted stamped ugly stockers. The stock mill made 45 horses, but with the changes in induction and exhaust along with an eventual huge weight loss surely makes this a tossable and quick bike to twist the throttle on.

Shannon’s classic Manx–style tank looks like it should have always been there and the pretty tail section only adds to the look. His choice of a simple-scheme paintjob only adds to the look and flow of the bike instead of some needlessly-busy overuse of hey-look-at-me graphics. The lines speak for themselves and they sure know and they’re talking about. His tidy little bit of vintage race bike-style cutting out the drum brake backing plate with a brass screen keeping out debris while letting hot air out is surely a nice touch that separates it from run-of-the-mill.

Look around and you can see a lot of neat changes. Hey, maybe café clip-ons are too much for you to handle, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t put a set of more comfortable drag bars or whatever suits your fancy instead. There are no rules when you’re building a bike for you. Take this bike as just an idea of what you might do on your first custom and suit it to your tastes and riding style. The best part of all of this type of build is that imagination, learning new skills, and some personal hand work could get you an alternative ride to the Road King sitting in your garage and be a fun knock around ride. Light, quick, and zippy to ride, it has its place in a true enthusiast’s garage even if it’s a dreaded Honda or whatever. Just like shoes, you’ve got something for different uses and taking off your leather riding boots and putting on a set of running shoes or whatever can be a pleasant and totally different experience. If your shoe collection only consists of Harley boot after Harley boot and that’s your choice, that’s okay by me. But, you’re missing out on alternatives which might only make you appreciate what you like best even more. Same with bikes.