Possibly the easiest part of meeting the rules was starting with the 984cc engine from a Buell XB9R which puts out enough beans in stock form that internal modifications were limited to flowing the heads while the rest of the innards were left stock. Exterior mods did include the adaptation of a Mikuni BN46 downdraft carb, which is usually seen adorning watercraft according to...

David began by buying a frame jig and working out his ideas on it, but with all the customer work passing through his shop he just couldn’t appropriate the necessary time to build the frame. A call to Mike Weimer in the deep woods of central Virginia at Dirty South Choppers Inc. (www.dirtysouthchoppers.com) was all that was needed. “I faxed him a sketch of what I wanted. It took...

  There were a few custom bikes built in the area that were using Independent Cycle Inc.’s LOWLIFE frame and Trent liked the way they looked. But, his first notion was to look for another frame because much of the reason he wanted a custom to begin with was to have something unique. “The guys at TCX understood I didn’t want a cookie-cutter custom, and explained that the (LOWLIFE)...

  Owned by Jay Burnham, Freakshow Choppers pride themselves on their unique sheet metal fabrication abilities. In order to show off their extensive skills, Jay thought it best to start with a frame that would force them to think up new twists on the essential parts of a bike that are noticeably different from conventional shapes and placement of those motorcycle vital pieces. The...

  Kris’ ideas for the bike couldn’t be realized by any off-the-shelf rigid frame, and he’d recently come across an unusual suspension application that he figured out how to adapt to a motorcycle. “There are no conventional shocks on this bike, but it does have adjustable suspension. We used Dual Elastamerick Suspension (the initials are where the bike gets its name) at both ends so...

Click here for more photos… This bike feature originally appeared in Barnett’s Magazine issue #65, November 2008. SPECIFICATIONS Owner: For Sale Year/Make: 2006 Sabers Specialties Fabrication/ Assembly: Blake Sabers Build time: one year (off and on) Engine: 124″ S&S Anniversary Cases: Polished Flywheels/ Rods:...

  During the previous build-off they had designed and fabricated a custom frame within the allotted period, but it sucked up a good chunk of time they could have spent on other aspects of the bike. On this occasion they used one of their production gooseneck, drop seat rigid frames. It was still a big part of the bike that they had designed and created, but they saved numerous...

It doesn’t take too long to figure out this isn’t the real thing or a clone, but a tribute to an era with a combination of old and ultra-hip technology rolled into one package that owes nothing to anybody except its extremely talented Gas Monkey Garage designer and fabricator, Aaron Kaufman. “He’s the kind of guy you might not notice in a crowd, but when you sit and talk with him —...

     The shock value of a radical chopper of the ‘60s and ‘70s can’t be underestimated or really understood by someone who hadn’t experienced it during that silly, yet wonderful time period. Catching a glimpse of something like Rose Mary cruising down the street would be enough to stop anyone in their tracks. Understanding what you just saw would probably come later after your...

    The Big Daddy Rat lead photo filled me in a bit on the who, what and where the second I saw Todd “Gilby” Gilbertson, owner of Gilby’s Street Dept. in River Falls, Wisconsin, standing there with a smile of satisfaction on his face. I couldn’t help but think, of course, it’s a Gilby’s bike as Mr. Gilby is not afraid to take on a crazy build, make it even crazier as he went along...