Especially when there’s a story behind the bike that involves a biker grandfather who inspired Ron to get into the paint and body business as well as motorcycles which Ron has totally embraced going full time in the custom bike business. Not only did his late grandfather, Lou, encourage him to be the best he could at whatever he did, he provided the name for this sweet chopper and so Sweet Lou it is.
Ron started with one of the Harley-Davidson underground favorites, a 1977 FXR, and created a ‘70s-style chop that would have knocked just about any custom lover out cold back in the day. After eschewing any need for rear suspension, Ron welded on a hardtail with a bit of stretch to begin the look he was going for. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like his comfort, though, and fabbed up a seat pan with a Chop Doc’s twin adjustable seat shock setup to keep his butt from complaining over Michigan’s hard-weathered streets.
By now you’ve got to wondering what’s up with the one-of springer that Ron’s friend and fellow Michigan builder, Clay Cobb of Cobb Customs-One Way Racing, fabricated from scratch. Actually, all you have to do is click on Clay and the photo will explain everything you need to know about him in the proverbial nutshell. This is a case where a picture is worth a thousand words. Taking a look at Jack Cofano’s photo gallery you can’t miss where Clay carved out ‘Chop Docs’ in big letters just below the fork springs. Now that is a ‘70s touch if there ever was one.
Building a vintage chop requires wheels that were never, ever carved from a block of billet so Ron went with a sure thing. Out back is the modern day equivalent of a sprocket brake except this original version that looks very English has a drum setup instead of some modern caliper-hugging stopper. The black-rimmed wheel is not overstuffed with spokes in either size or numbers, but a Goldilocks-approved regular old spoked wheel covered in a vintage-style, square tread tire with a tall side wall perfect for ruining low pressure in to provide a vestige of suspension. Up front just the opposite with a tall-for-the-seventies black rim laced to what looks to me like a drum brake from a late-60s Honda drum brake. It’s a good looking unit and surely better than running a spool when it comes time to open up that monster of a Shovelhead.
Ron spent some serious time and a bit of the green stuff to make his Shovelhead run like a scalded cat over a two month period. It now displaces 88-cubes which would have been pretty damn big for its time along with a Clay Cobb intake, a hot cam, a hot, but wicked cool magneto, an Evil Engineering open belt drive, along with other handiwork from top to bottom. Obviously Ron like his power even in a custom bike and fabbed up a pair of drag-style curved header pipes wrapped in header wrap that look like they’re just floating in space after leaving the exhaust port. With the ends uncapped like a set of headers in an old hot rod, you always know where Ron is as long as you’re within five to ten miles away. Built-up Shovelheads have a sound of their own that I can’t quite describe even after being around them since they were the new kid in town. All I can say is that’s a spicy meatball of a motor.
You’ve probably noticed the lack of a clutch lever on the wacky-doodle Chop Doc’s Hang ‘Em High handlebars and maybe you’ve also noticed the iconic white Hurst shift knob mounted atop the jockey shifter and put it all together. If not, I think you can figure it out just by reading that last long sentence again in case you didn’t get it the first time. I mean, what’s a ‘70s chop without some sort of hand shifter and what’s a shift lever without a pistol grip or a Hurst cue ball?
You’re probably wondering what the hell the gas tank is and unless you are older than hell or a student of chopper history you’d be forgiven for not knowing what a Wassell banana tank is or should I say was. In true chopper form, Ron cut and welded this old tank until it was his own with a crazy-curved extended filler and massaging the shape until it looked right to his eyes. There’s three generations of bodywork knowledge in this tank and with his grandfather’s name on it, it had to be something special. Ron also covered all the bodywork and frame in three generations of paintwork including fab ‘70s lacework, gold leaf, and a bit of striping on top of the candy red flake paint.
What Ron ended up with is an ode to a different time while honoring a cherished grandfather all wrapped up in a fun to ride motorcycle that anybody would be rpoud to call their own. This bike has been around for a while now and still takes its share of trophies at shows today. With all the heritage, feelings, and thought that went into this I don’t think this will be coming up on craigslist anytime soon. Ron’s in the business of making and selling bikes, but I think this one’s a keeper.
For more information on Chop Doc’s Choppers, click on http://chopdocschoppers.com/. If you’ve got a hankering to see another Chop Doc’s article, click on http://www.barnettharley.com/barnettsmagazine/feature-bikes/bobbers/chop-docs-choppers-ol-48.html#.U-wUOPldXTo and enjoy a totally different build.