Dave Welch, owner of Chopper City USA in Orange Park, Florida, must have had some similar experiences as his cool looking creation for Ian Scott addresses the issue of how to make a really-hot, hot rod motorcycle that’s a pleasure to actually ride. “I’m so sick of big-inch V-twins that vibrate so much that when I get on it (throttle) my mirrors are vibrating and my eyeballs are bouncing up and down so fast I can’t even see,” said Dave. “I like power though.” This explains Dave’s wisely-intelligent (my words) choice of a 125hp JIMS 120” TC B motor to build a bike around. “I like the B motor and that JIMS 120 has the most horsepower. It’s like a rocket ship,” said Dave. “Also, I don’t know that most builders would agree with me, but I find it way easier to build a frame around a B motor.”

Dave had the idea for this bike in his head for a while, but it took a trusting customer like Ian, who initially wanted one of Dave’s traditional bobbers, to get this show on the road. “He said, ‘Go for it,’ so I did,” said Dave. “I tried to stay skinny, the backbone’s 1.75” and the downtube’s 1.5” while the bottom rails and swingarm are 1.25” tubing. The whole idea behind the frame was to make it as light as I could with a nice low center of gravity and don’t stretch it out too much. I wanted to make more of a canyon racer, really take the turns. Ian lives in Sedona, Arizona, where there’s mountain roads with really nice riding out there. Not a place for a big long chopper.” It’s not all function, though, as Dave carved out a beautifully curved frame that looks good where it has to and disappears otherwise.

The DNA chromed springer adds 3-degrees of rake to the frame’s 36-degrees according to Dave, but still allows for quick and comfortable handling in conjunction with the adjustable DNA softail shocks out back. Ian’s insistence on a reasonable 200mm Metzeler aft with a skinny 21” Metzeler up front both mounted on retro-cool looking 60-spoke DNA wires assures quick transitions on the winding road through Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona’s first designated scenic highway. “The thing I wish I would have done a little different was to go with a fat 21 on the front, but, hey, we already had the wheel,” said Dave. GMA 4-piston calipers front and rear keep the red-rock canyon walls at bay during one of Ian’s strafing runs. “I drive fast and I want to be able to stop fast. You can’t stop fast unless you put some decent brakes on the bike. These guys that build bikes with no front brake crack me up,” said Dave. “They’re never gonna ride that bike with any speed ‘cause you’re not gonna stop. It’s past scary, it’s stupid. I won’t build a bike without a front brake.”

There was no need to screw around with the JIMS 120, it was already a fast, reliable, and proven mill. Dave fabbed a sleek set of header-wrapped pipes out of his scrap pipe bin capped by Vance & Hines Hot Tips adding a bit ‘o glamour. “It sounds really good, there’s no baffles,” said Dave. Must be fun on the canyon walls. He did dress it up a bit with Roland Sands’ finned rocker box and timing covers matching the Joker Machine finned cover on the Primo Brute primary. A stock H-D 5-speed tranny turning a chain final drive pushes this relatively lightweight machine along just fine.

A modified Fat Katz tank looks choice sitting on the curved top tube and flows with the frame. Jesse James supplied the OneTonHo rear fender sitting just behind the simple frame-mounted seat pan covered by Outlaw Custom Seats in Sugar Hill, Georgia. Mark Sporka of Sporka’s Custom Cycle Colors in Jacksonville, Florida, layed on the bad-boy black with red metalflake flames paintjob. Bolt on the DNA mini-apes, Ness hand controls, DNA foot controls and headlight and call it a day.

So was this smooth, good handling, good braking, powerful hot rod a success? “I put quite a few miles on it. I had a blast. Ian rides it quite a bit too and when he’s not on it, his son’s on it,” said Dave. “They say if you do anything long enough, you got to get good at it.”