Cody, a third generation fire fighter and second generation paramedic from Lawton, Oklahoma, has built and repaired many bikes over the years, but this rough and tough, scrappy little gem is his favorite.

Cody explained how the project began. “A friend of mine goes to Sturgis every year,” he said. “He kept hounding me to go with him. Finally, I thought, this year, I’m going to Sturgis.” Cody began stockpiling parts for a rat bike, a low cost mode of transportation for his summer trip to South Dakota. He wanted something simple and Old School. No flames, no fancy paint, no bells and whistles. Like Cody himself, he wanted a bike that was efficient, hard-working and understated. “I had so many ideas in my head,” he said.

He set to work building a frame, then procured parts from eBay, swap meets and friends. Others, he manufactured himself. He installed an ’89 Evo engine, built the air breather and made the brackets. A sweet pair of dice risers (another eBay score) adds a great touch. His biggest challenge during the build was keeping the bolts tight. “I started double nutting,” he said. Another issue was hiding the wiring. “I ran it down the backbone and hid it the frame,” Cody said.

Cody’s right-hand man during the build was his eight-year-old son, Colton. Cody was a single dad for seven years, and he took the job seriously, schooling Colton in hunting, fishing, and the fine art of motorcycle maintenance. Colton helped with almost every aspect of the Crazy Horse build, including welding.

In keeping with the whole less-is-more theme, there’s not a bit of paint on Cody’s bike. He powdercoated it, then brushed off the powder and sprayed on a dull coating of Eastwood Satin Clear. “I wanted a dull finish with no shine,” Cody said. “I wanted it to look old and used.”

It may look old and used, but it rides like a dream. So far, Cody’s invested under $6000 and three months of sweat into his project, and he describes it as an ongoing labor of love. “This bike will never be finished,” Cody said. “A friend of mine called the other day and asked me if I wanted a bunch of parts, and I told him to bring them over. I found stuff to add to the bike.” He said that in the past, he’s always bought bikes to fix up and sell, but his Sturgis rat bike is an exception to the rule. “I’m keeping this one,” he said. “It’s great fun, quick, nimble, easy to control and wheelie.”

Cody the firefighter has a burning passion for his new rat. He says he’ll definitely be at Sturgis this year, but he’ll be going other places as well, since he rides every chance he gets. “I wanted a custom bike to ride to Sturgis,” Cody said. “It ended up being so much more than that.”