Sportsters
Even in Europe where Buell supposedly has a strong following, builders like Gerardo “Jerry” Chillico of Custombike located in the lovely, historic town of Modigliana, Italy, are transplanting the vital organs of Buells into custom bikes like his multi-show winner La Fenice. For those not fluent in Italian, Jerry’s bike is named after the mythical bird Phoenix which every 500 years self-immolated only to rise from its own ashes and be reborn (In English, it’s also called the Firebird and has adorned the hood of many Trans Ams where it’s tackily referred to as the “Screaming Chicken.”). Anyway, the allegory here involves an old Sportster frame and a 2003 1200cc Buell motor that Jerry combined as the basis of a wild custom using his skills to make almost everything by hand from raw material until La Fenice deserved the name Phoenix.
Jerry modified the XL frame until it was unrecognizable as a product of “The town that made beer famous.” The curved backbone races down to a modified Free Spirit aluminum swingarm that’s sportbike cool-looking with the shock mounted underneath the engine, only stopping to pick up Jerry’s far-out seat along the way. Up front is a gem of a Mark Poggipolini/Jerry-built 41mm tube fork with a one-off hydraulic/spring damper mounted up near what appear to be triple trees, but if you follow all the complex curves of Jerry’s design, you’re not quite sure where they are. Adding to that artistic complexity is the incorporation of handlebars as part of the fork. Seriously, that fork could be mounted on the wall of an art gallery and art patrons would be none the wiser as to what it was.
The twin fuel tanks curve with the top tube and not only outline the engine below, but the bottom of the tanks’ angle in to the frame’s centerline to accentuate the engine even more. The oil tank and battery are tidily hidden in the air dam/under-tray Jerry concocted. With a set of fenders fabbed, he had Bologna’s Artech Design lay on a striking paintjob that enhances the wild bodywork.
For Jerry, “little” details remained like, oh, making a trans brake, foot controls, exhaust, air cleaners, hydraulic clutch, and myriad details until La Fenice was reborn and eventually flew away with a customer who (supposedly) paid him almost $135,000 for the privilege. At that exchange rate, we should soon see La Fenice II.
Up Close: Kustom Tech “Fine Motorcycle Parts”
Kustom Tech is not a company that quickly comes to mind when you’re making a list of parts you need for a custom build or a modified Harley. Maybe that has more to do with geography as it’s located in Firenze (known as Florence in “American English”), Italy. That little distance problem hasn’t stopped some of the most talented North American builders like Cole Foster, Roger Goldammer, and Michael Prugh to reach out to Kustom Tech for parts they needed. And wanted, as they have the ears and eyes of the aftermarket industry on them who would like nothing better than seeing their parts showcased on any one of those builders’ bikes.
Possibly another reason they use them is that Kustom Tech has a huge line of products with their own twist to them, like their spool front hub with neat sports-car style knock-offs like on an old Austin-Healey’s wire wheels or their beyond-beyond, retro-cool hydraulic rear drum with brass fins that looks like it was ripped from the dropped front axle of a “32 Ford roadster. The nice part about this like-no-other drum is that it uses readily available brake shoes from a ’58-’62 H-D so it’s practical (as much as a drum brake can be) as well.
Jerry’s use of a Kustom Tech two-piston caliper adorning La Fenice’s fork isn’t a big surprise as he’s used their stuff before, and besides, the factory is a bit over 50-miles away. Probably even a nice ride over the Italian countryside too. Of course, it just might be that this two-piston caliper is a very small, billet aluminum piece with all the hardware on the backside for a smooth, clean look.
Visit www.kustomtech.it for more info.
Builder: Jerry Chillico Custombike Italy
In the USA, it’s become more complicated to finance, register, and insure a ground-up custom leading to a renewed interest in customizing one of the many Harleys roaming the highways of America. In Europe, the requirements to get a ground-up custom road legal can be almost insurmountable which is why they’ve kinda been ahead of the recent custom curve favoring heavily modifying Harleys. Euro road certification is nothing to be trifled with and H-Ds make it a lot easier for everybody.
Custombike’s Jerry Chillico has more than done his share of award winning ground-up customs, but also has never turned his back on taking a Harley and creating an all-out bike that can (and deserves) to not only win at the top European shows, but be legally driven there too. From his large shop which features a showroom full of aftermarket custom parts to his sales floor littered with custom bikes to a well-equipped workshop, Jerry’s got what appears to be the good life with a green and lush mountain backdrop to keep the stress level low during builds. Getting a little wound up over business or a build, just step outside and gaze at the beauty and quiet of Mother Nature.
Even though he’s often won Best in Show or class wins at European shows and also here in the USA at Daytona, his proudest win seems to be after entering La Fenice at a big European art show. There he was awarded the Special Artist Award 2009 that was judged not by other builders or by a popular vote, but by famous artists and art critics. I don’t see that happening in Daytona.
Jerry’s range of bikes goes from mild to wild and clean to over-the-top (strictly my opinion) and everywhere in-between. Check ’em all out at www.custombikeitaly.com and form your own opinion.
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