Sometimes the end of one bike can be the beginning of a new bike. Spike was able to turn an unfortunate accident into a beneficial situation. One of Spike’s friends is Bill Nigro, owner of American Motorcycle Parts Company in Albany, New York. Bill had built a Shovelhead for Spike in the past, but it was totaled in an accident, which left Spike without a bike. Fortunately the insurance company came through with a sizeable amount of dough and he started talking with Nigro about another build. “I was hit by a car while riding my Shovelhead, thankfully I wasn’t injured too badly, and the insurance company took care of me and I had a decent amount of money to get started on a new bike,” said Spike. “I had a few more dollars to work with this time around, and told him I wanted him to build me my own version of Peter Fonda’s bike. I’ve been planning this bike for twenty-five years in my head and couldn’t wait to make it happen.” Bill was more than happy to accommodate his riding buddy, and after a few weeks of planning, he got started on the bike. “Spike is totally into riding and the Harley culture in general, he’s the most enthusiastic client I’ve ever had. I was almost as excited as he was to get started building his bike,” said Bill.

Spike had a clear vision of the completed bike so there were never any issues about what to get, he just had to figure out where to get parts. The first purchase was a Kraft/Tech frame built to Spike’s specs, and then he went crazy on the motor, “I always work with Stan Koziatek, the manager of the engine assembly facility at Ultima. We wanted to powdercoat and polish a number of the engine components, so I had Stan send me the exterior parts of a 127” motor. Then I had the parts polished and powdercoated red at Sumax, and sent the parts back to Stan for final assembly. It wasn’t cheap, but we were able to retain the original factory warranty for the motor. I couldn’t have done it without Stan’s help,” said Bill. . In order to fit with the look of the customized motor, the remainder of the driveline had to be re-finished as well. “I had the transmission case painted a shade of red that is almost identical to the color of the powdercoating, plus painting it saved me the trouble of disassembling it so it could be powdercoated and then re-assembled,” said Bill. “I also had the Goodson air-cleaner, the heat shields on the exhaust pipes, and the backing plate of the primary powdercoated red for some additional color.”

After assembling the driveline, Spike decided he wanted the frame and all the sheetmetal chromed for extra flash. When Bill brought back the chrome-plated steel, Spike modified his thinking about all the shiny chrome. He resolved to offset the mirror finish of the sheetmetal and frame with red flamed graphics that would tie into the hues of the driveline.

Judging from the frequency that Spike throws a leg over the chop, Bill delivered the Easy Rider inspired custom as promised. “Spike rides the piss out of that bike every day that he can and loves every minute he spends on the seat. Ultima claims the 127” motor puts about 140 horsepower to the ground, more than enough power for most people, but I’ve seen him use every pony when he’s riding. Granted, the bike is exceptionally light, but I’ve seen him pull the front wheel off the ground in third-gear and I’ve seen him accelerate past other bikes, doing over 100mph, like they were standing still,” said Bill. “That motor is one of my favorites and I recommend it to every builder.” With a number of excellent customer references, 53 customs worth of experience, and bikes that’ll pop wheelies in third-gear, it seems Bill has an intimate understanding of what American motorcycle parts work well with each other.