Justin Del Prado, co-owner of DP customs with his brother Jarrod in New River, Arizona, built this red hot Ironhead in his old third-car garage before he opened his shop. The idea was all his own. “I built the bike myself, before my brother partnered up with me, so it came out of my head,” Justin said. “I really like how the colors came together on this bike. The red I chose to use contrasted real nice against the raw steel and black.”
At the time Justin took on the build, money was definitely a consideration. “I made this bike for myself on a shoestring budget,” he said. “It didn’t take much money at all, just a lot of time. She’s no trailer queen but then again, I made it to ride. This bike started out as a heavyweight with a banana seat, huge handlebars, accessories and it looked like a 4×4. Fortunately, it was a good runner, so I didn’t have to do much to the motor or tranny, just cosmetics.”
But as with all builds, there are some bumps in the road. “This bike was a real treat because it gave me no issues at all. When I finished it, all it needed was some gas and a rider — but I will say the gas tank was set up for a cluttered looking gauge pod and I’m not big on clutter,” Justin said. “So, I decided to delete the gauges and had to figure out what to put in their place. I fabbed a mounting plate that fastened to the tank and welded a bunch of nuts to it so I could attach a brushed aluminum cover with stainless button-heads. I think the finished result turned out pretty cool.”
A “quick” bike, Justin said, “It handled well for an old Ironhead. The seat was only 24″ off the ground, so it had a low center of gravity. It rode nice and was pretty quick. I mainly used this bike for casual rides with my buddies. We’ll drive into Cave Creek Village to grab lunch and then hit up some of the open desert roads to take in the scenery.”
Since this build, the Del Prado brothers have gotten busier and busier, and it’s hard to carve out time to build their own rides. “This bike was my own personal ride but I sold it a couple years ago. Right now I’m getting to build a cafe racer for myself out of an ’85 Ironhead,” Justin said. “It seems every time I build a bike for myself, there’s always a reason that comes up for me to sell it.”
When building a bike, Justin likes to stick with stripped down bobbers. On this bike, he wanted to mix it up and go with full fenders and a design that looked a bit like a post war Panhead. Although he never entered it in any shows, it certainly drew a lot of attention. “I was really happy with how the rear fender design worked out,” he said. “I wanted the bike to look as low as possible, so I mounted the fender to the swingarm versus the frame, which allowed me to ride it right above the tire. This way, the suspension could still function while still giving me the look I was going for.”
As for the future, the Del Prado’s DP Customs garage is helping the brothers move forward. “Now that things have progressed from building bikes out my old garage to now having my own shop, I think you can expect to see many more creations from DP Customs,” Justin said. “My brother Jarrod has partnered up with me to help take our business to the next level. We’re going to stick with building Old-School, retro customs with prices regular people can afford.”
Visit the DP Customs website at www.dpcustomcycles.com or give them a call at 480-338-1458.
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