Heritage Cycles seems to be one of those shops you wish was in your town with a great selection of everyday and custom parts, a complete service area catering to anything on two wheels, and a custom shop that would make any builder or customer a happy guy. Phil seems to be the business guy and Brian the dirty hands guy. Nothing wrong with that as it’s better to do each thing well rather than splitting the work equally and not doing the best in each area. Motorcycling’s own version of separation of church and state.

This particular bike is called Chin gon which in Mexican slang is actually spelled as one word, chignon (coming from the verb chingar which I can’t publically define, but I think you can guess), with a bunch of different meanings ranging from nice, cool, great, extremely awesome, bad ass, to a couple I can’t write here, but as I said before, I think you can guess. No matter what definition is used, this bike is chingnon!

Apparently Brian was putting a few break-in miles on this bike at the TI River Run for owner Dan Hall of Colonie, New York, who originally came up with the idea for this bike. “Dan wanted that old school feeling, but with a reliable engine and Brian brought his vision to life over a period of three months,” said Phil. “Looking at the bike the old and new just all flows really well together. Dan got his wish of reliable power with a ‘60s hot rod look.”

The basics of the bike are something Phil says they use on every custom build. “Kraft/Tech frames are a great and S&S engines are the best without question and they are very reliable,” said Phil. “But my favorite part on this build is the Paughco springer. It’s such a heavy, well made product.” That’s Phil’s choice, but I’m a huge fan of that S&S Panhead. I mean, what’s not to like about a brand new Panhead with more power, more reliability, and well, it’s a Pan, man.

Oh you could be picky and maybe this or that might not have been your choice or how you would have done it if this was your bike, but you gotta appreciate that this little black bobber with variegated gold leaf flames has got all the right old school bobber moves. It’s got bobber comfort and bobber class in spades. If you like fast, neat handling bobbers with a fresh vintage look, Brian’s got it down pat. Phil agrees saying, “Any type of riding is good with this bike. It handles great with the springer and the 150mm tire on the rear makes it very nimble.”

All in all this is a very, very nice build from Heritage Cycles. Is it ground breaking? No. Is it the fastest bobber ever made? No. Is it the wildest bobber ever to hit the streets? No.

So what makes it so nice? It’s a gorgeous little bobber that’s got everything you need to use it as a motorcycle and not a thing you don’t. It’s got great looks, great bones, and it’s a great bike to ride like you stole it. Frankly, it’s a bike I’d be proud to call my own and that’s my own highest personal standard. Nice job all around boys.

For more info on Heritage Cycles, please visit www.heritagecyclesinc.com.