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Like a lot of customs, there’s a story behind it and this XL is no different. “A friend of mine told me his cousin or something purchased a frame and went up to Iowa to a school on how to build a bike, but it’s not what people think. He kinda had an idea of what he wanted, but he had a problem getting all the parts that were supposed to come with it. He got real frustrated and stuff,” said Jimbo. “Anyway, he asked us to do it”

Luckily, owner Danny Martinez had picked a good frame to start with, a very reasonably-priced Red Barron Choppers Weapon 250R Sportster frame (www.redbarronchoppers.com) that Jimbo had nothing but good things to say about, “We didn’t have to change a single thing.” The single-downtube drop seat frame with a 38-degree rake and a 4”-stretch has some stylin’ axle plates and a Maltese Cross cut into the neck gusset that Jimbo subtly incorporated in parts of the bike. Up front, a chromed-out Ultima Wide Glide-style 6”-extended fork adds a bit of pizzazz, but doesn’t slam you in the face. It just looks right. “I tell people you don’t have to chrome everything to make it look good, you gotta balance it out,” said Jimbo. “We’re all mechanics here and we really like the mechanical look of stuff. Like the exposed chain and sprocket, it really looks cool.” Rolling stock consisted of 80-spoke wheels with a classic 90/90×21 Avon Venom up front and a non-classicl fat 250/40×18 Avon Cobra aft. For stopping, Ultima was chosen again for brakes front and rear.

Jimbo again kept it simple when it came to powering this bike with a basically stock late ‘80s 883 sourced from an insurance salvage bike and said, “Power wasn’t important to the customer, he just wanted to build up a bike. It’s light and it runs real good.” Jimbo did toss on a Crane Hi-4 Dual fire ignition to clean and pep things up a bit along with an S&S Super E carb breathing through a teardrop S&S air cleaner. A set of Radii 2” Curvado pipes provide flowing style and a “maybe it’s a 1200cc” sound to the 883cc mill. Hey, it’s only a bore job and new pistons away.

The West Coast Choppers gas tank fits this bike like a proverbial glove and Jimbo agrees adding, “It’s a really good tank. It’s got the hidden mounts under there so we always have to do that anyway. It worked very well and wasn’t too expensive and it fit the lines well.” Personally, I really, really dig the look of the left-side, aft-mounted oil tank. “Isn’t that something? It came with the bike. It really is a practical solution. It’s even got a little curve to it and matches the frame,” said Jimbo. “I asked the customer if he’d mind if we put it on like that and he said, ‘Well what will people think?’ and I said that it doesn’t matter what people say. I don’t care what people say. It’s kinda unique and it’s a neat little thing.” Finishing off the bodywork with a simple rear fender, there was only one major thing left that needed to be done as far as Jimbo was concerned. “The guy that made the frame sent a seat pan with it to be mounted directly on the frame and that didn’t work ‘cause it hits the tailbone,” he said. “We put some springs on the seat and put a pivot on it and that really fixed everything. That corrected the only ‘flaw’ to the frame.”

Jimbo explained what he does before putting a final finish on a bike. “Actually we build the bike all up and ride it before we paint it or anything. Then the customer comes in and says, ‘I like this, I don’t like that, I want this, I don’t want that’ so we change anything we have to and weld stuff if we have to until they get it how they want it. All we knew was that this customer wanted it red. When he came in, he said, ‘It just looks so plain,’ so we suggested that he powdercoat the frame black and the wheels red and black. The engine we powdercoated the colors just a splash here and there so it would look interesting, not too much of anything.” Andy Ellsworth of Gunslinger Powdercoating knocked out the red and black powdercoat and Jimbo laced the wheels back up. “We had Johnny at Sun City Choppers match that red powdercoat in paint for the fender, gas tank, and oil tank and he did a perfect job. I can’t tell the difference,” said Jimbo.

The only thing left was the seat covering that Wicked Cactus Leather (www.wickedcactusleather.com) did a great job on in black and red Stingray. A final touch I really thought was wicked cool is the stylish and practical Stingray pad on the fender. “When you slide back, the seat compresses a little and that’s where you contact the fender. I think it came out really cool,” said Jimbo. Personally, I really liked that pad and it’s a very nice finishing touch that compliments the seat perfectly.

Jimbo capped of our conversation with some final thoughts on this build and a funny take on the industry. “It runs good, it goes down the road good and handles well. It’s kinda like an old bike in a way, but it’s functional. He’s only got fifteen grand in it and it’s for sale now. It’s a little different in this town, money’s tighter and you have to deal with it accordingly ‘cause not everybody’s got extra money to throw down. We build a lot of bikes for people who not everybody’s got extra money to throw down. We build a lot of bikes for people who can still come up with a hundred bucks here and five-hundred there and want to build their own bike, their own design. We can do it. We started this business in 1970 and this is our fortieth year ― a long time. We’re still trying to figure out how to make money,” said Jimbo laughing. After forty years, if Jimbo can still laugh, he’s just gotta love what he’s doing.