With everything done in-house except the suede seat covering which was done by Rich Phillips Cycles, you know Adam’s one hard working and talented builder of show bikes. Yes, show bikes. Adam makes no bones about that and all his different styles of builds feature show bike in their Karns Kustoms DNA. Barnett’s Magazine Online has showcased some of Adam’s previous builds like his Board Track Kruiser and his Lil’ Hot Rod Sportster and these two have also won their share of trophies on the circuit. Doesn’t mean they don’t work on the street or anything like that, they do. Adam is straightforward honest about what his intentions are with every build ─ show bike first and bar hopper second. I think the bar hopping is up to you as Adam doesn’t have a lot of time for that with the builds and the shows.

    The build centered around a 1974 Harley-Davidson XLCH that was kicking around the shop before it got a cosmetic makeover that was more successful than any Beverly Hills housewife has had. Even though there’s a heavy Cholos-style where there was once only AMF features, it looks new and fresh and makes you wonder if AMF had built something like this, would they still be in the motorcycle business? Probably not as management and employees seemed to positively hate each other and worked against each other. Not so with Adam as he has friends like John Dunning around who want to work with him when they’re in town.

    Keeping the Harley VIN was important so the major frame work happened in the back half where the H-D frame was modified into a rigid with an extra five-inches of stretch. Custom Sportys, even one like this with a stock rake, seem to be better visually balanced with a little more ass end action. Plus it sets the tone for a great stance too that required the DNA springer to be about five-inches under with the 23-inch big spoke Ride Wright wheel looking all Edd Kookie Burns cool. Out back there’s a 21-incher that not only provides the forward movement under power, but has a modified DNA sprocket brake as the only “Whoa there!” instrument to be found on the bike other than a 61-inch Ironhead’s backpressure. Interestingly, the front wheel wears a wider Vee Rubber tire (130/50-23) than the back (120/70-21), but it doesn’t matter as the different profiles work together seamlessly and, most of all, attractively. Plus they’re lowrider-style whitewalls that brings a touch of gangster to the bike called Slickster.

   The lovely kick-only Ironhead sits front and center with a bad ass industrial look that only something from AMF’s dark days does. Adam spent some serious time here not only freshening it up for running, but neat stuff like the split rocker boxes that never get old. He kept it fairly stock even running the stock Keihin CV carb topped with an LC Fabrications Galaxy air cleaner adding its custom cool. The black engine does feature what looks like polished fin ends, but since they are iron, they’re painted silver to resemble a reasonable facsimile of polished aluminum fin edges like later engines have. It’s way cool because you never get to see what an Ironhead looks like in this finned splendor as a backdrop for the rest of the engine. Adam fabbed up some header-wrapped exhaust pipes that look like they’re not sure where they’re going, even though each one has an eye in the outlet. Doesn’t matter what I think, show-goers love crazy exhausts.

    One aspect of this engine I found very interesting is the foot clutch with not a hand or tank shifter in sight. In case you don’t remember, Sportsters at one time were shifted on the right side like Brit bikes. Adam kept the same foot shifter for the tranny and just went foot clutch on the left. TC Brothers supplied the clean forward foot controls. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday. In case you’re wondering where the brake lever is, well, it’s up on the low bars right next to the internal throttle. I can’t leave this engine without mentioning that the kicker is something Adam put together and other than to actually have to kick it alive (been there, done that), it’s a cool kicker pedal.

    Tinwork is a combo of tradition and modern with a Sportster tank looking good as it always does sitting there low and moody. Nothing rad about that, but you can’t beat a Sporty tank sometimes. Where Adam went a little bodywork loopy (in a good way) is immediately obvious as the center section of this bike looks like nothing else. The faired-in bodywork encloses the oil tank and electrical stuff while also terminating aft as a rear fender too. Pretty enterprising work going on here with lots of mods needed to run the final drive chain through to the rear wheel. I don’t want to like it, but I do. It’s a different take on the same old thing so I appreciate that.

   Even the paint was shot in-house by Adam. The House of Kolor gloss black paint covers most of what you see, but Adam had a plan to break it up without tearing it to pieces. He called on a friend, Jason Wharton, to come up with the mint green and yellow graphics. Some flames on the Sporty tank breaks up the lines to the point that from a distance you almost only see the flames. The number 99 on the center section and a bit of deserved and reserved advertising on the coil cover set off the Slickster logo on the primary.

   I know this may sound a bit silly, but I think this dedicated show bike from a talented true garage builder is all in good fun and all done tastefully, I like the overall look of this bike. And, yes, I’m looking at this as a show bike with show dreams in my head of what I want it to ride like. It probably doesn’t matter a hoot what I think to Adam as he’s been right up front about show bike first and street bike second. You gotta love a guy who tells it like it is from his garage late at night working like a dog. The way everything’s been going his way lately, he’s gotta be one happy dog.

   For more info on Karns Kustoms visit http://www.karnskustoms.com/ or find ‘em on Facebook and Instagram.