Pro-Street
Taking one look at the foundation of Ethyl you can see what Scott’s talking about. “The frame’s like something you found on the side of the road. It’s artistically eye pleasing with form and shape to it. What a great place to start as a platform. You can rust it, paint it, or just leave it natural,” says Scott. The built-like-a-bridge chassis sports 40-degrees of rake with a 3” stretch over the curved, holed downtube almost standing alone the way it’s attached at the engine cradle. Adding to the bridge-look is the non-painted, non-powdercoated finish. “There’s a cool company called Sculpt Nouveau (www.sculptnouveau.com) that’s got all these different metal stains and patina-ing. It’s an elaborate process involving heating the metal with a torch to open the pores then spraying a blackening material on it. Then I take copper or brass brushes and I’ll burnish it, which brings it to a gold look. Sometimes I’ll use sandpaper on the blackening or I’ll rust ‘em out, what ever I’m feeling,” says Scott. Hey whatever, it sure does give that steel a tough but sympathetic look.
This is no bike for a chromey telescoping fork no matter how beefy and the short Jeri’s Springer fork cradles one of Leroy-Thompson’s new Signature Series wheels featuring five stout spokes with subtly-hued metalwork inserts bringing metallic contrast, not silly bling. The LTC perimeter brake is about as thin as possible yet works tenaciously when necessary. The rest of the front brake is a Magura setup taken from a Ducati. “It’s form and function, but you’ve got to be able to get on it and go like hell,” says Scott. Out back a Hawg Halters’ caliper clamps directly on the motivational culprit, the sprocket, to do its part when Scott stomps on the chain-driven mid-controls made out of an assemblage of different metals. The raw look of the controls makes it appear like they’ve been doing this for a hundred years, yet the tasteful simplicity belies the work involved.
The minimalist bodywork is a thing of beauty that has just enough handwork and design to fit in with the overall look while standing alone as a point of interest. The sculpted rear fender has a center speed hump that yields a touch of sportiness while acting like the last stop before the rider’s butt blows off the LB Custom Leather seat when the throttle’s yanked wide-open. Scott’s tank flows smoothly rearward without a ton of needless metal tricks and does exactly what it has to, nothing more. The ultra modern-style of the Independent Cycle Inc. headlight is mounted upside down and adds a bit of motion as it strains into the wind. There’s a static tension created between it and the curved downtube that makes the bike look uncomfortable not being in motion. The dramatically low bars would never be considered a cross-state choice, but they add to the flavor of restrained movement and give a rider a commanding grip when the power is dialed up to the stop.
Leroy-Thompson paintjobs are never, ever over the top and Ethyl’s tin has a somewhat neutral Slate Blue tone that accentuates the shape of the bodywork and doesn’t try and take over the design. “I never really do a goofy paintjob because I want people to stop and see there’s more to a motorcycle than the paintjob,” says Scott. But the artistic side of Scott came up with a graphic design that is as different as it is intriguing. “I began to see the uniqueness of the multi-colored, worn-out, distressed shirts and I was digging it. Essentially the design came off a couple of T-shirts I had. I took them to Nick Pastura and showed him and he did a great job with the graphics,” says Scott.
Powering this machine was a no-brainer for Scott as he chose an old favorite, an S&S 100XL. “It’s basically stock, we assembled it and I’ll tell you those motors are strong running. You get a two-into-one, the right gear ratio, tight clutches, and they move. It’s a nice little powerplant,” says Scott. The engine details are astounding from the intricate velocity stack to the sweep of the Ducati/Moto Guzzi-style headers dumping into the unusual custom choice of a SuperTrapp muffler. “It was important for us to use this ‘cause they’re right here in Cleveland. I’m all about Defend Ohio, but they’re very horsepower efficient. Form and function again,” says Scott. Sucker Punch Sallys supplied the A-Bomb oil tank which supplies the engine through copper hard lines while the battery is hidden in plain sight encased in the tooled, rich and warm-looking copper case strapped to the frame by a leather belt.
“Originally I had our style pegged as “dirty” but now I say eclectic. People do get it now. I try and make it look like something that’s been around for a hundred years. I could never label myself an artist, I’m a metal sculptor. I didn’t want to put a title on myself, but yeah, I guess I am,” says Scott.
Up Close:Leroy-Thompson One-off Frame
So you’ve built a cool-ass, one-off frame for a TV series, do you just leave it at that or do you figure out a way to introduce this cool design to the real world? If you’re Scott Webster you figure out how to take a frame from a single part to a roller to eventually a complete production bike that makes the phrase “production custom” have a whole new meaning. “We’ve been honing in more and more on the Ethyl style and we’re going to do production bikes with a 21” front and a 21” rear wheel with our own Brembo perimeter-braking system. We’re doing 20-25 bikes a year and pricing them between $15,000 and $21,000 for a handmade, completely insurable, NADA-listed, titled motorcycle,” says Scott. “And when I say handmade, I mean it’s going to have antique brass, antique copper, and handmade in-house tanks. When a customer picks out every individual part, we’re going to break the mold on that particular design so they’ll have a unique little bike. That way, when I’m out in Wyoming or somewhere and see Bike #7 of 2008, I’ll be able to say, ’Oh, I remember doing that gas tank, that front end, and I remember how dirty I got when I did the inserts for that wheel or here’s the cut I got doing your license plate bracket.’ That’ll be a happy guy.”
The rest of the bike will be peppered with LTC’s distinctive Signature Series parts, which are growing by the day so your equipment choice will be a time-consuming proposition. “I build bikes to ride ‘em, they’re not just to sit and look pretty,” says Scott. Visit www.leroythompsonchoppers.com or call 440-266-1635 and see if Bike #7 is taken.
Builder: Scott Webster Leroy-Thompson Choppers
Scott Webster is not just a guy who builds some of the neatest custom bikes you’ll ever experience, but he’s a true addict of all things motorcycle. “I’m a big motorcycle fan. I still get star-struck around other builders. It’s very humbling for me and keeps me in check,” says Scott. “I take great pride in what I do, but there’s many talented people out there doing other things like restoring bikes and hand-building parts for them. They don’t need a TV show to be somebody’s rock star, they already are and people appreciate them for what they do.”
Being a participant on Biker Build-Off was a good thing for both Scott and his company, Leroy-Thompson Choppers, as recognition is one key to success, but he doesn’t rest on his past laurels. He constantly works at honing his skills and his eye for finding art in life that can be transferred into a rolling design. As he’s gotten more successful and spent money on equipment and machinery, he’s not forgotten his working-class roots and has found ways to make his parts and bikes even more affordable to the average guy. “We’re adding thirty new parts from headlights to taillights and six new wheel-styles. I’m able to drop our prices ‘cause it’s being made in-house. Instead of a $1,000 for a wheel, it will be $800,” Scott says proudly.
With his brain on full throttle 24/7, Scott says, “I usually have about five complete bikes running in my head at one time. That’s why my wife wants to strangle me half the time. There’s only so much room up there and there’s other things I don’t take care of like housework because I’m thinking about five bikes, but she doesn’t buy it.”
Check out all the two-wheeled sculpture at www.leroythompsonchoppers.com or call 440-266-1635 for info.
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