Building a custom around a Sportster drivetrain is a no-brainer these days as Harley’s red-headed stepchild is finally getting the respect it deserves as an affordable V-twin platform with reliability, good power, the unmistakable H-D sound, and looks that you’ll never have to make excuses for. Jason agrees and said, “Generally I try to stay under $10,000 building a bike. I’ve been doing a lot of Sportsters lately because of the recession. People don’t have the big money anymore so you have to accommodate that. Sportsters are not only affordable, but a great way to have a custom bike.”
Jason definitely knew what he was looking for in a one-off frame and drew up his ideas before having now-defunct Killer Choppers in New Hampshire fab up a long-and-low single-downtube chassis. “I wanted to do a wide-tire bike with a radiused backbone and downtube and a little bit of a dropped seat. I definitely wanted the engine to be centered because I’ve seen a lot of people take a Sportster with a 250 tire and offset the engine so the chain can have room to go past the wide tire,” he said. “To me that doesn’t make sense because the bike wants to fall over so what we did was center the engine and built an offset sprocket. The unit-construction Sportster engine works as a structural piece in the frame so you can do a little more with the frame as far as less gusseting. Less on the frame is more, in my eyes.”
The vintage-looking springer is another Killer component and not just in name, it’s killer looking too. “They didn’t use any square edges on it. They machined everything round which gives it a nicer, cleaner look,” said Jason. Custom Chrome supplied the laced chrome-rim wheels shod in Dunlop rubber that are reeled in by an Exile sprocket-brake aft and a single-piston caliper up front. Classically simple, clean, and workable.
The 1997 1200cc engine was left basically stock as Jason said,” There’s plentyof power.” Where he took some liberties was with the dual exhaust that snakes in and around the frame and engine before finally exiting upwards on each side of the bike just aft of the seat. “We had fun with the exhaust. It’s the last thing I do on a bike and generally exciting to do. And, it sounds really, really good,” he said.
The one-off “air cleaner” is part of a meat grinder (where the meat actually comes out) that Jason found at a swap meet. “The bolt holes just happened to line up perfectly with the carb bolt-holes and I’m like, ‘That’s where it’s going!’ “
The butcher theme continued with the rest of the grinder being used for a left motor mount and hand shifter. “I’m a fan of hand shifters and much to my surprise, John was too,” said Jason. “The shifting pivot is only an inch at most so you really don’t have to push it forward or back much. You barely pull your arm back from the bars and it’s right there.” Speaking of bars, those aren’t a couple of cheap knives substituting for something tubular, but a pair of beefy floating lookalikes made from 3/8” sheet steel. “I cut those out with an acetylene torch and worked them with a grinding wheel to give them a blade look, but not so sharp somebody could cut themselves,” he said. “It was not a difficult thing to do, but a very fun thing to do and they almost look like they want to take flight.” Jason fabbed a set of foot controls with blade-like clutch and brake pegs. “It’s just enough to put another blade on there. If I didn’t grind that little mark on the top like where you pull the blade open, it would have just looked like a pointy piece of metal,” he said.
Finishing off the bike is a paintjob that definitely makes this the Butcher Bike. “I was in a butcher shop and I saw a picture of a meat map, you know, they got the tenderloin, the brisket, the back strap or whatever you call all that stuff. I thought that’d be a good idea so I told John Huff, my painter, and he took it to a whole ‘nother level,” said Jason.
Jason spent some serious seat time getting everything worked out before shipping it to Florida and said, “It rides perfect. The first thing I did when I test rode the bike was sit up straight and take my hands off the bars. It rides down the road as straight as can be. John Druni rides the heck out of it and just loves the bike.”
Up Close: Headwinds
Need a headlight for your custom? Not sure where to start looking? If you’re like most builders who want a classy finishing touch that also really works when the sun dips below the horizon, Headwinds’ extensive lineup of made-in-the-USA headlights are at the top of your list. Manufacturing high-quality headlamps since 1992 at their high-tech facility in Monrovia, California, owners Joel and Julie Felty have a catalog of over 100 different models ranging from mild to wild. And, if that’s not special enough for you for some silly reason, Headwinds offers a plethora of finishes in chrome, polished aluminum, powdercoating, brass, “as machined” and for us freaks who adore black finishes ― black nickel, krinkle black, matte black, black anodized, and black chrome. Or, mix and match finishes to come up with something that’s truly yours and yours alone. If you’re more high-tech than traditional, you can get your high-tech fix too as Headwinds even makes headlights in carbon fiber. Lighter lights, what will they think of next?
Headwinds says, “Our headlights feature smooth, non-wavy surfaces with mirror finishes and innovations that do away with exposed rivets, bolts, and flanges like threaded housings with screw-in bezels and billet brackets with hidden fasteners.” Headlight housings range in size from 7”, 5.75”, 4.5”, and 2” models. Mounting hardware and lamps are also available making installation a snap. Lamps are also available in a variety of styles from traditional flat lens to classic blue dot to the latest HID lamps with a few more styles in-between for good measure.
If you’re in the market for a quality headlight to finish off your ride that can’t begin to be compared to some made-in-China stamped-out POS with the chrome just dying to peel off at the first exposure to the elements, visit www.headwinds.com or call 626-359-8044 for more info.
Builder: NCS’ Jason Grimes
When you think of custom bikes, the state of Maine does not come to mind. One good reason is that Maine has only one custom shop according to Jason Grimes who also just happens to be the owner of that “one custom shop” called Northeast Chop Shop. Located in Windham approximately 15 miles outside Portland, Jason’s been busily banging away servicing (“That’s my bread and butter.”) and building custom bikes including a previous Barnett’s Magazinefeature bike back in 2006 (Issue #46). Undaunted by any economic excuses, super-busy Jason has not only recently moved to the new and larger Windham location, but has branched out to building some neat-o hot rods too.
NCS is not a one-man operation working out of a garage, but has four full-time skilled employees who have a full plate of work even though it was the dead of Maine’s cold winter when we spoke. “I’m working on six bike builds and three cars at the moment. Bikes are my number-one passion, though,” said Jason. “That’s what I started out doing and that’s what I’ll always do.”
Asking Jason what his secret to success is when so many builders are crying “wolf!” he said, ”I don’t know, I’d like to think it’s because I have a good reputation and do good work, I give good prices and I generally try and stay under $10,000 for a build. I try and build something that will not only be inexpensive to buy, but will hold its value. As long as you keep it in good condition, you’ll get your money back.”
Keeping as much as possible in-house is also important as Jason explained his newest venture, “I’m getting ready to open up another portion of my building for full-time paint with an up-and-coming painter who’s really good and charges really fair prices. This will get us to the next level I’m always shooting for.”
More info at www.northeastchopshop.com or call 207-892-1477.
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