Pro-Street
Ricky Esparza’s Sun Burst Orange Buell Chopper
Story by Wendy Manning, Photos by Frank Rangel
This cool Buell chopper belongs to Ricky Esparza, the Parts Manager at our Barnett Harley-Davidson dealership in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ricky bought the bike from his longtime buddy Ryan Cairns. Ricky used to babysit Ryan while growing up, and the two have remained friends. “Ryan has a Road King now and the chopper was just sitting in the garage,” Ricky said. “I had to talk him out of it.”
Ricky explained that Ryan had the 2004 Buell and went searching around online looking for someone to do a custom Buell conversion. “He found Nastybikes by CHM Frameworks Inc. [www.nastybikes.com], who specialize in Buell and Sportster frames. It’s a really cool bike,” Ricky said. “A lot of people don’t realize how small it is. It was one of the first fuel-injection bikes Buell had, and the bike really doesn’t weigh anything ‘cuz there’s nothin’ on it.”
Ricky grew up racing dirt bikes, but this Buell chopper is currently his only bike. It’s been about a year and a half since he bought the bike from his friend, and in that time he’s put about 200 miles on it. He rides it for fun, not transportation. “Ryan had it a long time,” Ricky said. “He actually rode it to Sturgis and back. It’s a rigid, so that’s kinda tough.”
As for speed, Ricky will say only that his bike is very fast. “I don’t have a speedometer or odometer on it, but there’s been a couple guys here at the shop with fast bikes and we kind of go for a little ride and when we come back they say yeah, you’re right…you win,” he said laughing.
Ricky’s bike is for sale. For more information drop Ricky an email at RICKY_ESPARZA@EXCITE.COM.
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