Well I gotta admit that “hill climber” came immediately to mind for me, but as usual, that’s just me. After Chris’ explanation I could see the other aspects he was going for, but it’s still got that hill climber look first for me and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I do remember riding Joe Viera’s new KZ750B that he was so proud of and came away impressed with the strong and absolutely flat torque curve that seemed to peak right off idle. Big horsepower? No. But, torque to rival a big V-twin and smooth too. Kind of a cool, out of left field choice Chris made there and I’m sure the price was right.

Chucking that blast from the past engine into another blast from the past, the Amen Savior plunger-style frame was a wise choice when you want to bring attention to your business. IN case you weren’t aware, plunger frames existed for a short while as a kinda transition suspension frame from hard tails to full suspension. They had a fe23w inherent design problems and only existed for a short while, but they definitely have a style all their own. In Chris’ case this is all good, besides making very cool customs; Sully’s also makes a wide variety of retro-style seats in metalflake coverings and patterns that will bring a smile to your face especially since they sell for a very reasonable price too. It’s retro style and price all around for everybody.

In the meantime, though, there are a lot of very nice touches on this bike like the fuel tank where the design is sorta inside the confines of the tank instead of hanging out all over the vertical sides. It’s kinda a take on a Sporty outline, but absolutely in its own way. The sides delightfully curve in and drop down at the top and form a top within a top. “The gas tank was a challenge even though it is a pretty simple design. The challenge was to get the rails nice and uniform,” said Chris. “I soldered the seams instead of using a lot of bondo. And, I didn’t use any tools to form the tank, mostly just a cut-off wheel and a lot of muscle.” Either way, it’s got a look of its own and the extremely rare white NSU rubber tank pads (some NSU freak is cringing out there) on the side were a way-cool touch. They also tie in nicely to the white seat Chris built from one of Sully’s Customs solo seat pans.

Chris did a great job with the tail section piece too and you gotta love the snap-on seat covering if you love old custom bikes. There’s just something about that old school piece of decorating bling that gets me. Besides the tank and seat, Chris also made the bars and foot pegs, but I’m going to save my favorite part he made for last. Yup, it’s the deliciously simple fairing around the headlight. When I first saw it, I thought . . . no that can’t be. But it was and what a brilliant little piece of work that is as Chris explained, “That front fairing is from a rear Sportster Fat Bob fender.” On of a bike with a lot of hand-built, one-off pieces on it, I really think the fender/fairing is one of the more imaginative re-purposing/re-uses of something I’ve run into.

Nothing fancy when it came to finish as Chris had his buddy Mark Washington from Eaton, Ohio, black powdercoat the hell out of it for durability. This is Chris’ everyday rider and he says it even handles well with the knobbies. “He did a great job as always,” said Chris. “I think the bike definitely has its own look and style. My favorite aspect of the bike is its flavor. Most people don’t know what to think of it.”

With this build in the bag, what’s next for Sully’s Customs? “I plan building a lot of other bikes in the future as I have since 1998. I’m leaning toward using more of my own parts and more towards traditional bikes and café racers, but who knows what will come of my next build. My seat company (www.sullyscustoms.com) takes up a lot of my time now so I try and sneak a build in here and there.