Growing up I saw a lot of chopped-out Triumph twins along with the occasional BSA or Royal Enfield, but I can’t remember ever seeing somebody chop out a Norton. That doesn’t mean it never happened, I just don’t ever remember seeing one. Yeah, there was Norton’s somewhat unsuccessful factory attempt at being an easy rider with their Commando Hi-Rider model back in the ‘70s that...

Yup, nothing says the ‘70s like a reference to the stars of Up in Smoke and nothing says ‘70s choppers like the simple, but classy Triumph you’re looking at built by The Factory Metal Works which Lucas just happens to own by the way. If you’re already a fan of Lucas’ work, this iconic take on a ‘70s-style Brit twin chop should come as no surprise as he’s bowled me over with his...

  My original thought was an old Honda inline-four, but then I found this rather forlorn looking Gold Wing. I got a few Internet pictures to give me some ideas and inspiration and before I knew it, the project kind of took off. I really did not have a grand plan in mind and it just came together piece by piece. The original bike was a full-dress 1987 Interstate model that looked...

  My original thought was an old Honda inline-four, but then I found this rather forlorn looking Gold Wing. I got a few Internet pictures to give me some ideas and inspiration and before I knew it, the project kind of took off. I really did not have a grand plan in mind and it just came together piece by piece. The original bike was a full-dress 1987 Interstate model that looked...

     What I do know is that this bike called I.R.I.S. built by Bronson Willard of Southern Metal Choppers in lovely Austin, Texas, kinda falls into that chicken versus egg thing, but not in the usual way. And “NOOOOOOOO!” before all you self-righteous keepers of the true riding faith start pecking away at your key boards of eternal death, this bike was not built for cross-country...

And, no, to answer the question running around in your head, it is not an automatic conversion of some kind, but a production model (CB750A) made by Honda for reasons that are still unclear to me back in 1977-78. They even gave it the sexy name of Hondamatic, sexy in an appliance-like way. My guess as to how this came about is that the builder got the original donor so cheap he...

     Ricky Gonzalez of Mooresville, North Carolina, is a total first-class Ducati freak, but that doesn’t mean the only mods he’ll do is change what polish he’s using on his Ducatis. Personally, I think he’s at his happiest when he’s cutting and welding one of Bologna’s finest into something that he can truly call his own. Take the late model air-cooled Ducati 900SS Desmo engine...

    The first thing most builders do who want to take a step out of the V-twin  box is find an older Triumph twin and get to work making an acceptable to most V-twin freaks period-correct British vertical twin chop. Not Lee, though, as he took the Japanese vertical twin alternative, a Yamaha XS 650, and began a build that has a shimmer of board track with a touch of high-zoot show...

     What he was looking at was the original Suzuki B-King concept bike which looked about as whacky as anything the Japanese or anybody had ever made or were thinking of making. I probably should explain that what got Mark all excited was that it was purported to be a naked bike powered by a supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa engine and good for around 250hp. Mark loves numbers and he...

I first saw this bike last year at the Charlotte Easyriders Show and then again last year at the Smoke Out in Rockingham, North Carolina. My first chopper was a BSA Lightning so it’s no surprise I fell in love with the bike. Since it hadn’t been featured in a magazine, I felt that it was overdue to be showcased. The bike has done well in competition. It was a winner at Smoke Out X...