Mark has been at this custom motorcycle thing professionally since opening his shop back in 1995 and he hasn’t toned down his unbridled love for the radically outrageous even though he’s not a one-trick pony. You want a bobber, bagger, or work done on your Harley? Thunder Struck will do it and do it well whether it’s mechanical or cosmetic. But, if you’re looking for something maybe just a bit over the top, Mark’s your guy. OverKill is a prime example of yesterday’s long and low bike still alive and kicking today in what seems to be an over crowded world of baggers and bobbers.
OverKill’s stretched and raked Rolling Thunder Softail frame sets the perfect tone for a radical roadster shrouded in subtlety. Radical as in “how low can you go?” with a finish that is shockingly simple and subtle. Throwing on an old springer would have been out of character for what Mark was attempting to do with this bike so he chose a modern version of an old dog with the springs mounted low behind each fork leg. Ego Tripp Rueler wheels look simply great in the non-shiny finish that in chrome would look dated and not fresh like they do. The front wheel is not some currently crazy diameter and that’s good, but the back wheel is a now Old School wide-boy with a big-ass 330mm tire not giving a damn whether it’s the hip choice of the moment. It’s Mark’s choice and that’s all that counts as far as he’s concerned.
One area that Mark takes particular pride in is OverKill’s overkill of an engine. Sitting smack dab in the middle of this build is a hairy 124” S&S mill with a dual throat Dellorto side draft carb mounted on a one-off Mark-made manifold. The way it snakes around the cylinder heads and under the tank on its way to the left side of the bike is neatly mimicked by the exhaust with both sporting header wrap for practical as well as cosmetic reasons. What isn’t header wrapped is ceramic coated or powder coated with nothing polished or plated and we’re all the better for it. There’s just something deliciously mechanical and decadent about the whole engine.
Hey, the same could be said about the whole bike and I will. This is one deliciously mechanical and decadent custom that draws from the recent over-the-top custom past to the coming resurgence of long and low bikes. Mark Daley and Thunder Struck Custom Bikes are building tomorrow’s bike today drawing from the bikes of yesterday.