Tim teamed up with a buddy of his Scott Schneck, owner of Schneck’s Hog Farm in Grantville, Pennsylvania, over a winter to make a (well here’s where it gets interesting without trying to get insulting) rat bike, beater, tough guy, or whatever the hell you want to call it that is a practical get on it and go rider. It ain’t trying to be purty, but it has its own beauty. It’s simple, tough, rough, and ready to hit the road. That doesn’t mean honest time and effort didn’t go into it, quite the opposite. If you’re planning on making a real rider like Tim did, you want something reliable and you don’t get that by slapping something together and hoping for the best.

“I bought the bone stock bike from a customer (Thanks Russ) for some money and some credit for tools (I’m a Snap On Tool dealer). I wanted a small, wide, tough-looking little tank of a bike. The build really gave us no problems. We were determined the whole time just to get it done. It never got old or boring working on it. We didn’t buy many parts. We built almost everything. If we ran into any roadblocks, Scott and I just sat back and figured them out,” said Tim.

Tim went on to explain what he and Scott did over the next four or so months. “We disassembled the wide glide forks and had them cut down 2.5” by Forking by Frank. We cut the swingarm off and installed a Led Sled hardtail and used one of my son’s skateboard wheels for a chain tensioner. We made the motor mount, battery box, oil tank bungs, seat pan [a friend covered it], rear fender, and gas tank. Along with things like rear caliper mounts and incorporating GSXR master for the front brake, we also built the rear tail light/plate assembly and modified the headlight and made a bracket for it,“ said Tim. “We totally disassembled the motor and rebuilt it with new pistons and rings. Then capped it off with a handmade header-wrapped exhaust and made an air cleaner out of a Chevy Rally Wheel center cap. Scott did all the TIG welding and rewired the bike. It has 16″ spoke wheels on front and back with dual discs in the front and a single disc in the rear. I wanted a flat-track look for the bars so we made them with built-in risers. About a year ago I wrapped the bars in white hockey tape. I wanted to look like it was in primer like a rat rod. We painted it with spray cans and then distressed it. It is a red primer with black primer under the red. The black shows through in many areas. On the right side of the tank it looks like a naked lady if you use your imagination (At least that’s what friends tell me). The bike gets a lot of attention and rides like a dream believe it or not.”

Well whether you believe that or not is irrelevant to Tim. He built it, he rides it, and frankly he loves it for what it is. It’s one tough MOFO that he doesn’t have to worry about scratching or getting caught in the rain with or just fretting about because it costs so much damn money. To Tim, it’s his motorcycle that he built (with Scott’s help) that he rides the pee out of and enjoys every minute of it. Total owner involvement, you can’t ask for more than that with any motorcycle.