Obviously there’s an elephant in the room that’s got to be brought up and that is that Warren is the brother of William David Lane whom we all know as Billy Lane. Like Billy, he’s an ingenious, talented builder, but like all brother relationships I know of there must be some kind of brother competiveness going on. Especially since they are both in the same business and so damn brilliant what they do. But, they are each their own person and that’s that.

 

 

   Warren’s FTP 43 bobber has been around for a while now and still looks as fresh and current as when it was first built. His love of vintage machines clearly shows in the deft way he handled this build from the frame to the finish. If you have any real appreciation of old Harleys or anything old, you gotta love the lugged rigid frame Warren fabricated for this build. Nothing says old more than lugged construction as far as I’m concerned. In this case, Warren made it a point to not let the set standards of lugs determine his flow of lines and came up with a frame that cleanly flows from front to back with no ugly stops along the way. That includes the rear fender that is not the usual separate piece, but is definitely a part of the frame design as much as the motor mounts. As they say, simple is the hardest thing to do.

 

  Unsurprisingly, the same thing could be said about the tank he fabbed up that is a lovely separate piece unto itself, but you’d never think so the way it’s so beautifully integrated into the backbone. If I was told it was a stressed member, it probably wouldn’t surprise me other than you don’t want to have a container under tension holding volatile liquids. The shape is absolute perfection for this bike and gives a feeling of caged motion at rest. In other words, it looks fast.

 

   A short springer with absolute minimal rake adds to the feeling of speed with a beefy purposeness of vintage design along with a touch of stainless probably because Warren has a fondness for a bit of bling when it’s used correctly. Chrome is about as Old School as it gets, but it’s got to be used carefully otherwise it just looks cheap as hell to me. One look and it’s obvious Warren’s a good editor of his own work. Being able to step back and realize when to pull the plug on ornamentation is hard when you’re deep into it, but the guy’s got a good handle on when enough is enough. The 120-spoke wheels are pushing that bling limit, but on this bike they’re just fine. On your Road King, not so much.

 

  One thing I really like are the stainless clip-on bars that sprout out off the top of the springer. They’re so simple and clean they’re almost easy to miss, but that would be a horrible mistake not to drink them in. They’re bare-bones beautiful with nary a grip or lever or control in sight. Three are other bikes that feature the same foot clutch, hand shifter and no front brake controls, but I’ve never seen such mechanically clean bars. Sorry Warren, but I gotta chuckle at the 4 and 3 that serve as your pedal pads. No, I’m not laughing at ‘em, I’m just enjoying them.

 

  Warren’s been doing this sort of stuff for so long he’s got all the right connections when he’s gotta farm something out like the paint of this bike. For the STP-inspired paint, he turned to paint legend Robert Pradke of Custom Auto Design for one of his to die for paintjobs. Hell, I don’t even feel right to refer to Robert’s fine art work as a paintjob. I don’t remember Richard Petty’s racecars being Petty blue and heavy metal flake red, more of a Petty blue and orange, but I’m totally on board with the end result. Everything just pops, but it’s not garish in any way.

 

  Make it a point to watch the videos so you’ll get more of a feel of what Warren’s up to. He’s got a quiet confidence that’s the mark of somebody who knows what he wants and how to get it done. His metal work is not just limited to motorcycles either which shows people other than motorcyclists appreciate his art work too. Like old Clint said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”  Warren surely and confidently does, but in his case they are sky high.

 

  For more info, check out Atomic Metalsmith Inc.’s Facebook and Instagram pages. You could check out his website too (http://www.atomicmetalsmith.com/ ), but that site basically just sends you to Facebook. Hey, it’s Warren’s way of doing things and who are we to question an independent thinker’s way of life? Not me, I know my limitations.