One of his latest builds is based around a 1981 Harley Ironhead Sportster engine that would have been the cat’s ass to build around back in its time. Not surprisingly, it still is today with a raw nostalgic look and charm that the latest MotorCo Twin Cam can’t approach. There are still legions of fans of the old Ironheads that champion its virtues right alongside the most devout Panhead, Knucklehead, and Flathead lovers. It’s no surprise that Wendell loves them all and they’re his preferred models of Harleys to build around. Somehow I’ve just got this feeling that he’s never built a ground-up bike with a RevTech engine. He might have done service work one for a customer at his shop, but I don’t think they get his juices flowing like older Harley-Davidsons do.

 

   The ’81 Ironhead Sporty engine still displaces the stock 1000cc it was born with, but the engine’s had a thorough going through. Spicing up things more than sheer horsepower ever could is a big velocity stack and a set of drag pipes that bring on the volume every time he twists the throttle. It might not be the killer hot rod of a street  engine it was back in the day, but the sound of air rushing in to the carb and the bellowing Harley Ironhead exhaust note makes up for any so-called HP deficiency when you’re going through the gears and making that noise. Besides that, it’s a looker too with perfect raw aluminum finish on the engine covers complimented by the black cylinders, heads, and the stock (thank you Wendell!) Sportster primary. Nothing’s been pimped out and it’s way better for it as far as I’m concerned.

 

  When he needed a frame for the finished Ironhead, Wendell turned to Chris Phillips of Doomtown Choppers to build a stretched, dropseat hardtail frame. In case Chris’ shop rings a bell, it might be because Barnett’s Magazine Online did a feature on his bike AntiRUB. Anyway, Chris turned out a neat frame that is a nice balance of flowing curves and straight lines. There’s nothing radical in the rake either and that’s a good thing if you really want to ride your pride and joy and not just look at it while everybody else is off tearing around the Michigan countryside. Wendell used a cleaned-up Sporty fork and why not? It looks good and works perfectly for this purpose. The same goes for the Harley mags and brakes except for the front caliper I don’t recognize mounted on an adapter that Wendell made. All stuff that works.

 

   Body-wise, Wendell took the wizened approach that years of building real custom motorcycles makes it instinctively easily for him. The Sporty-style tank is mounted Frisco-style with a raised filler cap mounted forward to get the most gallonage possible.

Finding the exact location for mounting the tank on the long top tube takes an eye that’s knows when it’s right and this baby’s got it in spades. That oil tank with the name of the bike, Hung Low, on it is reminiscent of a cross section of an airplane wing was fabricated by Curt Owens.  The vestigial rear fender is also placed just right and still works as a fender and not just a prop. Wendell’s choice of a ’36 Packard taillight turned sideways so the plate gets lit is cool beyond cool from the Art Deco shape to the chrome-rimmed round lens.

 

   Getting to the human side of things, the dual-spring rear seat has the springs cleverly located in a couple of lugs directly on the frame and looks clean as the proverbial whistle. The colorful leather covering with Turner’s Cycle Shop and a flying wheel embossed on it was courtesy of Curt Green at Bare Bones Leather in Winder, Georgia. It’s the bit of flash this bike needs and it’s not overdone. A set of mid-mounts places the rider in the ‘correct’ position in case one of Michigan’s infamous can’t be averted and the rider can lift his weight off the seat and keep the hardtail from giving him a case of hard ass. I’m probably dead wrong, but Wendell’s choice of handlebars appears (to me) to be a set of clubman bars turned upside down. If that’s the case, that’s pretty damn cool.

 

   Like all customs, paint is the make-it-or-break-it part of the build. What at first appears to be a metallic burgundy base with gold scallops separated by cream white pinstriping is not what it seems. You might have noticed a bit of green in Jack Cofano’s photos and that’s because the ‘burgundy’ paint by Chop Doc’s Choppers is one of those prism paints that were popular a few years ago. I’ve never been a big fan of them, but somehow Chop Doc’s Ron Harris pulled it off here and I can’t say anything bad about it. It works on this bike is all I’m gonna say.

 

    Not only is this a cool custom motorcycle Wendell built that you could ride every day just like riders did back in the day, but it’s a true nostalgia piece in that it can win shows, big shows, too. Matter of fact, Wendell proudly took home a trophy and a big check for winning first place in the Retro Mod class at the 2014 Ultimate Builder Show in Novi, Michigan. Now that’s the definition of a dual-purpose motorcycle if there ever was one.

 

  For more information on Wendell Turner’s Cycle Shop, just move your browser and click on www.turnerscycleshop.com. After you see the pic of Wendell with his stunning 1939 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead on his home page, you’ll just sit and stare at whatever device you cruise the Internet with.