That doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything like that, it’s just that custom bikes, especially show-worthy bikes can have an undeserved short shelf life. That short shelf life can lead to some amazing deals if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary as most of these older builds had some serious dough put into them. Sucks if you’re the seller, but if you’ve got a small stash of cash and you’re on the hunt, the custom bike world is your oyster.

 

   What’s bad for some can be good for others, though, and this show bike owned by Jason Gosnell of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, has been good both for him and his business. How so? Jason gets to spend some time street trashing this bike while it’s a 3D calling card for his company, Pro Customs in Spartanburg, South Carolina, that specializes in auto body work and especially paint. Fixing car wrecks for a living sure gives a guy the chops to build choppers. Or, for just updating an older build into something new and fresh with a hint of the recent past. Let’s call it modern history revisited.

 

  The bike originally started out as a Demon’s Cycle Softail back when Y2K was something to be concerned with as one of the many production custom bikes built by Demon’s Cycle owner, Tom “The German” Steinbacher. Today, Pompano Beach, Florida-based Demon’s Cycle seems to have found its lot more as a major supplier of custom parts rather than a builder, but I’m sure if you asked nicely . . .

 

   What Jason has done in a nutshell has brought the 20^th century bike into the 21^st century with a makeover that showcases his talents as a painter and air brush artist. The striking white paint is overlaid with air-brushed panel graphics that just give it the right zing for today. By the way, even the paintjob is “old” as Jason re-did this bike a couple of years ago, but you’d never know it by just using the old eyeballs. But it is a success no matter how you look at it even winning the People’s Choice award at the 2014 Charlotte Easyriders Show. Not too shabby for an old custom.

 

   One of the more remarkable things about this build as far as I’m concerned involved something Jason accomplished that I have never ever seen nor heard of before. The S&S engine and the tranny were looking a bit tired cosmetically and needed a spot of freshening up. That usually means yanking the offending pieces out of the frame and

disassembling whatever before refinishing. Not Jason, though. Maybe it’s the auto body in the guy, but he cleverly stripped all the external pieces off the engine that weren’t being repainted, taped-off the engine and tranny in the frame, and sprayed it in a lovely black finish. Done and done. He might not think it’s something special, but the pics of it being done blew my tiny mind. Nice job Jason.

 

   So this is a story with a moral to it and here it is. Maybe you’re a bit shy on cash and would really like a bike, a custom bike, you felt was your own, but a 60-grand bagger is obviously not in the cards, don’t fret. Open up your imagination and take a look at older affordable customs (actually it’s like legal stealing these days) with an eye to making it your own. You just might be surprised to have a running bike for what a bare roller and an engine went for back in the day. Put your own custom stink on it and you’ll have something you can proudly call your own. Don’t believe me? Just ask Jason Gosnell what he thinks.

 

  For more info on Pro Customs, visit Pro Customs’ Facebook page.