That’s exactly the same thing Todd Anglani’s got going on heading up After Hours Bikes in Cooper City, Florida. Like Larry and Russell, Todd’s come up with a high-tech rat bike style I’d have to call his own and owns it he does. I’m sure he has to endure a lot of strange looks and the occasional verbal confrontation about his work, but he keeps on creating bikes that are like him ─ completely unafraid of being what they are. There’s so much more to what he does than might seem apparent at first glance, but let me tell you those aren’t old I-beam front axles off old cars bent to make a frame. No sir. 

   Those rusty-ass, speed-holed boxed tubing frames are all new construction made bit by bit from new flat stock until the desired curves flow into a chassis that loves to sit on the ground as well as get up and go. Man that’s a lot of welding. Oh it may seem a bit rustic, but that’s the artistic intention from the word “go. Long, low and speed-holed along with “AH” cut into the box beams to break up the speed holes? I think it’s that simple and it’s still cool as hell to me after seeing other After Hours’ bikes like the ones Barnett Magazine Online has already featured. Check these previous features ─ “Don’t You Dare Call It A Rat Bike” and “What Goes On After Hours Stays After Hours” out and you’ll see what I mean. 

   One of Todd’s latest builds called Black Betty was captured by our own man-about-town, Jack Cofano, at the Rat’s Hole Show in Daytona where it was shown by Jeff Daniels of Hardcore Garage for After Hours. Don’t know if it won anything, didn’t even care to look it up as After Hours won me over a long time ago. Even though a lot of custom aficionados just might disagree with me, I really appreciate the thought, creativity and plain hard work that goes into every After Hours build. Not only are they a shocking eye-ball kidnapper, but they work as a motorcycle. Maybe not your typical street bike with all its lovely amenities, but what radical custom does? It’s a hop-on and putt around bike that’ll gather a crowd even if there’s nobody around. Critics and admirers somehow come out of the woodwork when one of these pulls up and drops its load in an air suspension hiss. 

   Keeping it real is a Harley-Davidson Sportster engine of unknown displacement because who really cares on a show bike, yes show bike, like this. Unless someone was so flabbergasted they had really nothing to say, I can’t imagine anyone asking or caring whether it’s an 883 or a 1200. It’s a very dark engine with a nutty-cool exhaust system and an oval air cleaner to give more room for pinstriping. That’s how I’d view it anyway and as long as it started and ran, that’s about all I’d care so enough about it already. Just be satisfied that no show chrome was harmed in the making of this engine.

   There’s a strange sorta coincidence going on with the spoked wheels even though they are completely dissimilar sizes. Up front you have a big red spoked wheel with a super skinny sidewall whitewall tire. Out back you’ve got what looks like a 15-inch laced rear wheel in red with a vintage pie crust cheater slick whitewall with wicked tall sidewalls that just about matches the diameter of the big front wheel. Two completely different ways to end up at the same space in time. I like it a lot even though I can’t imagine it would be too easy to ride that flat tread slick around a corner with more than ten pounds of air in it max. It’s gotta be soft anyway to not beat up your butt on that honest-to-goodness tractor seat sitting on that bridge-girder rigid frame.

    Where Todd ups the funk is in the details like fuel and oil containers that every Harley needs. Twin saddle tanks hung over the top girder pass the gas to one another as needed and gives a chance for Todd to employ his beloved wing nuts. I swear he uses them just so you might think this is just thrown together over a weekend and all you had was hardware from True Value. They fit their purpose perfectly I’d say especially with that side-mounted, upside-down Jose Cuervo gas gauge. And, that’s not a front mounted cylindrical oil tank hanging out at the down tube’s base, but an air tank for After Hours trademark I-beam construction air ride forks. The actual oil tank is an old, old oil can that looks like somebody just left it in the mid section of the frame by mistake. Oh I truly love stuff like this and it takes an artist’s eye to make it work.

     There are some other Todd touches too like the liberal use of con rods for pieces like rear fender stays, the rider’s foot rests and possible for a passenger too. I say that because I have no idea where a passenger might sit and who would be brave enough to try sitting on top of the curved fender and be okay with that? Eh, they say there’s a bike for every ass so maybe that applies here too. Or take those brass knuckle-inspired shifter and brake setups with what look to be valve springs for pegs. It’s all hand-crafted with not a CNC machine in sight. Even the chain tensioner has an active part in this rustic drama sticking straight up and damping that l-o-o-o-n-g drive chain from mucking about.

    Even though the paintjob other than the pinstriping is nothing to write home about, it fits this build perfectly. On any custom bike the right paintjob is necessary to pull off the build and this bike is no different. It couldn’t pull off a retro or an Old School or a multi-panel metal flake, but it does look bad ass good in satin black with extremely bright red highlights. The Old School pinstriping looks like it might have been there for 30 or 40 years already although in the scheme of things in was done in a recent blink of an eye. The laid back beach bars sport the only chrome on the bike with the blingy grips and levers. Somehow that’s just about right and not a lick too much at the same time.

   As far as I’m concerned, any After Hours’ bike is all about fun no matter who it hurts. There’s little if anything like the bike you ride now or will in the future, but I’m sure glad old Todd Anglani is still out there banging away and plotting each new build. I will say one thing, if you’re a bit of an extrovert and love attention an After Hours build is the perfect bike for you. Don’t believe me? Just catch one of Todd’s bikes pulling into a show and see for yourself if you can get through the crowd. 

  For more info on After Hours Bikes, visit http://www.afterhoursbikes.com/ or check ‘em out on social media.