I say “best bikes” in that they’re usually ridden to the show, not trailered, and that means they’re real bikes that do street time. Can’t ask for much more than a cool ass bike that doesn’t stop you from going where you want to and that’s what we’re looking at here. This long and low Shovelhead-powered ride is somebody’s dream bike and it’s about as personal as you can get in a style that’s more TV chopper than anything else. Now, don’t take that as an insult in any way as everybody’s got a style that has some kinda back story as to why it’s special to them and that’s all that counts.
Here there’s a bit of front end outrageousness that doesn’t involve a 30-inch front wheel. Just a nice little old 23-incher stuck out at a quite racy angle by a set of wild-looking American Suspension springer forks. Although I’ve seen a lot of them on show bikes, I’ve never gotten a chance to ride one. They look pretty damn beefy while looking quite pretty too. And since I haven’t heard a bad thing about them, they must be good, right?
I’m guessing the 23-inch front wheel’s a Fat Daddy 50 with those unmistakably thick spokes and living free of anything silly like a brake. Out back, a fat 18-inch Fat Daddy does all the work from final drive to braking using the chain’s sprocket as the go-to bit to make anything happen or not. There’s a distinct nod to TV choppers with that w-i-d-e rear tire that looks like it doesn’t need a kickstand to hold it up.
Those are all fine custom things, but where this build ramps it up way more than a notch or two is that crazy custom frame. The highly unusual, square single downtube is tweaked into a diamond shape and is the only square tube onboard. The rest is flowing round tubing that works its way from the head tube until they all converge into a sharp point aft of the rear axle. But, the craziest part is that it’s a single-sided rigid frame showing off that big ass rear wheel like it’s floating in space. It’s a long, rangy wild frame that sets the stage for the bodywork to follow.
Not only does the frame try to follow a straight line back to the rear axle like unwritten custom tradition says you should, but so does the bodywork. The saddle tank hangs down over the engine from the top tube like it’s been nicely melted into place. It fits like it’s two-dimensional instead of three and couldn’t be too much narrower and still hold fuel. It then flows down into the seat that becomes a part of it and continues around into a floating tail section. It’s not a fender either as there’s a conventional-style wide round fender doing its duty as whoever invented the fender intended. There’s almost a feel of the latest motocross bikes that have a tank/seat/fender setup as a single unit much like this one. Although there was a good bit of work involved in this, that’s all there is to report, though. Things have been kept complicatedly simple on this build.
I wish I knew what was going on inside that Shovelhead engine as it might just be a pretty perky runner from what I can gather from the outside. Take the dual throat updraft Weber carb wearing a set of you-can’t-miss-‘em velocity stacks sticking straight up and ready to inhale anything you might drop or the manifolds the carb sits on, all nice work. Or the wild and crazy cool open primary with a hint of tribal love or maybe the hand shifter that looks like it was part of a Middle-Eastern sultan’s collection of swords. And I can’t forget that unbelievably cool left-side exhaust system that looks like it wasn’t happy until it found the lines of the frame. Nope, I don’t think that’s got stock internals and that’s okay.
Although I’m not completely sold on the subject matter for the paint work on this bike as I’m no reptile fan in general, there’s no doubt it’s an unbelievably well-done paint job in general. The fine detail of the lizard lads is realistic and, I can’t believe I’m gonna say this about reptiles, extremely tasteful too. All the graphics has been done with a deft hand and an eye for style while still contributing to the flow of the bike. There’s just enough to make it interesting and not overpowering so job well done on this one.
All in all, sometimes you find the best show bikes outside the show. Probably not a bad way to try and get an invitation into next year’s Artistry in Iron Show by being seen outside the venue. Either way, it got to be ridden and that’s all that counts to me.