Hopefully by now you’ve already watched the Cycle Source Magazine’s excellent video on Zack and got the gist of who and where this kid’s at. It’s all good and, by the way, in the big scheme of things, being in his mid-twenties, he is a kid. An extremely talented, humble, and hard working kid who makes his dad, Scott, and his mother, Kimberly, proud as a pair of those proverbial peacocks. Zack gives a lot of credit to his Harley-riding dad for getting him into this thing that he’s so damn good at, but I’m gonna guess he was born with talent and his dad just unlocked the door for him to walk through. Actually, I should have said, “. . . his dad just unlocked the door for him to ride through.”  His bikes, his sense of artistic style, and respect for the heritage of what makes a real chopper a real chopper and not a bad replica, sure sets him apart from the average young Harley fan who’s probably more concerned with how his beard looks than his bike.

 

   So I gotta ask you, is there a line out of place on this build? No? That’s what I thought too. I had a little trouble trying to figure out what Zack began with (couldn’t read the first engine number), but I’m going to go out on a limb again and guess it’s a 1952 FL Harley something or other and not a 1962. Not that any of that matters as Zack’s build has no date or exact time attached to it and that’s what makes it so damn cool. This is one of those “timeless” builds that will look good generations of Harley riders from now. So, yes, it’s timeless and don’t even try to tell me otherwise.

 

   Even more amazing is that this bike was built with the Artistry In Iron show in mind in Zack’s backyard shop after hours from his day job. You might even say it was built Old School style as even though his shop is well equipped, there’s no high tech stuff building parts and pieces after being loaded up in the computer. Things are done by hand in a true Old School style and maybe that’s one of the reasons it came out so damn good. Yeah, I know there’s a lot of “damn” references and if that offends you, I’m sorry, but Zack’s a damn good builder and his bike is damn good to. I can’t help it, Zack’s work brings out the damn in me.

 

   Basically, the all black and chrome finish is one that could go either way with too much or not enough of either, but Zack nailed it on this bike. There’s just enough of too much to go around and everything has its nostalgia-inducing purpose in check. Maybe that sounds a bit complicated and redundant, but anything with an eye to Old School has to have a bit of extravagant style while still retaining clean lines and a smooth flow from front to back. That’s exactly how Zack’s Panhead comes across to me ringing all the Old School bells without making some ungodly racket while doing it. Oh it’s a bit flashy and sassy, but damn, it’s ungodly purty.

 

    You gotta give Zack credit for not just doing a modern interpretation of Old School where things get all mixed up with disc brakes and wide belt drive and whatever, it’s truly back in the day in every way. Okay, maybe the exhaust is not a set of fishtails or megaphones flamboyantly dumping its load right next to your head like you might expect, but that twister-roo shotgun exhaust Zack fabbed up is fabulous and any ’60 or‘70’s builder would killed to have had it. It’s tight and right and that’s what makes it so damn good. I can’t believe I’m kinda picking on an exhaust that I like so much, but my boss, Mark Barnett, says I always have to find at least one little thing to mention to keep things honest. I’m sure Zack doesn’t give a damn what I think and I respect him for that even though we’ve never discussed it or even had a discussion.

 

   Zack Conway and Diamonds-N-Rust are two names you should definitely keep an eye on as I can’t help but believe they’re going to be right at the forefront of custom motorcycles for decades and decades to come. You can’t keep someone with extreme talent and an extreme work ethic from not being shoved to the head of the class even if that’s not what they’re doing this for. Obviously Zack does this for the incurable love of motorcycles we’re all stuck with. The thing separating us from him is that he does it a million times better. And, we’re all better off for it. Don’t believe me? Go back and look at Jack Cofano’s photos again and then tell me otherwise. Yeah, I thought so.

 

 Apparently Zack’s too busy building or just doesn’t give a damn about a website, but you can contact him through his Facebook page.