Finished off the refresh of my panhead, ready to get back on the streets.
Finished up this hydraulic set up for my Panhead build that looks mechanical. I have tried a few different times to make a mechanical/hydraulic that looks good and also has proper function. This set up looks fairly modified stock with the shapes of everything but hides the master behind the trans to clean up the front of the frame. Topped off with some mini floorboards I made for the perfect comfort set up.
Just finished up the fabrication work on this EVO chopper. Cory came to me with all the parts he wanted to use and a direction and I got him all set up with some frame modifications, full mounts for everything to be solid and just a few custom pieces- Sissybar, light/tag mount and exhaust pipes. All from stainless steel to be polished. Tough looking bike with strong bones.
Finished fab work on the Evo build. All made out of stainless Steel including the bars, sissybar, exhaust, seat pan, shifter, brake control and clutch control. modified a big twin oil bag to clear the heads and mounted everything else up.
Read to tear down for paint.
Another stainless steel metal finished shifter headed to Devin is Tacoma WA.
As of right now this is how the bike site 90% fabricated. Only have a few small things left like oil lines and making sure i dont need any additional mounts anywhere and pressure testing the tanks.
I have been working on this bike after my regular job everyday for 6 months to get to this point and will be rolling it off the bench for the first time to see it out in the sun soon.
Very Excited to move into to paint work.
Fully metal finished pipes for my panhead build. All the bends were provided by Bill @ Biltwell as a donation to the build and added a few of my own bends for what i need. Hand made the squish pipe from scratch so be able to suck in the exhaust as tight to the frame as possible to sneak past the brake. Next post will have some mounted photos.
Here is how the Panhead currently sits.
I still have a few big things to make like the exhaust and handlebars to finish off the profile and some small details but spent a good amount of time welding on the frame and finishing off parts i have already started to bring me closer to finishing up fab work. Everything is coming together exactly as planned.
Next ill make a high upswept exhaust system and the handlebars. For the bars i have tapered risers as pictured and need to machine top caps so when all together the bars will appear to have welded on riser looks.
One off manually machined headlight for the build. I liked the style of the old VW reverse light but wanted to use this cool glass lens and make the housing slimmer. I machined the body for the headlight and bezel from two pieces all based around this glass lens and a H8 car fog light bulb. all manually machined and hand finished to soften it up. All up the total thickness on the body is 1.25” and really compact.
Finished taillight that i machined from my new to me Diamond kneemill.
The taillight is machined in three pieces, the base plate out of steel which is welded to the fender, the middle plate that holds the LED and bezel that keeps the lens secured. All 3 pieces manually machined and hand finished together for a tight fit.
Full sheet metal seat molding to continue the flow from the the tank all the way down to the fender. This is pre planning for the paint scheme i have in mind which will continue the design continuously jumping piece to piece.
Moving forward with some extra details on my oil bag for the panhead.
Made two recessed pockets for the battery and coil to sit side by side underneath the seat.
The more ignition components i can fit in the oil tank the less wiring that is visible. To me removing the coil from view also really cleans up the lines of the bike.
Took a break from the Bornfree build to help out my friend Matty with putting together his whole bike that he has been collecting parts for a few years now.
His frame was hardtailed by Arie in san Mancos ( @Arie_vee) and motor built by Dan Carr ( @dcchoppers)
I took care of the rest making mounts for every part to be mounted to the frame best fit they can and made a custom sissy bar, exhaust muffler tips and shifter.
This bike will rip and with a few custom touches for me will be sure to have a different appeal next to a bike of the same stance.
Big milestone in the build to have all the parts done for the controls, mounts and shifter.
Many many hours into all these pieces to cut, bend, shape and weld up all by hand one by one. Really happy with this collection and definitely some of my favorite pieces i have made to date.
Wrap over fender strut made from scratch.
Clutch pedal for the panhead. Keeping the collection all alike with the same shape again.
Start of the Mechanical style brake pedal for the Born Free Panhead.
This will be adapted to actuate a master cylinder that will be hung behind the trans with a rod underneath the transmission.
Finished gas tank going on the Born Free panhead for my buddy Paul.
A style idea i wanted to do through out this build is a blend of flat into round all over. I cut the top out of the tank and made this raised section with a “flat” top that is crowned so its not totally flat. moved the petcock bung and removed the front tab so ad a hidden mount under the front of the tunnel. The rear tap will stay and will eventually get covered by the next piece.
Here is the custom front end for my build for Born Free 12 next year.
Really excited about the sleek look of the Barneys smooth lower legs and the set of one off trees that were machined by my friend Adam Cole.
The trees were altered by the original model that Adam made for him own bike and has been running for a good amount of time to test. His set are super narrow and made for 39mm tubes. I wanted to modify they slightly and go for a mid width of 7”OC and also accept 41mm tubes.
Really excited about how this front end looks and will be a key part to the overall look of this build.
Had the opportunity to put another bike together for one my my best friends Mark Kirkland. Mark does all my media work for myself and my shop, so im stoked to do some work for him.
Mark picked up this 78 and hardtailed it and collected all the parts then brought it in to me to get the bike completelty assembled and make some fresh stainless exhaust for it.
This exhaust is all stainless, including a squish pipe section all made in house. Mark already had some other good stainless from a previous bike including foot pegs and shifter and the sissy bar is one off my last versions of my shovelhead. Great style and lines on this bike and will be able to take a good beating.