Sometimes my own motorcycle prejudices get in the way of really seeing what’s there. My first glance at the ChopSmitty entry called SheWinns in the Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show fired off the ignorance neurons in my brain thinking that this was some sort of kid’s bike when I recognized the Briggs & Stratton engine architecture. A very cool kid’s bike, but a kid’s bike nonetheless. Man-oh-man was I wrong about that. After I parked my initial impression and really looked a bit deeper, ChopSmitty’s Greg Green had really built a serious Ultimate Builder contender that just happened to have something other than a typical 45-degree V-twin engine. The more I checked it out, the more intriguing the whole thing became.

Besides being a bike builder, Greg’s a high-performance car guy with features in magazines like Hot Rod, Car Craft, and 5.0 Mustang. Hot Rod’s often pushed its “Dare to be different” mantra trying to get readers and builders interested in something other than a ’69 Camaro or a ’57 Chevy or a ’32 Ford and to not be afraid to step outside the bounds of established models and power-plants. That’s exactly what Greg’s done here and the more you find out what he’s up to and why, the more interesting and logical it gets.

Checking out ChopSmitty’s website, Greg has an explanation of what he’s up to saying, “In a world of $30K and $40K custom bikes, this is a real alternative for real budgets and it is actually hand built, not a kit. ChopSmitty products are engineered with parts that are readily available to keep maintenance affordable. Our bikes are sexy and sensible. We will build your bike based on your intended use recommending horse power to match your dreams. Your bike will be outfitted with a torque converter clutch which delivers smooth shiftless power. That’s right. It’s automatic and ready to cruise.” 

Perusing the site further, I checked out the photos of the build of this bike and it was pretty damn fascinating. Greg constructed his own frame that is not your as-expected rigid, but a swingarm frame that has a giant 330mm tire sandwiched between the chain stays. What makes it rather special is the leaf spring suspension setup running vertically just under the seat he used instead of some sort of hydraulic shock. He also fabbed up his own multi-link front end that incorporates a coil-over piggyback shock to handle the constant road imperfections that plague any rider on any motorcycle in any state I know of. Really nice stuff and a lot of thought, engineering, and talent went into this ground-up custom. This is definitely not some sort of mini-chopper as I first ignorantly thought it was.

But what about that Briggs & Stratton (of all things!) engine? Isn’t that a lawnmower engine of some sort? Actually, absolutely not. It’s an aluminum (not cast iron or something silly) air-cooled Vanguard-series high-performance V-twin displacing just about a 100cc’s more than an 883 Sportster. Okay, now I’m getting more interested. Stock, it puts out 35hp as is and that’s not too far off a dead stock 883. Greg’s done some performance work (no big surprise there) with a carb swap to a rodder’s classic choice of a Stromberg and a set of open stainless headers among other stuff. Now we’re making right in Sporty range and with this bike just having to weigh less than a stock XL, the power to weight ratio’s gotta be pretty decent, especially for a radical custom bike.

What’s pretty cool is that this is one V-twin that comes from the factory with an open belt primary for practical purposes, not because it’s the cool thing to do. The torque converter clutch needs a belt to work as it engages with RPM. Greg fabbed up a neat cross-frame jackshaft setup to convert the left-side belt drive’s power to chain right-side-drive to the spin that giant rear wheel. All very simple and clean now that I’m just looking at it and not building it. This torque converter even cleans up the rest of the bike with not a shift or a clutch lever in sight on the swept back bars. 

Duane Ballard stitched up yet one more of his beautiful seat coverings on the perch Greg made that appears to just float in the air. The simple, yet striking white ChopSmitty finish with just enough red pinstriping by Dave Marfia contrasts nicely with the Q.C. Coatings’ (www.qccoatings.com) powdercoated rims. All and all, it’s a pretty, but elegant look. 

Greg Green dared to be different and it paid off. Maybe now I won’t be so quick to rush to judgment and that’s a good thing when it comes to custom bikes. Things are not always as they might appear to be at first glance and it never hurts to have an open mind. If you’ve got an open mind and a reasonably-priced custom that also happens to have an automatic transmission appeals to you, be sure to check out Greg’s work at www.chopsmitty.com. 

Click on the photos below to see more shots in our gallery! What do you think of this bike? Did daring to be different pay off?