Update on my chopper project
#1
Update on my chopper project
The bike is at "Kundratic Kustoms" http://www.kundratickustoms.com/ in Baltimore. Any of you guys who get Cycle Source will see Brian Kundratic's last show bike as this month's centerfold. All the tins have been removed, as much of the rear fender chopped off as possible while retaining the struts, and they've all been primed and sent to the guy at BackStreet Buckets in Austin for a wild, 70's style paintjob. backstreetbucket.blogspot.com/
This was my bike before we started the latest work...
I'm keeping the frame intact this year other than chopping the neck to rake it out for a long fork. Next year we're going to put it in a hardtail frame of some sort, and having the king/queen seat made. This year we are putting on a new fork, front wheel, headlight, bars, and extending the pipes and sweeping them up towards the sissy bar, skirtblower style. I am ditching the apes in favor of the bars shown below..
Here is the look I'm going for with the front end. I am not putting on a girder, or even a springer fork, as we're not fooling anyone, this is not an old bike. Rather, we're going for this sort of look on the front end, but the forks and front wheel will be black (and not quite as long). I know the trend for modern choppers is to have a larger front wheel, but I'm not a modern guy. This, below is my dream chopper, and when I get another house with a garage, I plan on building a duplicate of this bike on my own.
This was my bike before we started the latest work...
I'm keeping the frame intact this year other than chopping the neck to rake it out for a long fork. Next year we're going to put it in a hardtail frame of some sort, and having the king/queen seat made. This year we are putting on a new fork, front wheel, headlight, bars, and extending the pipes and sweeping them up towards the sissy bar, skirtblower style. I am ditching the apes in favor of the bars shown below..
Here is the look I'm going for with the front end. I am not putting on a girder, or even a springer fork, as we're not fooling anyone, this is not an old bike. Rather, we're going for this sort of look on the front end, but the forks and front wheel will be black (and not quite as long). I know the trend for modern choppers is to have a larger front wheel, but I'm not a modern guy. This, below is my dream chopper, and when I get another house with a garage, I plan on building a duplicate of this bike on my own.
#2
My favorite hydraulic "chopper style" front end has external springs. Old BSA style. My 450 chop had one
but that gas tank leaked so I narrowed an old Sportster tank and while I had it apart I swapped out the front end with an 18 over AEE and new 21" spool wheel just playing around but I love it. Love the crap out of it.
I'm sure your guys have plenty of experience with it but 04 & up necks are NOT at all like previous model years. They aren't tube. Just shaped. Can't rake it by cutting the neck like normal. The work has to be in the down tubes and backbone. A very capable guy I know cut in to his hap-hazardly and found this out the hard way. Basically trashed the frame and started new. He's actually a member here. Oldschool1983 or something like that.
Can't wait to see it man. Sounds like you have some heavy hitters working on it.
but that gas tank leaked so I narrowed an old Sportster tank and while I had it apart I swapped out the front end with an 18 over AEE and new 21" spool wheel just playing around but I love it. Love the crap out of it.
I'm sure your guys have plenty of experience with it but 04 & up necks are NOT at all like previous model years. They aren't tube. Just shaped. Can't rake it by cutting the neck like normal. The work has to be in the down tubes and backbone. A very capable guy I know cut in to his hap-hazardly and found this out the hard way. Basically trashed the frame and started new. He's actually a member here. Oldschool1983 or something like that.
Can't wait to see it man. Sounds like you have some heavy hitters working on it.
#3
#4
Speaking of those bars, there are some one Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-School-C...item5ae3323a16
I know they're 7/8" but it's easy to make em work.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-School-C...item5ae3323a16
I know they're 7/8" but it's easy to make em work.
#7
No such thing as a finished project! (at least where I am concerned). Other guys have asked for updates occasionally. Believe me, I wish I had some finished work to show you. In a couple of weeks I'll have pics of the painted tins. (and there's ANOTHER tease)