Custom 1985 Ironhead is a Build of Necessity

Built out of Necessity

It's hard to look at this awesome custom '85 Ironhead and think that any of the modifications completed on the bike were done out of "necessity." But that's exactly what the Harley's owner, Zachary Gallo, calls every single thing he's done to it. And that includes the entire project itself. Regardless of this reasoning, we couldn't help but be intrigued by both Gallo's story and his sweet ride in this recent American Iron feature.

Photos: American Iron

Minor Incidents

In all fairness, Gallo had an unfortunate run-in with a mailbox, which required the replacement of the bike's tank, bars, and controls. And after taking a corner a bit too hard, he also found himself replacing the strut mounts and swingarm. Making matters worse, the Ironhead was Gallo's only mode of transportation at the time.

Photos: American Iron

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Spare Room Build

And as if this story couldn't get any stranger, it turns out, Gallo rebuilt the bike in his buddy's bedroom. "We’d already moved the bed out of my buddy Chris’ bedroom, so I just kind of sneakily rolled my bike in there. Like a gentleman," he said. "We actually have a lot of funny pictures of me shooting sparks all over the room and piles of parts everywhere. It was rad being able to wake up and just start wrenching and drinking beer with my bud."

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The Purple Moose

Soon, the bike had a new nickname, too - The Purple Moose. "It used to have a huge 6-1/2-gallon purple tank," Gallo said. "That, combined with the apes, made it look big and obnoxious, like a dumb moose." But now that the Harley has nothing purple on it, it's just become "The Moose." And over the course of the build, Gallo's focus shifted more toward removing anything that wasn't necessary.

Photos: American Iron

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Evolving Build

Over time, this Ironhead has continued to evolve and change. "I’m not really married to any one thing about the bike beside the motor," Gallo said. He also realized that he was going to need a garage to continue working on it, something a little bigger and safer than a bedroom. Since then, Gallo's friend has done quite a bit of welding on the bike, including the hardtail.

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Learning Curve

Gallo is the first to admit that he isn't the greatest mechanic or welder on earth, and he's essentially learned how to do all these things on the fly. Trial and error is always a thing when you're learning, but luckily, none of his mistakes have resulted in any crashes, at least not that he's admitting.

Photos: American Iron

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Throwback Project

We personally love Gallo's old Ironhead and especially love his story. After all, it's a throwback to the days when people worked on their own rides instead of just forking over money to a shop and letting them handle it. And it's something that we'd like to see more of in the future.

Photos: American Iron

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For help with your Harley maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.