One Thing After Another: 2001 Sportster Chopper
A textbook example of someone with a yen for two-wheel creative expression.
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Lethal Twist
Diehard connoisseurs say that choppers are built not bought. Moto-journalist Paul d'Orleans credits choppers as being a unique form of American folk art. Enter Ryan Grayson of Birmingham, Alabama — a textbook example of someone with a yen for two-wheel creative expression. Grayson's journey is the familiar stock to chop story, but it comes with an almost lethal twist.
Bone Stock
Grayson had basic motivations when he bought his 2001 Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster. On the Lowbrow Customs' blog, he stated, “I bought this Sportster bone stock off of Craigslist in 2013. I had no knowledge of what it took to work on and maintain your own bike, I just wanted to ride with a few of my friends that had bikes.”
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Bike Fix
Soon after, Grayson realized he needed some basic maintenance skills. He got help fixing up his Sportster at the 'Dojo,' a local Birmingham motorcycle hangout. As the subject of many photo essays, including Harley-Davidson Museum photographer Josh Kurpius, the Dojo was a source of inspiration. He writes, “The guys at the Dojo were always helping me diagnose and fix my bike.”
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Personal Touch
It did not take long for Grayson to feel the chopper itch. The cool machines of the Dojo inhabitants left him with a longing for “the personal touch and the simplicity of a custom-built motorcycle.” Like most projects, it took time to germinate. Over the next five years, he began to customize his Sportster one step at a time.
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Start Somewhere
A set of internally wired Biltwell Chumps handlebars was Grayson's first custom venture. He recalled, “I was in my parent's basement with a Dremel hacking janky square holes that I could hopefully stuff the stock wiring through. It was a %$@#! mess.” Looking back he realized how bad his work was, but as Grayson succinctly put it, “you’ve got to start somewhere.”
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Tipping Point
As Grayson's skills improved, so did his Sportster. In the process, he rewired the bike and installed an 8” over the frontend. Then came the tipping point. “I went to start her up and it didn’t make a sound. Turns out it was just a dead battery, but this is what prompted me to tear the whole thing apart and do a full-on build.”
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Custom Built
The build started with a Kraft Tech Rigid Frame and custom engine mounts. Grayson bumped up the engine up with a 1250cc big bore kit. Drag pipes and a Lowbrow Customs Louvered Air Cleaner took care of aspiration and ventilation. Narrow Pangea Speed Streamliners handlebars complement the Frisco Mount Sportster Tank, also by Lowbrow Customs. Grayson tackled the paint himself and built the flowing King/Queen seat.
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Prize Ride
After a summer of riding his Sportster chopper, Grayson's luck changed. He was hit by a distracted driver who fled the scene. The impact launched him into the air, and his prize ride was a crushed mess. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured. Grayson got right back to work straightening his pretzel of a chopper. He later stated, “The bike’s had an interesting first year of existence, to say the least.”
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