Back in the spring of 2000, the folks at Bel Ray Lubricants asked Creative Cycles' owner Doug Keim if he would be interested in building a custom bike to be featured in the company's booth for the 2001 dealer show in Cincinnati. Doug thought, "You've got to be kidding me. Of course I'm interested." And with that, a partnership began.
The prospect of building a bike for Bel Ray really got Keim's creative (no pun intended) juices flowing. Having a year to build the project would give him the opportunity to ponder many different ideas regarding style, engine, trans, suspension, and so on. With-out hesitation, he decided on a chopper. Doug planned to use this bike as a home for many of the one-off parts he builds to showcase his talents.
His first task would be to come up with a good design for the bike's geometry. He had to be sure his creation handled well and was comfortable to ride for extended periods, unlike some of the choppers that have been showing up at his shop recently.
Doug proceeded to work out the numbers regarding rake, trail, and seat height before deciding on a frame. Once he had all the work done, he ordered a Daytec Softail frame to which he added 9 inches of stretch. The frame was raked to 43 degrees. To put the front wheel right where Keim calculated it to be, a 12-inch-over AMS 63.5mm inverted fork assembly was ordered and then modified to allow for ride height adjustment.
Keim wanted to be able to adjust the rear of the bike to look slammed while parked but ride well on the road. To achieve this, a Legends Air Suspension unit was put in place. Giving the bike mobility was a task handled by a 21-inch Performance Machine Trespasser wheel up front; a 17-inch Trespasser was mounted in the rear. A Trespasser rotor/pulley combination was mounted in the left rear along with a single matching rotor for the front. Finishing off the brakes is a P.M. four-piston caliper on the back and a matching six-piston caliper up front.
Keim knew just what he wanted for the motor, a TP Engineering 107. In order to give the motor a distinctive look, the cylinders were machined to remove the top fin, creating a space between the cylinder and the head, matching the look of the bottom of the cylinder. After the fin removal, both cases and cylinders were brightly polished and ready to receive JIMS wheels and rods as well as Wiseco pistons. The TP heads were flowed by Keim to get as much out of the Crane cam, the Patrick Racing dual Mikunis, and the Dyna 2001 ignition as possible. Exhaust is vented to the atmosphere though a set of prototype Creative Cycles pipes.
With the motor out of the way, Doug contacted JIMS and ordered one of its six-speed transmissions. This would allow for all-day cruising while being able to take full advantage of the motor's power at any speed.
There was no doubt in Doug's mind that this chopper had to have an open belt primary. A BDL drive unit, finished off with a Creative Cycles side cover was chosen to make the connection between the motor and transmission.