If you've ever had the pleasure of meeting Big Mike of Big Mike's Choppers, then you know how energetic he is. He can't stand still for more than five minutes, and his mind seems to be all over the map -- so much so, you'd almost think he suffers from attention deficit disorder or something. There is a lot more going on with Mike than you can see from the outside. What is really taking place in Mike's head is his endless pursuit of ideas for what he's going to build next. His inspiration to build a new bike might come from the look of a wind-up toy at a swap meet, or, as in the case of this bike, the color of chopped and channeled '50 Mercury at a car show. While walking the show, Mike noticed the bright-green Mercury that seemed to be calling to him through the vast sea of metallic red and orange cars that occupied the floor of the show. It was the unique color that set the car apart from the rest and sparked Mike's interest in building a bike based on the exact same color. Mike sought out the owner of the vehicle and was put in contact with the painter who informed him the paint came from House of Kolor. That was all Mike needed to know before he went back and barricaded himself inside his Bend, Oregon, shop as he often does when bitten by the creative bug.
Mike knew what had to be done, so he kicked things off by selecting one of his new single downtube frames with 40 degrees of rake to send over to Suspence Kustom Paint. The staff at Suspence carefully molded the frame from headstock to the rear axle mounts before shooting the whole thing with a few coats of the House of Kolor green. Once the frame was returned to BMC, Mike sat down across the room and stared at it while he thought over various fuel tank, oil tank, and fender combinations. He tossed a few shop rags over the rails of the frame for protection while he test-fitted a few fuel tanks before going with one of BMC's oversized Sportster-style tanks to fit the 6-inch stretch added to the upper rails.
A BMC oil tank and rear fender had exactly the look Mike wanted, but he was having a little difficulty in finding a front fender that looked like the picture he had in his head. One of Mike's guys had an idea and emerged from the stockroom with a West Coast Choppers fender with exactly the shape Mike had in mind. Everything was shipped over to Suspence Kustom Paint, covered with the same green as the frame and then treated to a few purple and orange flame graphics to add visual impact to the package. While the paint was drying, Mike was gathering up a 100-inch RevTech engine to provide the bike with a serious heap of motivation. The all-RevTech Evo with a 42HSR Mikuni carb, a Spyke ignition system, and West Coast Choppers exhaust was matched with a RevTech five-speed transmission. Tying the two components together was easy with the addition of a Primo 3-inch open beltdrive, which also gives the bike the harder edge that only an open belt can.
Now that the engine and driveline were installed and ready to go, Mike and Company bolted on the fenders, the gas tank, and the oil tank and then it was time to pick out some wheels, tires, and brakes to get things moving. A couple of wheels from the Ness catalog, an 18-inch at the rear, and a matching 21-incher up front were fit with Avon tires; OMP calipers and rotors handling all the deceleration work. Before the wheels were installed, they were prepped, covered in black paint, and pinstriped to make them look dark and downright evil. The brakes receive their commands from OMP foot controls and OMP hand controls that are mounted on a set of BMC handlebars with built-in risers. Mike digs the style of Lazer Star's new Fire Star headlamps, so he chose one to bolt between the fork legs and matched it with a BMC taillight to complete the lighting for the bike. As the project was coming to a close, Mike could only wonder how well the ultra-light bike with the big 100-inch motor would move. Later that day he would have his answer as he buzzed up and down the street on his first test ride.
As Mike began to grow more confident with the engine, racking up break-in miles, he began to get into the throttle a little more each time he threw a leg over the bike. Before long, he found that it only took a slight twist on the handgrip to send the front wheel toward the clouds, and he was having more fun than anyone has a right to. One of Mike's good customers, Nick Runeare, noticed just how much fun Mike was having with the bike and wasn't about to go home until he talked Mike into selling it to him. There was absolutely no way that Mike was going to part with this bike -- at least not in the near future -- and he was just about to turn down Nick's offer. Just then, a bright-red Z28 pulled into the parking lot and caught Mike's eye. As the sun danced off the deep metallic red paint, Mike turned to Nick and asked him to repeat his offer. A deal was struck, and Mike was last seen walking back into his shop, mumbling something like, "Yeah, a red one. I can see it now..."
GENERAL
OWNERNick Runeare
MAKE/YEAR'02 BMC Notorious 918
FABRICATIONBMC
ASSEMBLYBMC
BUILD TIMESix weeks
SIZE/TYPE100ci Evo
CASESRevTech
FLYWHEELSRevTech
RODSRevTech
PISTONSRevTech
CYLINDERSRevTech
HEADSRevTech
CAMRevTech
CARBMikuni
IGNITIONSpyke
PIPESWCC
YEAR/TYPE'02 Five-speed
CASERevTech
GEARSRevTech
CLUTCHPrimo
PRIMARY DRIVEPrimo open belt
YEAR/TYPE'02 BMC single downtube rigid
RAKE40 degrees
STRETCH6 inches
SWING ARMNope
REAR SUSPENSIONNada
FORKS'02 BMC
EXTENSION12 inches over
TRIPLE TREESOMP raked 6 degrees
WHEELS, TIRES, AND BRAKES
WHEELS
Front21-inch Ness
Rear18-inch Ness
MOLDINGSuspence Kustom Paint
PAINTERSuspence Kustom Paint
COLORKandy green
GRAPHICSSuspence Kustom Paint
BARSBMC
RISERSBMC
HAND CONTROLSOMP
HEADLIGHTLazer Star
TAILLIGHTBMC
GAUGESBMC
ELECTRICALBMC
FUEL TANK(S)BMC
DASHNone
OIL TANKBMC
FRONT FENDERWCC
REAR FENDERBMC
FENDER STRUTSBMC
PEGSOMP
FOOT CONTROLSOMP
SEATCorbin/BMC