Wayne Courtright is similar to quite a few of us. He's been riding for years, and during that time he's had his share of motorcycles. Back in 1971, he built himself a chopped '57 Panhead. His creation had forks out to forever, a fat rear tire barely covered up by a bobbed fender, and a set of apes to hang on to. Wayne loved the bike and rode it everyday, but as with many aspects of life, things come and go. After riding his chopper for a couple of years, he eventually put it up for sale, it wasn't the easiest thing he ever did, but he did it nonetheless.
Fast forward to the new millenium: Wayne is itching for another chopper. It just so happens that his office is next door to HD Performance, a custom cycle shop in Vacaville, California, owned by motorcycle builder extraordinaire Harold Pontarelli. The combination of his desire to have another chopper, along with watching custom motorcycles roll in and out of HD Performance, was more than he could handle.
Wayne marched next door and sat down with Harold to hash out the details of his soon-to-be chopper. By the time the two parted ways, the new chopper was about to become reality.
Since Wayne's old chop was built on a Paughco frame, he figured, why argue with success. The new chop started with a Paughco that Pontarelli sliced into, then welded back together. It sports an upward stretch of a whopping 6 inches, and an outward of 3 inches. By the time he was finished, the neck ended up with a rake of 36 degrees. Pontarelli also spent some time hiding the axle on the Paughco swing arm before he attached it to the frame with a set of Legend Air Suspension shocks.
Not sure what to do for a frontend, Harold went to his storeroom and started scrounging around. When he emerged, he was carrying 16-inch-over tubes from Forking By Frank, Boyd's lower legs, and a set of his own triple trees. In what seemed like a matter of minutes, the bike was ready to accept wheels and tires.Wayne took over with the wheels and mounted a Metzeler 21x2.125 up front, and a monster 250x18 out back on a set of P.M. Player wheels that were complemented by matching rotors, and four-piston calipers.
Harold just loves to take flat sheets of steel and turn them into works of art. To this end, he hit the english wheel and started forming the custom fuel and oil tanks. By the time he was finished, he had a gorgeous stretched Sportster-style gas tank, and an oil tank that tucked in below the frame rails. A set of Wernimont fenders were thrown over the tires and clamped in place before a marker found its way into Harold's hand. He carefully marked out lines he would soon be cutting along, in order for the fenders to match the radius of the wheels. Out came the shears and grinder, and soon Pontarelli had the fenders looking as good as the tanks.
A quick molding job and all the parts were ready for paint. Orange glitter paint flowed from Pontarelli's gun, coating the parts with a beautiful basecoat that would be home to the cream and lavender flames.
With his racing days behind him, Wayne was looking for smooth reliable power. He wasn't in the market for a big-inch motor, but he wanted a motor that was strong enough to keep him easily at the front of the pack. So he ordered a fully polished 100-inch RevTech to propel the chopper. The all-RevTech motor was completed with the addition of a polished Mikuni 42mm carb, a Crane Hi-4 ignition, and a set of Samson 2-into-2 exhaust pipes.
To transfer all the power the motor had to offer, Wayne bolted up a Harley-Davidson primary that houses a Barnett clutch coupled to the shaft of a smooth-shifting six-speed RevTech transmission.
A couple of afternoons filled with work would be all that was needed to bring the bike to completion. Harold began by feeding the wiring and cables through the frame and the K&N handlebars, while Wayne kept himself busy mounting the P.M. hand controls, foot controls, and pegs. From there, he bolted up the Headwinds headlight before moving on to the Paul Yaffe Originals license mount/taillight assembly. When he tightened the last screw on the High End seat, Harold was making the final connection on the wiring.
Wayne jumped in the saddle, grabbed the bars, and hit the starter button. As he rolled down the driveway, he thought to himself how much he missed his old chopper, but now it was as if he never sold it.
OWNER Wayne Courtright
YEAR/MAKE '01/Special Construction
FABRICATION HD Performance
ASSEMBLY Wayne Courtright
BUILD TIME Three Months
SIZE/TYPE 100-Inch/RevTech
CASES RevTech
FLYWHEELS RevTech
RODS RevTech
PISTONS RevTech
CYLINDERS RevTech
HEADS RevTech
CAM RevTech
CARB Mikuni
IGNITION Crane Hi-4
PIPES Samson
YEAR/TYPE '01/Five-Speed
CASE RevTech
GEARS RevTech vCLUTCH Barnett
PRIMARY DRIVE H-D
YEAR/TYPE Paughco/HD Performance
RAKE 36 degrees
STRETCH 6 inches up/3 inches out
SWING ARM ....Paughco/HD Performance
REAR SUSPENSION Legends Air Suspension
FORKS Forking By Frank
EXTENSION 16 inches
TRIPLE TREES HD Performance
WHEELS, TIRES, AND BRAKES
FRONT.....................P.M. Player 21-inch
REAR.......................P.M. Player 18-inch
TIRES
FRONT......................Metzeler 2.125x21
REAR......................Metzeler 250x18
BRAKES
FRONT....P.M.
REAR..................................................P.M.
FINISH
MOLDING Harold Pontarelli
Painter Harold Pontarelli
COLOR Orange Glitter
GRAPHICS Harold PontarelliCHROME PLATING AND POLISHING Walker's Custom Chrome
BARSK&N
RISERS Built-In
HAND CONTROLS P.M.
HEADLIGHT Headwinds
TAILLIGHT Paul Yaffe
GAUGEs.............................Oil pressure
ELECTRICAL HD Performance
FUEL TANK(S) HD Performance
OIL TANK HD Performance
FRONT FENDER Wernimont
REAR FENDER Wernimont
FENDER STRUTS HD Performance
PEGS P.M.
FOOT CONTROLS P.M.
SEAT Hi-End