L.A. Choppers has been bending the rules for a long time. From a clothing line that just screams attitude to bikes that make a statement just parked there, Johnny and the L.A. Chopper crew do things their way - no matter what the rules say.
As the owner of the shop, Johnny has a hand in everything that is done, from helping a customer design his dream bike and assembling the motor, to bending metal for a wild set of pipes. He got his start chasing parts and unbolting things for his father at 7 years of age, and has not stopped since.
With the ever-increasing popularity of choppers these days, impressing the tire kickers that come into a shop is getting harder for everyone. Johnny had a feeling about one particular guy who came back a few times asking some good questions and talking about some things he would want in a chopper, if he were having his dream bike built. It seemed like a challenge to Johnny, so the crew got started right away.
One of the big secrets around L.A. Choppers is its preferred frame geometry. It won't disclose it to us on any bike we shoot, saying that it is what makes its bikes different and stand out in a crowd. What we know about this frame is that it started out as a Rolling Thunder single downtube and was then modified heavily. The single-side swingarm (sense a theme in the chassis?) is an L.A. Choppers design that connects to the bike with standard Softail shocks modified with the shop's Big Red Springs. Up front, Perse hex legs and trees hold the long tubes in place.
To roll the new project around, a pair of Performance Machine Hustler wheels and Avon tires got put into service. The front 21-incher wears a P.M. caliper and 13-inch rotor, while the 250 rear has a driveside setup incorporated into it.
Moving the radical chassis was going to require an equally exciting powerplant. Johnny and crew have an extensive drag racing background, so they prefer to build motors their way. Starting with an unassembled S&S 124, they put their personal touches in place to assure no one could catch them. The lower end goes together as they all do with the exception of a BCR cam, and up top Johnny had some JE mushroom-style pistons with Teflon buttons created to go with the headwork and BCR valves he was using. The motor is fed by a modified S&S carb and Joker Machine air cleaner, and fired with a Spyke ignition. Expelled exhaust gases escape through a set of L.A. Choppers pipes.
To handle the output of the monster motor, Johnny went in search of just the right primary drive - something beefy and styled aggressively, like the bike would be. He found it in Kenny Boyce's new Shank primary, and Johnny sweet talked him out of the very first one and matched it up with a Barnett Scorpion clutch. Just behind the primary you find a Baker right-side drive transmission with lots of polish and chrome.
Now it was time to dress the bike up and make it stand out in a crowd. They started up front and fit an L.A. Choppers fender to the 21-inch tire, with just enough clearance for the tire to expand at speed. Next, they slid one of their new Big Dog one-piece gas tanks in place and cracked their knuckles in preparation of building the rear section. A one-piece surround panel wraps the barrel oil tank, then goes up to become a strutless rear fender, with strategically placed dollar-sign cutouts for added flair.
Speaking of flair, Johnny turned the project over to the L.A. Choppers in-house finisher/painter Chapo and left him alone for a few days. When Chapo declared the paint ready to view, the whole crew was blown away with the bright orange base and purple flames. They got fired up - no pun intended - to get the bike on the road immediately.