Aaron Negherbon resides in Danville, California, and we met him during a Southern California show last year. Although his rigid chopper was finished a mere eight hours before the show opened, it was by no means a last-minute custom bike. Aaron and his friend, Scott Hultquist, who works at Riff Raff Customs in Livermore, California, worked at night for eight months to bring this bike together, from design to final assembly.
Their starting point was a Paul Yaffe rigid frame raked out to 40 degrees with 6 inches of stretch up and 4 inches out. Mike Maldonado built the 13-inch-over inverted frontend with 6-degree raked trees that serve as the suspension for this bike.
To bring the chassis to roller status, Aaron and Scott mounted P.M. Vintage wheels. Both the 21-inch front and 18-inch rear are shod in Avon tires, with a 200 providing traction out back. Braking also comes from P.M., and the drive-side conversion minimizes clutter at the rear wheel when seen from the right-hand side.
When it came time to build the powerplant, Aaron and Scott turned to Harley-Davidson for a Twin Cam 88 A motor. At least, it started as an 88-incher. By the time the motor work was done, the cases were the only unchanged H-D parts left on the motor, and it had been upgraded to a 107. JIMS flywheels with Miller Racing rods and Red Shift cams went into the cases and were later mated to JE pistons, Axtell barrels, and Zipper's heads. The valvetrain is mostly JIMS, with the exception of the Sumax pushrod tubes. Intake was increased using an S&S G carb with Thunder Jet kit and a Wimmer velocity stack. A Crane ignition gives spark to the mixture and a Mike Berg exhaust guides the gasses out of the combustion chambers. This powerhouse of a motor is connected to a Primo open belt primary and Rivera clutch attached to a Baker five-speed gearset in a JIMS case.
In keeping with chopper doctrine, Aaron and Scott kept the sheetmetal to a minimum - gas tank, oil tank, rear fender. Westbury Hot Rods created the chopped rear fender that keeps road gunk off of Aaron's back while also adding style to the back tire. A call to Independent got them a one-piece gas tank, and when it arrived, they added a flush-mounted Hot Match cap to it.
After some molding, the bike got the green light for green paint. But rather than just spray green onto primer, Scott laid down a House of Kolor silver base first, then reverse taped a flame pattern onto it so he could let some of the silver show through as fire. He followed up by shooting Organic Green Kandy Koncentrate clearcoating over it to give the paint scheme more depth.
By now, time was looming like a hungry vulture over Aaron and Scott. They jumped into the final build as soon as the paint had cured. Westbury handlebars were bolted to the top triple-tree and followed up with a Pat Kennedy internal throttle, Yaffe grips, and a P.M. front brake control. Foot-side, P.M. controls were teamed up with PYO pegs. Once the Headwinds light was mounted and wired up, the bike was crowned with a Sid Chavers seat and loaded onto a trailer for the trip down to Los Angeles. They got the bike to the show a full 30 minutes to spare before the gates opened. This was Aaron's first attempt at building a custom bike and it was made possible with the support of good friends, and a lot of nights of hard work.
Specifications
General
Owner: Aaron Negherbon
Year/Make: '02/Special Construction
Fabrication: Aaron Negherbon
Assembly: Aaron Negherbon
Build Time: Eight months
Engine
Size/Type: 107ci Twin Cam
Cases: H-D
Flywheels: JIMS
Rods: Miller Racing
Pistons: JE Pistons
Cylinders: Axtell
Heads: H-D/Zipper's
Cam: Gear Driven Red Shift 657s
Carb: S&S G
Ignition: Crane
Pipes: Mike Berg
Transmission
Year/Type: '02/Baker Five-speed
Case: JIMS
Gears: Baker
Clutch: Rivera
Primary Drive: Primo
Frame/Suspension
Year/Type: '02/PYO Rigid
Rake: 40 degrees
Stretch: 6 inches up, 4 inches out
Swingarm: None
Rear Suspension: N/A
Forks: Mike Maldonado
Extension: 13 inches over
Triple Trees: Mike Maldonado
Wheels, Tires, And Brakes Wheels
Front: P.M. Vintage
Rear: P.M. Vintage
Tires
Front: Avon
Rear: Avon
Brakes
Front: P.M.
Rear: P.M.
Finish
Molding: Scott Hultquist
Painter: Scott Hultquist
Color: House of Kolor Silver and Organic Green Candy Koncentrate
Graphics: Scott Hultquist
Chrome Plating and Polishing: Johnson Plating Works
Powdercoating: None
Accessories
Bars: Westbury Hot Rods
Risers: Westbury Hot Rods
Hand Controls: P.M
Headlight: Headwinds
Taillight: PYO
Gauges: None
Electrical: Scott Hultquist
Fuel Tank(s): Independent Gas Tank Co.
Dash: None
Oil Tank: PYO
Front Fender: None
Rear Fender: Westbury Hot Rods
Fender Struts: None
Pegs: PYO
Foot Controls: P.M
Seat: Sid Chavers