Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is not a really big city, but the bouncer that owns this bike is. In fact, Mike VanHove is probably one of the biggest guys in Sioux Falls, which makes him pretty well known by those he doesn't bounce out of a bar. Mike used to ride a Dyna Wide Glide with a seriously hot-rodded motor, but he felt too big for the bike, and knew he needed a bike built to his slightly larger proportions.
Mike had done a lot of business with a little shop named Klock Werks in a little town named Mitchell, South Dakota. He knew that Brian Klock and crew were the guys to build his dream chopper. All they would need is some input from him, and they could take care of the rest.
The project started when a call was placed to Xtreme Cycle in Orange, California. They needed a frame that would allow Mike to stretch out, but still feel in control of the bike. After considerable discussion, they all agreed on a frame with a single downtube stretched 8 inches to complement a 40 degree neck and backbone with an extra 3 inches. Included with the frame was a set of Xtreme 6-degree trees which the Klock Werks crew filled with 14-inch-over tubes in Deuce lower legs. The Xtreme swingarm was suspended with Works Performance shocks that were set up to handle Mike's considerable size.
During the frame acquisition period, Kendall Johnson was busy building a motor that would offer Mike a little more power than his old Dyna. In fact, Kendall built one of his special 126ci motors that would deliver just a hair over 150 hp to the rear wheel. To get that kind of power, Kendall worked closely with S&S for components, and then did some pretty special work on the heads and valves before adding one of his own cams. Once at Klock Werks, the motor came apart for polishing, and then was reassembled by John Patton.
Behind such a powerful motor, there was going to have to be a strong transmission. A close-ratio five-speed Baker was decided on and it would connect to the motor that Kendall built with a BDL Top Fuel clutch and primary. With 150 ponies to play with, there was no doubt that final drive was going to have to be a chain.
Rolling the chopper around was another Extreme project, but a different type of extreme. While the frame was built by Xtreme, the wheels - a 21x2.25-inch and an 18x8.5-inch - were built by Extreme. Both of the Barbaric model wheels are covered up in Avon rubber. Stopping power is from an Extreme rotor and PM caliper up front, and an Exile Sprotor assembly in the rear.
Now it was time for the Klock Werks crew to show off. They started by building a tweak bar to ride above the Wernimont front fender that they had trimmed to hug the skinny Avon. Next, a set of Klock Werks Breaker Bars were installed so the Xtreme gas tank could be positioned on the bike. The oil bag and rear fender are also Xtreme products that got some Klock Werks attention before it was all handed over to James Mayer for molding and paint.
When the clear had dried on Mayer's artwork, things got really busy. Performance Machine Contour hand controls were mounted on the Klock Werks bars, a Dakota Digital gauge was installed in the mount, and matching forward controls were mounted. Lighting was simple - Headwinds in the front and Thundercycle in the rear. A Danny Gray seat was the last detail in turning Mike's dream into a rider.
One small problem was found when the bike was finished: no one at the shop fit it well enough to safely test it. Mike came down and fit the bike perfectly, so he started it up and went out for a ride around the block to shake everything down. When he came back around the block and nothing had come loose or fallen off, he waved at the Klock Werks' crew and just kept going, finally on a bike that fit him!
SpecificationsGeneralOwner: Mike VanHoveYear/Make: '03/Klock WerksFabrication: Klock WerksAssembly: Klock WerksBuild Time: Five months