2000 LS-1 Custom - Lane Splitter

Las Vegas is a strange place. The days and nights seem to run together in an endless stream of flashing lights, slot machine noise, and an ever-present flow of traffic cruising the strip. Hop on a bike and roll around town, and you simply get caught up in the excitement, glamour, and traffic. Damn, there are a lot of cars on the streets of Vegas. And it gets really hot during a Vegas summer.

Counts Kustoms is a Vegas-based shop that turns out some pretty wild customs in all styles of the bike industry. Being in Vegas makes the guys who work there want to get out, away from the city and traffic, so they can ride bikes as they were intended. But in order to get out of town, a bike has to fit through all those cars. With that in mind, Counts went to work on its LS-1, Lane Splitter, to facilitate quick getaways.

The focus in this build was a long, narrow machine that would scream chopper but slide through long lanes of traffic. First, the Counts crew needed a frame, so they looked at a Chrome Specialties rigid unit with 50 degrees of rake and 4 inches of downtube stretch. If long is good, longer must be better, so they added a Sugar Bear 25-inch-over springer to the neck. With just those two items, they knew they were on the right track.

A pair of spoke wheels had been built just for this project featuring chrome hubs and spokes mated to red powdercoated rims. The 21-inch front was equipped with a whitewall Avon tire, a Russell rotor, and a GMA caliper. Out back, they stuck with the narrow profile idea and slid a 150-16 whitewall Avon on the rim with a JayBrake caliper squeezing the Russell rotor.

By eschewing the fat-bike style for a lean and mean design, the Counts crew knew they could use a moderate size motor and still have lots of fun. A brand-new 100ci RevTech motor was uncrated and slid into the framerails. The carb is from Mikuni and the cam RevTech, while spark is supplied through a Crane ignition, and Santee pipes bring the noise. It just made sense to drop a six-speed RevTech transmission to match up with the motor. The dual RevTech items are connected by an H-D primary assembly and a Barnett clutch.

Long and lean means never saying you have lots of bodywork. So, the only metalwork that adorns LS-1 is a gas tank and rear fender. The tank comes from CCI and was modified to fit the raised backbone of the frame. Out back, the rear fender and struts from CCI were tweaked a little bit before the Sparto taillight was incorporated. The barrel oil tank is straight out of the MID-West catalog and that's it. Nothing you don't need, just the things you do.

The frame went out to Mastercoat for a solid black powder treatment, while the tank and the fender were on their way to the in-house Counts paint shop. Both the fender and the tank wear a coat of satin black topped with red flake flames and some gold leaf for authentic old-school credibility.

Getting ready to split some Vegas traffic was as simple as adding a set of Flanders bars with CCI hand controls, a springer-style headlamp, Billet Concepts forward controls, and a Counts Kustoms seat. The crew connected a few wires, primed the oil pump, and started up the 100-incher. As soon as oil flow was confirmed, the bike hit Las Vegas Boulevard to start its career as a head-turning lean, mean machine.

Specification
General
Owner: Denny Roker
Year/Make: '03/LS-1
Fabrication: Counts Kustoms
Assembly: Counts Kustoms
Build Time: 30 days

Engine
Size/Type: 100ci RevTech
Cases: RevTech
Flywheels: RevTech
Rods: RevTech
Pistons: RevTech
Cylinders: RevTech
Heads: RevTech
Cam: RevTech
Carb: Mikuni
Ignition: Crane
Pipes: Santee

Transmission
Year/Type: '03/RevTechCase: RevTechGears: Six-speedClutch: BarnettPrimary Drive: H-D
Frame/Suspension
Year/Type: '03/Chrome Specialties
Rake: 50 degrees
Stretch: 4 inches
Swingarm: Rigid
Rear Suspension: See above
Forks: Sugar Bear
Extension: 25 inches over
Triple Trees: Sugar Bear