This may sound hard to believe, but there are not that many custom choppers on the road in Northeast Pennsylvania. With this in mind, Brad James, from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, started up a shop called James Custom Cycle Service to supply the growing demand for bike building and service in the area. While there were a few people that were aware of the shop, Brad wanted his work to reach more people and thought the best way would be to build a chopper to show what his shop was capable of.
Brad started with a Rolling Thunder Softail-style frame with 2 extra inches in the backbone and 5 in the single downtube culminating at a 40-degree raked neck. A Rolling Thunder springer extended 10 inches provided suspension for the frontend, while a set of Legend Air Suspension shocks smooth out the road in the rear. Bolted to the springer is a 21-inch PM wheel wrapped in an Avon tire. The swingarm sports an 18x8.5-inch PM wheel and a 250 Avon; both wheels are slowed by four-piston PM calipers and rotors.
Powering the chopper is a monster 131ci Merch stage III Evo-style motor. It arrived at the shop unassembled, and Brad James added the JIMS flywheels, rods, rockers, pushrods, and lifters. Also supplementing the Merch powerplant are J.E. pistons, Manley valves, H-D pushrod tubes, a polished Mikuni 45mm carburetor, a Huge MC products air jammer intake, a Compu-Fire ignition, and Martin Brothers exhaust pipes. Behind the motor is a five-speed Baker right-side drive transmission with anodized covers and a Barnett Scorpion clutch and Karata 4-inch open primary with an anodized inner that transfers power between the two.
James wanted to go all-out on the sheetmetal, but it had to retain the look of a chopper, so the front fender was nixed. He did spend some time with the Independent Gas tank, creating flush mounts for a smoother look. Out back, there is a James Custom Cycle one-off fender with hidden struts. The sheetmetal, frame, and a swapmeet headlight were sent to Al Buca for molding, then to Scott Franks for a House of Kolor Passion Pearl basecoat and metal flake silver flames.
When the painted surfaces returned to the shop, the final assembly began. A headlight found at a swap meet was bolted to the springer just in front of Paul Yaffe Originals handlebars with PM Contour hand controls and a mirror. PM foot controls and pegs were bolted to the frame and a Paul Cox seat was fit between the tank and the rear fender. Lastly, a James Custom Cycle License mount was bolted to the swingarm.
The bike turned out even better than Brad anticipated, and it only took a year of after-hours work to finish. Originally, James Custom Cycle started out as a service shop, but once people started seeing this chopper, his business became mostly custom work. There's nothing like filling the demand of a certain area. Thank goodness for the smaller shops throughout the nation.
SpecificationsGeneralOwner: Brad JamesYear/Make: '02/Special construction Fabrication: James Custom CycleAssembly: James Custom CycleBuild Time: One year
EngineSize/Type: 131ci MerchCases: MerchFlywheels: JIMSRods: JIMSPistons: J.E.Cylinders: MerchHeads: MerchCam: MerchCarb: MikuniIgnition: Compu-FirePipes: Martin Bros.
TransmissionYear/Type: '02/Baker five-speed right-side driveCase: BakerGears: BakerClutch: Barnett ScorpionPrimary Drive: 4-inch open Karata
Frame/SuspensionYear/Type: '02/Rolling ThunderRake: 40-degrees Stretch: 2 inches out, 5 upSwingarm: Rolling ThunderRear Suspension: Legends AirForks: Rolling Thunder SpringerExtension: 10 inchesTriple Trees: Rolling Thunder