It seems even with all the technological advances that have been made in motorcycle suspension, when it comes to building a cool-looking chopper, many people are forgoing the comfort of air suspensions and sticking with the old-school feel of a rigid. Pete Petri of Sandy, Oregon, is just one of those people. When he decided that he wanted to build a bike, he knew exactly what he wanted: old-school looks with the reliability of new-school technology sitting between the framerails.
Pete had owned several bikes throughout the years and had become quite competent at performing his own upgrades and modifications. However, Pete had made the decision that for his next bike, in order to get the retro look he wanted, he would have to build it from the ground up.
After procuring a Santee Extra Wide rigid frame, Pete collaborated with AHDRA National Pro Dragster 1/8 mile record holder Steve Dorn on how to modify the frame to give it the looks and strength he was after. The frame was taken to Steve's shop where they ended up chopping it beyond recognition. When they were finished, the backbone had an extra 5 inches and the downtubes were 8 inches longer, pushing the neck much higher off the ground than in its stock form. Pete didn't want a long chopper that required making wide, sweeping turns, so the neck rake was set at 31 degrees. Satisfied with the new lines, Pete took the frame to the basement of his house where he would spend the next eight months turning it into a rolling piece of nostalgia.
The first thing Pete did was give the bike its only piece of suspension, in the form of an H-D Wide Glide frontend with 6-inch-over tubes held in place with H-D triple-trees. To get the bike rolling, more traditional components were used. A pair of spoke wheels were bolted into their respective positions, with a 21-incher up front and a 16x5-incher bringing up the rear. Avon's finest handles traction, with the rear running a 200, and braking is taken care by H-D calipers and rotors at both ends.
Since he was building a clean and simple chopper with old-school lines, Pete knew that a 100ci RevTech mill would have plenty of power to get the lightweight bike moving at a respectable pace. When the motor arrived at his house, Pete hauled it down to his basement, then slipped it between the framerails. Next, he added a Mikuni HSR 42mm carb, a D&M Custom Cycle Spike air cleaner cover, a Crane Hi-4 ignition, and a set of Samson Big Gun pipes. To get the motor's power to the rear wheel, Pete went with a RevTech six-speed transmission along ith a BDL clutch and 3-inch open primary.
Now that he had something that was starting to look more like a motorcycle, it was time to give the bike its defining elements. To help him cut and weld the sheetmetal, Pete convinced his friend, Keith Harvey, to hang out with him in the basement for a few days. Nothing screams retro louder than an old peanut tank, and Pete was lucky enough to get his hands on a tank off a '75 Sportster. After moving the filler cap to the top of the tank, Pete went to work on the underside by cutting out the tunnel and replacing it with a flat piece of 10-gauge aluminum so that he could mount the tank to sit on top of the backbone. To give the bike a cleaner look, Pete relocated the petcock to the right side of the tank so that the fuel line would run straight down to the carb. As for actually mounting the tank to the frame, Pete spent several days making hidden mounts for the tank. He then positioned it so the front and rear of the backbone would be exposed, accentuating its extended lines. The oil tank and front fender were also H-D pieces that Pete heavily modified to give the bike the custom old-school look he wanted. After making some hidden mounts for the oil tank, the mounts on the fender were cut off and moved towards the front. The rear fender was a WCC piece that was cut, shaped, then mounted so that it hugged the top of the 200. To help give the fender some added rigidity, Pete made up some fender struts that went along with a pointed D&M air cleaner cover.