Covington's Challenge

Rick Heape and Chris Mallard are friends first and partners second. They own a charter airline company that leases private jets to executives and helicopters for medical transports. Both get as much pleasure from piloting as they do riding around on their custom Harleys. However, they noticed that their H-Ds were not really turning heads like they wanted.

So, like any good Harley owners, they consulted with their local dealer and left with much more chrome in place, but the same style of bikes they rode in on. While sitting around the office one day, they were flipping through the pages of STREET CHOPPER when they noticed an ad for Covington's Cycle City in Woodward, Oklahoma. The bike in the ad was good looking, but Woodward isn't exactly around the corner from Mesa, Arizona, where Rick and Chris are based.

While wandering around the Laughlin River Run last year, they walked right into Covington's booth. After a lengthy conversation with Jerry Covington, the guys knew they had found their builder. So, they planned a flight to Woodward the following week to sketch out their choppers.

The three sat around the conference table at CCC and two lists were made. Rick and Chris wanted a lot of the same things in their bikes, but definitely wanted them to look different when people saw them. Jerry kept writing as the ideas kept coming out, and soon enough, he was ready to get to work.

Things got started by putting two CCC frames up on the benches. Rick's chassis was built with 7 inches of stretch in the single downtube and 42 degrees of rake in the neck. Chris got slightly different geometry, with 8 inches of stretch and 40 degrees of rake. Identical fork assemblies were built for both bikes, consisting of CCC 5-degree trees and 16-inch-over 41mm tubes in Perse legs. Both choppers would get the same rear suspension also: a Legend Air Ride system.

To give both bikes rolling stock, the CCC crew went to the back room and came out with two sets of their wheels. Chris got the CCC Envy wheels in a 21-inch front and an 18X8.5 for the rear equipped with matching rotors and a drive-side conversion. Rick runs CCC Sinner wheels in the same size and both bikes stop with a six-piston Performance Machine front caliper and matching four-piston rear. Avon tires roll on both bikes also.

When it came time to put in a pair of motors, some differences popped up right away. Rick went with a Patrick Racing 113-cubic-incher. It features all the Patrick goodies like round cylinders, lots of billet construction, and dual Mikuni carbs that wear CCC stacks. For Chris, another Patrick Racing motor in 125ci capacity was fit with a single 45mm Mikuni and a Wimmer stack. Both motors use a Crane ignition and MGS Customs pipes.

Backing up both Patrick motors are a pair of Baker six-speed transmissions equipped with PM hydraulic clutch actuators. Three-inch open beltdrives built by CCC and guaranteed to hook up thanks to Barnett Scorpion clutch packs are found on both bikes as well.

Next, the CCC crew was ready to do their favorite part of builds: sheetmetal. They built some smooth, tire-hugging fenders for the front tires first. Next, a set of gas tanks were formed to ride along the backbones, both fabricated to match up with the extended seat loop areas. Chris' bike was given a simple oil tank design, while Rick got an extra layer of intricacy surrounding his. Both back fenders are strutless and are short enough to accentuate the 250 rear tires.

To give the bikes some color, a couple different things happened. First, they sent Chris' frame out for chrome, while Rick got a coat of paint on his. Then Dusty at Pro Auto Body took over to add the color and style to Rick's bike, but Chris flew in Charles "The Kid" Armstrong to add his wild paint and airbrushing.

Final assembly went quickly as the guys flew in to help with anything they could. CCC bars and PM hand controls and Headwinds headlights went on both. Out back, you find Yaffe taillights and giving foot control are forwards from PM. Danny Gray took care of covering the seats with Stingray on one and Alligator for the other, and when the CCC crew slid them in place, both bikes were done.

Rick and Chris couldn't have been happier with their bikes. In fact, they were so excited that we planned on photographing them for the magazine in Laughlin this year, they decided they couldn't wait and sent one of their jets to pick us up and take us to Woodward to get it done sooner. Flying in a private jet is not a terrible way to get to work!