When you're a small custom bike shop that is just starting out, there are two important things you should do to get the ball rolling and get people to come check out your shop. The first thing is to come up with a good name that will catch people's attention. The second thing is to
build a cool-looking bike to show off at the local hangouts and bike shows. This plan of attack was exactly what the crew at Mob Choppers in Ontario, California, had in mind when they decided to open a shop. With a name like Mob Choppers, they knew they already had a catchy moniker that would spark people's interest. Next, they had to build a bike; more specifically, a chopper that would stop people in their tracks wherever it went. After some brainstorming and a couple of rough sketches, they had finally come up with a design that they all liked.
The basis for their shop/display chopper was a Diamond Chassis single downtube frame with 43 degrees of rake, 4 inches of backbone stretch, and 8 more added to the downtube. To give the bike that definite chopper stance, HB Parts triple-trees were secured to the neck, followed by a set of 12-over fork tubes. To smooth things out in the rear of the bike, the crew bolted one of its Mob Air Tech suspensions between the swingarm and frame. Knowing that spoked wheels are always a must when building a chopper, the guys decided that a set from Black Bike would be perfect, especially 120-spoked straight-laced wheels. The front is a 21-inch hoop and the rear measured in at 18x8.5 inches. Both wheels were covered in Avon rubber with the rear running a 250. Mounted to the front wheel is a CCI rotor with a Billet Concepts caliper cinching down on it, while out back, the Mob team outfitted the rear wheel with one of its drive-side brake/pulley/license mount assemblies.
Once they had a roller, the next thing to do was figure out what they wanted to do about horsepower. One of the guys knew a guy, who knew a guy, that had an 89ci stroked motor -- made up of Delkron cases, JIMS flywheels, rods, and pistons, and S&S cylinders, heads, rockers, and rocker boxes -- that he wanted to get rid of. A deal was struck and the motor was taken back to the shop. Once the motor was dropped into the Diamond frame, the guys added an S&S super E carb along with a velocity stack. To spark the air/fuel mixture, they went with a Spyke ignition, and to expel spent exhaust gasses, they bolted up a set of their own Backdoor pipes. To get the motor's power to the rear wheel, a JIMS six-speed tranny, a BDL clutch, and an enclosed primary were used.
Next, the Mob guys added some definition to the bike with sheetmetal from Diamond Chassis. The front fender was mounted between the fork legs so that it just barely sat above the top of the tire. Some internal struts were added to the rear fender so that it would be able handle a passenger and still look clean. To complement the extended length of the backbone, a stretched XL-style tank was mounted so it rested high on the backbone. Lastly, the crew mounted a horseshoe-style oil tank.
Now that they had the bike mocked up, it was time to tear it down and send it out for some paint. The task of covering the frame and sheetmetal with some wet stuff was left up to Mild to Wild Custom Painting. After everything was molded and prepped, several coats of House of Kolor Red were applied. After the red had cured, the sheetmetal was dressed with some silver flames. Once they got their hands back on the painted parts, the Mob crew immediately got the bike back to its pre-paint status and ready for the final components. Up front a set of Diamond Chassis handlebars with built in risers were secured to the triple trees. At the ends of the bars BDL hand controls were added while down below Billet Concepts forward controls and footpegs were bolted to the frame. In the lighting department, a Headwinds headlight was mounted up front and a Mob Choppers side-mount taillight was wired up in the rear. After three months of build time, the Mob Choppers gang had created an eye-catching chopper that was bound to make people's jaws drop. The only thing they had to do before they could take the bike out for its first showing, was to get a seat made for it. Since there weren't any logos on the bike showing off who built it, they figured a custom seat with Mob Choppers embroidered into it would let the bike speak for itself, allowing them to just sit back and wait for people to come to them.
GENERAL
OWNER: Josh Piatt
YEAR/MAKE: '03/Special construction
FABRICATION: Mob Choppers ASSEMBLY:
Mob Choppers BUILD TIME: Three months
ENGINE
SIZE/TYPE: 89ci Evo
CASES: Delkron
FLYWHEELS: JIMS
RODS: JIMS
PISTONS: JIMS
CYLINDERS: S&S
HEADS: S&S
CAM: S&S CARB: S&S
IGNITION: Spyke
PIPES: Mob Choppers
TRANSMISSION
YEAR/TYPE: '03/JIMS six-speed
CASE: JIMS
GEARS: JIMS
CLUTCH: BDL
PRIMARY DRIVE: BDL
FRAME/SUSPENSION
YEAR/TYPE: '03/Diamond Chassis
RAKE: 43 degrees
STRETCH: 4inches in the backbone, 8 inches in the downtube
SWINGARM: Diamond Chassis
REAR SUSPENSION: Mob Air Tech
FORKS: HB Parts
EXTENSION: 12 over
TRIPLE-TREES: HB Parts
WHEELS, TIRES, AND BRAKES WHEELS
Front: Black Bike Wheels
Rear: Black Bike Wheels
TIRES Front: Avon
Rear: Avon 250 BRAKES
Front: Billet Concepts/CCF
Rear: Billet Concepts/Mob Choppers
FINISH
MOLDING: Mild to Wild Custom Paint
PAINTER: Mild to Wild
COLOR: H.O.K. Red/Silver
GRAPHICS: Mild to Wild Custom Paint CHROME
PLATING AND POLISHING: San Antonio Polishing
POWDERCOATING: Concepts Powdercoating
ACCESSORIES
BARS: Diamond Chassis
RISERS: Built in
HAND CONTROLS: BDL
HEADLIGHT: Headwinds
TAILLIGHT: Mob Choppers
ELECTRICAL: Mob Choppers
FUEL TANK(S): Diamond Chassis
OIL TANK: Diamond Chassis
FRONT FENDER: Diamond Chassis
REAR FENDER: Diamond Chassis
FENDER STRUTS: Internal
PEGS: Billet Concepts
FOOT CONTROLS: Billet Concepts
SEAT: Mob Choppers/Leo Suave