2004 RB Customs Softail Chopper - Chopper Fever

You've gotta love a midlife crisis. Why? Because you can relive your childhood with all the toys you had as a kid only now; if you've worked hard and played it smart with the finances along the way, you have the cash, credit, or creativity to get them in adult form. And as we all know, the big-boy versions of even our most favorite childhood toys are a hell of a lot more fun. Case in point: a bike like this one. It was built by Roman Blum of RB Customs in Houston, Texas, for an old high-school buddy of his who wanted one of those midlife temptations in the form of a sick chopper.

For Roman, sick meant big dimensions with smooth looks and a touch of comfort thrown in. He started tackling the first part of that definition with a Softail frame from RC Components, stretched 6 inches up and 4 out, and raked 42 degrees to really kick the frontend way ahead of the pack. RB decided to have it made with a peaked single downtube and a spike built into the bottom of the tube - he wanted the chopper feeling a little ill from the frame on up. PM Seville wheels bracket the chassis; the front one set up with Mid-USA forks and raked trees, and both running matching brake setups.

With such a cool start to the bike, Roman's buddy didn't want to punk out when it came to power, but at the same time he didn't feel the need to overwhelm the bike with a 140-inch motor either. After all, there's having fun and then there's just looking unnecessarily stupid. The guys at RB found a happy medium in the form of a 100ci Ultima El Bruto mill that they hooked up to a matching six-speed trans, with BDL clutch and beltdrive.

At this point, big was pretty well handled, and comfort in the form of a Softail frame instead of a rigid had been touched upon, but smooth hadn't been hit on yet. RB addressed this issue with the sheetmetal. Using an Independent gas tank with flush-mounted HotMatch cap that flows seamlessly with the bike's backbone. Both fenders do their part to keep the profile clean by fitting perfectly to the contours of their respective tires. Once Roman's shop had finished the top fill oil tank, it was time to beautify the chopper. No satisfaction can be had out of a toy that doesn't captivate the eye, no matter what age you are.

The job of making the chopper owner-worthy went to Brent Lindamood, who laid down the flawless gloss white and House of Kolor Orion Silver giving this chopper a bit of a ghostly image. After the paint had cured, RB went on with the final assembly, adding its own controls and pegs at foot level, with JayBrake setups at both ends of RB handlebars for the hands.

Once the mirrors, lighting, and RB solo seat were in place, the chopper was no longer a project but a full-blown bike, ready to be ridden. Roman's buddy didn't have to wait any longer for his new toy and it didn't take him long to go and show it off to his friends. After plenty of riding, he has also entered the chopper in local shows. Hey, sometimes you gotta take the bike to show and tell.