2003 Mid-West Choppers - Deadline: Daytona

While their customer, Jason Myers from New Jersey, was daydreaming of when he'd get to Biketoberfest and finally have the opportunity to pick up and enjoy his new bike, Chip Miyler and the rest of the crew from Mid-West Choppers in Illinois were burning the candle at both ends to ensure the delivery schedule in Florida for the show in October.

Mid-West never had a problem delivering its custom bikes on time in the past, but this bike was a tad different. As it turns out, after a conversation with Chip, we found that this is the first drop-seat Softail-style frame to Mid-West's design, and as always, to get the bike perfect, there were some issues to work out.

With any new component thrown into a bike project, there are small details that need sorting out, especially with the shop's reputation for high quality at stake. With the new drop-seat frame in-house, a T.P. engine was slipped into place and a JIMS six-speed transmission soon followed. In fact, most of the drive line and rolling parts and pieces fit together quite nicely. But a sharp bike is not about opening boxes and bolting on parts before calling it a day. The frame features a 5-inch stretched backbone and 8 inches in the front tubes with a steering head rake of 42 degrees, so the logical choice for holding fuel was an in-house fuel tank and a shop-constructed oil tank and rear fender. The drop-seat configuration of the frame dictated a departure from the normal oil bag used and a slightly modified design of the rear fender. The oil tank was fabbed to follow closely the flowing contour of the top framerails in the seat area, while the bottom of the tank was rolled to clear the starter, (you really have to look close to find the tank's mounting points and the oil-line fittings). The oil lines run under the transmission and connect to the tank near the swingarm pivot bolt. The rear fender was another small problem to overcome. It had to have the ability to support a passenger, yet just as importantly, look good while the bike was resting on the kickstand.

Building a fender to do all the preceding, plus allow for the unrestricted movement of the rear wheel, takes some careful thinking. Taking into account the wheel travel means you need some room under the fender, but you wouldn't want it to look like a dirt bike, where you can see the top of the tire tread. The guys at Mid-West built a nice, sharp fender, notice the radius of the fender to the tire and how the lower edge follows the curve of the wheel's diameter. Once the fender was contoured, it was welded to steel plate, which is bolted to the frame under the seat.

We could go on forever outlining the details of Jason's bike, but that would take space and the photos can do a better job than words. To check out some of the other bikes Mid-West Choppers has constructed, check out its website at www.mid-westchoppers.com.