The staff here at STREET CHOPPER has the privilege to testride the hottest bikes out there, from all the factory H-D bikes and all types of OEMs, to Big Dog and American IronHorse models. Most of the bikes that we get are in a higher price range of about 30-grand or so, leaving the broke guys like us out on the road with nothing to ride.
We were given the opportunity to test a bike that fits a budget closer to ours. The bike was the Lil' Bruiser from Revolution Speed & Custom out of Marietta, Georgia. The owner, Mike Kamalian, has set out to give the guy with a little bit less cash the same great production custom as the guy with a lot of money. Mike started out with two styles from which to pick, and from there you can mix it up, customizing one of his base-model bikes to fit and fill your needs.
The Lil' Bruiser High sports 12-inch ape hangers atop a retro Springer, and is powered by a 88ci RevTech motor, a six-speed RevTech trans, and a 3-inch BDL open beltdrive all packed in a Santee rigid frame. The wheels are a matching set of 40-spokes, a 21-incher up front and a 16x3.5-incher out back with white walls, if you want 'em. GMA brakes at both ends bring the bike to a halt along with GMA hand controls as well. Also available is a fully chromed retro Springer, with black an option as well. The gas tank is a 2.8-gallon peanut, and to help with the bumps in the road, the seat has two springs bolted on the underside. The list goes on, but like we said, the bike can be built any way you desire, we just wanted the coolest-looking bike, and with the bobber making a big comeback this bike will serve well.
The first day out, we put on just over 250 miles cruising the open desert road of our local Interstate 10 in California, and for the most part, the highway is not bad, just a little bumpy due to the cuts in the concrete for the rain, which we don't get all that much. With the bike being a hardtail, we found that a 1/2-inch and 9/16-inch wrench came in handy quite often, but that's to be expected. The next day we found ourselves and some of our friends out at our favorite watering hole. It was approximately a 120-mile round trip. This was a ride out to the coast along Pacific Coast Highway, which is where we met with a lot of guys (and gals) that loved the look and style of the bike. When they heard the price,
I'm sure a few phone orders were placed.
Over the next couple of weeks, the bike ran great and handled fine -- as good as a hardtail Springer could. With the bike being so light, the motor so powerful, and a jockey shift at your disposal, it is easy to pop the front tire off the ground and do burnouts to show off -- we had to at least once! With a starting price of $16,499, Mike and the team at Revolution Speed & Custom have a real winner here. The only thing we would cry about was sending the bike back. If we could, we would have liked a long-term test instead of the 30-day trial, so we could really beat the shit out of it and cruise a lot more places.