'04 Wrench Custom Cycles Chopper - Big, Bad Bruiser

Brad Ruel was in a bit of a quandary. It was a dilemma similar to that faced by Wile E. Coyote in that try as Brad might, he couldn't get what he wanted. But that's where the similarity ends, for while ol' Wile E. was foiled by a stellar combo of bad luck and mechanical ineptitude in his unending quest for Road Runner sausage, Brad's creative talent and considerable metalworking skills kept him from his dream bike, because every time he'd build a bike for himself, someone would offer him an irresistibly huge wad of cash for it. Which, in the end, may be a good thing, since he owns and operates The Wrench Custom Cycles in Tampa, Florida.

However, with the building of this bike, Brad seems to have broken the chain. It's an awesome chopper and all, but he's bonded with this one because it represents everything he tries to incorporate into a custom bike and then some. Like all of his builds, this one was created around a frame he fabricated, and the rest of the bike was built with cleanliness and ridability in mind.

But the chassis for his personal chopper is pretty unique. While he set the tone for a long bike with the geometry (51-degree neck rake, 8-inch stretch up, 6-inch stretch out), Brad's signature is his frames, which feature trick custom gusseting in the neck and LED taillights built into the rear axle blocks. In this case he used a skull at the neck. But what really sets this particular frame apart is the fact that it multi-tasks by holding 6 quarts of oil, thus eliminating the need for an oil tank.

Which brings us to how he kept the looks clean. Bike builders remove parts from the overall mix for two reasons, uniqueness and cleanliness. Ruel fulfilled the first part by using the frame to hold oil, but he fabricated a smaller, cleaner faux oil tank/battery box that flows with the frame and back tire, so as not to leave an ugly gaping hole where the tank would be and by keeping it rather small in diameter - it's smaller across than the framerails. He created a nice touch to the bike that pulls in your attention but doesn't overshadow the rest of his ride. He also used an Exile sprotor setup to minimize clutter at the rear wheel, and moreover, he routed all of the wires and cables internally through a set of his own bars that feature built-in risers.

Although he wanted his bike to be fun to look at, he also wanted it to be fun for him to ride. Brad's real big on power, so he chose to go with a nice, big 113-inch pony-cranking monster mill from Patrick Racing outfitted with a Baker six-speed for smooth output to the rear wheel.

Having fed his creative urges and his need for speed, Brad turned his thoughts to the bike's finish, and since he didn't want to blend in, chrome was out. Powdercoating, however, was not. Pro Coat in Tampa laid down black powder on the cylinders, cases, fork legs, wheels, and handlebars for the blacked-out look. And while all of that was going on, Eric Warren shot PPG Blue By You over the sheetmetal and frame, followed by some funky black flame graphics.

After it was all put together, Brad's quandary was a thing of the past. He'd caught his Road Runner and was free to enjoy the fruits of his labors. Until, of course, someone offers him a check with enough zeroes on it to change his mind.