Our only excuses for our lack of STREET CHOPPER Build-Off material last month is the crazy bike show schedule and the restrictions of a 100-page magazine - we had a lot of material we wanted to get out to our readers a.s.a.p. Thankfully, I don't have to work very hard to get more done than "Old Man" Ernie; he moves slower than a handicapped snail. The one thing he does have going for him is I have more work to do, so I guess I should be ahead if I ever want to finish it.
After talking with anyone who would listen to me about my proposed bike, I found that I should get a lift first and foremost. At first I was skeptical because they seemed a tad expensive, but if you plan to do any work on a motorcycle in your garage, you should invest in a bike lift. The actual cost isn't that hard on the wallet when you factor in the back pain you won't have to experience in the long run. Unfortunately, I already have back problems, so I wasn't about to build a bike working on the floor of my garage. I called up Handy Industries to see what they had to offer for the long chopper I'm building. They suggested the Handy S.A.M. 1000 lift with a 13-inch extension (overall length with extension is just over 8 feet), a 1,000-pound capacity, and a maximum height of 30 inches. The Handy S.A.M. 1000 costs well under $900, only requires about 100 psi from a smaller air compressor to move it up or down, and features a drop-out panel in the back for removing rear tires. It will make your life a helluva lot easier once you get one, and you'll wonder how you ever worked on a bike without it. With the Handy lift in the garage I'd be able to tear down the Sporty that much quicker, but I was going to need something to put on it once the bike was in pieces.
I went over to Xtreme Cycles, in Orange, California, to see what they could do about getting me a frame. I consulted with Travis Hill, the owner, and he set me up with a beautiful 180mm tire rigid frame with 6 inches added to the downtubes, 3 inches added to the backbone, and 40 degrees of rake. The welding on the frame is damn-near perfect, thanks to one of Travis' top-notch employees, Marcio Umanzor.
Follow along as I put together the Handy Lift in my garage and check out Xtreme Cycle's precision frame building techniques.