2006 Westbury Handcrafted - Westbury Hot Rods Custom

When it comes down to it, a paint job can make or break a custom bike. Whether simple or flashy, paint is one of the first details that catch people's attention. They only look at fine metalwork, crafty engineering, or the hot chicks surrounding a custom after they've looked at the paint. As most builders can relate, painters also have hectic schedules and often are the folks turned to for those special favors in a time crunch. Greg Westbury, owner of Westbury Hot Rods (WHR) in Concord, California, was happy to finally return the favor and build the bike seen here for his painter, Kirk Kapfenstein.

Kirk has been painting bikes for WHR and essentially "making the shop look good" for more than six years. He doesn't cut corners when it comes to paint, just as the shop doesn't cut corners with its builds-color and metalwork go hand in hand. After years of handling "everything that gets thrown at him," Kirk decided to put his best brush forward and take on his own bike. Naturally he turned to WHR because "there is as much trust with the paintwork as there is with the metalwork."

To get an idea of the design concept behind this bike, it's best to go back to the shop's owner. Greg has been building hot rods for more than 15 years while delving more and more into the two-wheel side. Over the past few years, he decided to focus more on building motorcycles because "more chances can be taken." Greg added, "There's more of a creative outlet for me to do things with bikes than with cars." Going back to the design concept mentioned earlier, Greg likes to emphasize a bike's style and steers clear of building customs that will go out of style by next year. "I like a timeless build-something that's practical and will stay around for a while."

With that idea in his head, Greg set out to find a suitable frame to fit the monster 125ci Patrick Racing motor with a Mikuni carb he had already acquired. He went with a Rolling Thunder Softail-style frame with 2-1/2 inches of stretch in the backbone and a neck raked to 38 degrees. Suspension for the swingarm is handled by Progressive shocks, and in the front Greg used H-D Deuce forks with Arlen Ness triple-trees. A set of pullback bars was fabricated and fitted with PM hand controls with WHR risers so the clean lines of the bike continue to flow. A Baker transmission feeds power to the rear wheel of the bike, while an H-D primary drive ties the monstrosity of a motor to the tranny. Greg met Kirk's specs by eliminating any space between the Hotmatch Custom Cycles fuel tank and the seat area. He then modified Fat Katz fenders to fit the radius of the PM wheels with PM front and rear brakes.

After the bike's teardown (with the help of his friend, Mike Elliott), Kirk laid Candy Apple Red over the bike and added flame graphics. "I love this color when it's done properly," he said. "It's one of the most difficult colors to spray, and when it comes out right it really grabs your eyes."

Whether it's the paint or the excitement of owning his first custom, this bike sure has a hold on Kirk. He rides it as often as possible. We're just wondering how much painting he does these days.