Metal Refinishing Systems powdered the frame, forks, and other incidentals. The tanks and fender were shot in metalflake black in conjunction with a special PPG dark silver blend for the tank scallops. Mike at Ironworks Cycles in Gaithersburg, Maryland, brought the paint to life. The frame with both tanks and fender mounted were taken to Rob "Caffeine" Timko in New Jersey. They set it up on the coffee table in Caffeine's living room, and he proceeded to lay out the tastefully understated crme pinstriping, complete with a low-key design on the front side of the fender, knowing that this area would now be visible due to the lack of an oil bag in the traditional placement under the seat. The tins then went back to Mike for clearcoating and finishing sanding, after which it was finally ready for assembly.
Meanwhile, Paul Ross, formerly of Charm City Cycles in Baltimore, was busy freshening up the motor and tranny. Paul reassembled the balanced motor with a set of Keith Black pistons topped with new S&S heads, retaining the original 74ci displacement. After replacing all the bearings and gaskets and installing a new Sifton oil pump, Paul then buttoned up the mill and turned his attention to the trans.He applied a little trick of his to the '65 transmission's main drive gear, machining the gear in order to accept a 5-speed bearing and seal. Paul found that when running a 4-speed trans with an open primary and no beltdrive motor plate that this modification strengthens the area considerably while keeping main shaft fluid leakage nonexistent. All non-necessary mounts were shaved and smoothed on the trans case, and then it was re-assembled with close ratio Andrews gears and a Sifton diaphragm clutch with green police plates. These two jewels were then connected via a 2-inch BDL open beltdrive.
She's fired via Chuck's right leg, as it should be. Chuck then topped off the combination with an S&S Super E carb with a teardrop air cleaner that was modified for a ram air effect and a polished Morris G5 magneto with a super trick aluminum magneto cap, courtesy of Weyland at Solutions Machining. This nifty little piece has a recessed O-ring, making water intrusion a thing of the past. A quick trip to the local megamart yielded a ceramic drawer pull knob, which when used in conjunction with a strip of spring steel from a pager clip produced a neat kill switch for the magneto.
Chuck then called on an old Sears Craftsman socket toolbox for duty as an impromptu electrical box where all the circuit breakers and light switches are hidden. As much of the wiring as possible was fished through the frame. A '70s-era industrial scag mower gave up its box end blade wrench for use as the shifter. An old Paughco three-piece downswept squish pipe set was ceramic coated silver by Performance Coatings in Eldersburg, Maryland, and then from a junk pile Chuck retrieved a set of old fishtail pipes that had given their tails to another project. A couple of $10 Tractor Supply exhaust flappers later, the pipes were finished.
A 21-inch Avon Speedmaster tire wrapped around a black powdercoated rim and hub up front, which were tied together with satin stainless spokes, and halted by a satin GMA caliper and a Russell polished rotor. The build was then completed with a matching set in the rear with a 16-inch Coker tire just to liven things up on high- speed runs in the rain.
Chuck sends special thanks and big love to his brother Xsspeed and to all his crazed brethren in the Lords of Mayhem. Last, but certainly not least, many thanks to his gorgeous wife and model Christy for her infinite patience in putting up with him, and to Chuck's young kids Alex and Lizzie, next generation chopper jockeys in the making.