All you have to do is throw his name out in the industry and most people immediately could throw back what he's known for. Here, we'll do it: Mondo. If you consider yourself a motorcycle enthusiast, at least one of several ideas should come to mind about Mondo: his Springer frontends, original long bikes, and perhaps his title of chopper godfather, to name a few. Add to those ideas that his shop, Denver's Choppers in Henderson, NV, just celebrated its 40th anniversary, and now you have a guy who's been around long enough and knows his stuff well enough to teach us a thing or two (or hundred).
Why it's necessary for us to delve into a little of Denver's Choppers history is that the bike on these pages is a particular style Mondo is known for, and has been since the early days of the shop. Taking its name from the SoCal city San Bernardino, where Denver's was once located, this Berdoo-style bike was the shop's flagship motorcycle, the style that set the standard for many builders to follow suit. The Berdoo is based off the original style of the long bikes way back yonder, sports a Panhead motor, and, of course, a Denver's Springer frontend. This bike not only captures the roots of Denver's Choppers, it fostered an opportunity for Mondo to relive a part of his youth.
OK, folks, hopefully most of you will have a pile of stories to reflect on when you're kicking back (not over) in your rocking chair during your golden years. We're guessing one of Mondo's is going to be the story about this bike and taking back part of his youth that was ruthlessly stolen by a judge. Here goes: Once upon a time, high school teenager Mondo owned a car that got him into quite a bit of trouble. This '57 Ford Sedan Delivery caused Mondo too many tickets and he ended up before a judge awaiting his fate. "The judge made me sell it," Mondo said. "Back then if you screwed up real bad, the judge had power over you. You either went to jail or had to go into the military." Mondo went home...car-less.
Mondo may have gone home without his precious '57 Ford Sedan Delivery (apparently, few of these were made), but he never forgot that car, and intended to do something about it one day. He began a five-year search, but came up empty-handed. "It was on my checklist of things to do before I die," Mondo said. He talked to his buddy JD, who builds custom cars and hot rods out of Phoenix, and JD managed to find the shell of this car back East. After picking it up for Mondo, the two talked about doing a trade. Mondo was going to build JD a motorcycle, which is the bike shown here, and JD was going to turn the car into a hot rod. What wound up happening was Mondo was so excited about the car, he wanted to build it himself, and now it's near completion. "It all started with a car," Mondo said. "It's also kind of a history lesson between the style of the bike, it being our flagship bike, and reliving part of my youth."
The most important aspect of this bike is its Berdoo-style and how that originated from Denver's Choppers' early days. "It's also one of the best-handling bikes we put out," Mondo said. "The overall look of it for all of these years...it's a timeless motorcycle. It's always been in style and is not going out of style." With a kicked-out Denver's Springer frontend, low profile, sleek look of the Diamond frame smothered in candy green, and a 120ci Accurate Panhead between the framerails, this bike was a no-problemo swap for JD, especially since it became "a piece of history" between them.
So, if it weren't for Mondo's lead foot and a judge taking power of his precious possession, could the car and the story have come out as cool as it did? Nah, we'd like to think this one is cooler this go-around. Besides, JD got this sweet scoot and Mondo made out with a car and a Road Glide from JD. This for that, and then some.