Jailhouse Choppers got its name from the company motto. "An old school bike, if done right, looks like it could have been built in prison: Rudimentary, functional, and hardass." Lor and Harry take this motto seriously. Their bikes aren't decorated with axes, swords, or skulls. They don't really need that stuff when the designs speak for themselves. Lor and Harry take great pride in their work. In fact, Lor states that when a project is all said and done, he feels exactly the same way as an artist looking at his completed work on canvas.
Jailhouse Choppers believes in pushing everything to the limit and using what you can to get the job done, and many people respond to that attitude. They also respond to Lor and Harry-they're good guys who want to have fun at their job and not talk trash about the competition. There are a lot of bike shops in Savannah, and there is a lot of competition out there. But Jailhouse Choppers keeps growing because they are innovative and not afraid to take on a challenge.
One of the biggest challenges they faced was The Hinge. They wanted to build a bike for Daytona, but they didn't want to do anything cookie cutter. They wanted something that made people think of Bonneville Salt Flat racing and four-wheel-drive power on two wheels. They wanted this bike to have the Jailhouse Choppers attitude and style, and The Hinge has enough of both for two bikes. It took four months to build this badass machine, and every moment was worth it.
The engine is a rebuilt 1974 Shovelhead. The transmission is a Switch Blade with Jailhouse clutch. A lot of parts came from the carcasses of old motorcycles. Some parts even came from new ones. The powdercoating, no surprise, was done by Savannah Powder Coat Services. The only part that gave them trouble was the gas tank. Having little space in which to put the gas tank, they had to get it hinged. Using the mechanism on the hood of a Mazda 626 for inspiration, they built a custom hinge to keep the tank in place. That's how it got its name. Throw on a spare tire ring from an old Ford for the fender, and "hit it with a bolt of lighting," and what is left standing is one mean-looking chopper.
With the problem solved, they made their way to Daytona with their creation. They got there Friday night before the big show. The Hinge quickly became a legend. European enthusiasts fell in love with it faster than they fell in love with David Hasselhoff. They loved the hard, badass look of the bike. In fact, it has been on the cover of plenty of magazines on the other side of the pond. American enthusiasts took a bit longer to warm up to it, but slowly the creation has become success everywhere it goes. People just stop and stare in awe at the mean machine.
Unlike Dr. Frankenstein, Jailhouse Choppers is going to use their creation for good. At the request of Savannah Morning News, who consider Jailhouse Choppers their resident bike experts, the bike is going to be auctioned off at the first annual Savannah Bike Fest, with the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. They are hoping that The Hinge will help raise $100,000 for a noble cause, showing that not all mad scientists are bad guys.