This is one of those projects we have all heard about, conceived in a dark bar over a couple of longnecks with a random Hank Williams song playing on the jukebox. The kind of project that usually ends up sketched out on a beer-soaked napkin in the trashcan at the end of the night. But this beer-soaked napkin ended up going home with Bradley Ellis, and somehow he remembered what all the scribbled lines were in the morning. He also remembered that the main idea behind the bike was to build it as a traditional-looking bike using a late-model hot rod powerplant.
After he choked down a few Aspirin to ease the pain in his head, he headed to his computer and started shopping for the parts on eBay to build the "bike on the napkin," just because his curiosity was getting the best of him. Suddenly he realized just how affordable it was to build the little hot rod bike that he had constructed with his imagination the night before. And before long, Bradley was bidding on a complete rolling 1962 Sportster chassis and a crashed-and-burned 2001 Buell X-1. The Sportster chassis turned out to be too much work to make it work with the Buell motor, so it made its way back to eBay and Bradly actually turned a small profit on it.
Then at Daytona Bike Week in 2005, Bradley ran into Russell Ross, who had a custom chopper entered in the Rat's Hole Show. Bradley was impressed with Russell's fabrication talents, and before the end of the week, the two struck a deal to build the elusive "bike on the napkin" together. It all started when Bradley dragged all of his parts over to the 10x20 woodshed behind Russell's father's woodworking business where they would build the Buell-hybrid chopper together.
They loaded the Buell motor and transmission that had been freshened up by the crew at H&B Cycle into the new Paughco frame, and bolted up a 2-under DNA springer with a set of 16-inch spoke wheels from Buchanan/Lone Star Cycle. Russell put together a custom jockey shifter that has the clutch-lever attached as well as a set of mid-controls, custom handlebars, fender support, and oil tank. They modified a Paughco fuel tank and added a Crime Scene Choppers fuel cap, seat mounts, and engine mount, and reworked everything to make the bike look like an old school hot rod. Bradley was scouring eBay for the right headlight and taillight for the project, and boy did he find the right combination. Up front is an Italian Bennelli headlight with a Drag Specialties mini tach in place of the factory speedo, and out back is a vintage Ford Model A taillight complete with a blue dot. Once the bike was starting to look like a motorcycle and not just a pile of parts, it was time for all of the finishing touches.
Most notably is the paint that was laid on the bike's exterior by Bob, Brian, and Ed of French Kiss Kustoms. Then there is all of the flawless black powdercoat work that was done by Fred at Excel Powdercoating. The hand-tooled seat, battery, and coil covers were done by Rich Phillips of St. Louis, Missouri. And then there was the engraving on the ends of the oil tank that was done by Jeff Flannery.
The bike was finished up just in time for Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, FL, where it brought home a couple of trophies. That never would have been possible without
Russell Ross, everybody at Miller's Custom Parts, eBay, Rich Phillips, Jeff Flannery, Fred from Excel Powdercoating, the guys at H&B Cycles, Bob, Brian, and Ed from French Kiss Kustoms, Brad from Exile Cycles, and Bradley's ex-wife for the motivation to drink and scribble on napkins.