The story of the bike before you begins like many of your weekends: Just some friends sharing time at a show talking about what might be and what could have been. For the crew at BD Speed Shop, their short-term goal was to bring their already show-stopping bike that cluttered their office with trophies to the next level. Walking the rows of bikes, they took notes on what was grabbing their eye and what hadn't been done. Their observations led to the idea of a full audio/visual system in the tank on their show stopper.
When they got back to their shop early Monday morning, the ideas of how to make it work rolled off their tongues and onto paper. The shop's previous heartbreak-they lost a pop-up cap on a tank from a past build at the paint shop-became a blessing in disguise. They could cut up a perfectly good fuel tank and not feel the slightest bit guilty about it-it was damaged goods, after all! The excitement that the friends felt about the journey they were about to embark on was short-lived after remembering that the next show they had to be at was just two weeks away. Could it be done?
Over the next two weeks, the spare fuel tank was cut apart and reworked to contain small compartments for all the components. Boxes were fitted for the waterproof speakers, grills were water jet cut, and bezels of aluminum were made to cover all the compartments. The BD crew spared no expense, buying the smallest electronics possible to get everything to fit without using up all the space for fuel capacity. With little space left, the crew figured, why stop here? They decided to go all the way, and the GPS system was added to the already hectic assembly of electronics in the tank. How they were able to fit that many components into this tank is a magic a trick Houdini would be proud of.
The BD crew was burning the midnight oil. Every waking moment was spent completing the tank before the two week deadline. As the time grew close, so did the completion of the tank; after buttoning up the fabrication and electrical, the only unknown was paint and airbrushing. With a lot of help from The Little Hog Shop and some magic, the sweet candy raspberry and charcoal paint was laid on the tank and details finished just two days before the their deadline. The tank was done.
The tank fit perfectly on the matching raspberry powdercoated RC Components frame with a 6-inch stretch and 40-degree neck. Shoehorned between the backbone and the single downtube is an eye-catching polished TP Engineering 114ci powerplant. Holding up the chassis is a set of Mid-USA Big Uns forks and triple trees with a Progressive air tail making the ride as smooth as the lines on the bike. BD Speed Shop continued in their fabrication of front and rear fenders, giving the bike a little attitude. The aggressive bar raising style of the boys at BD Speed Shop is also seen in the wheel and tire combo that they picked for this project. The RC Components Gladiator 21-inch front was dressed with Avon rubber, and an impressive 330 Avon was stretched on the rim out back.
Once at the show, BD had some stiff competition with well over 300 bikes with many strong-looking customs to compete against. At the end of the day, after the stories had been told and the new ideas exchanged with friends, it was announced that the crew at BD Speed Shop had done it again as they were called up to accept the Best Of Show award. A little more room will have to be made in the office next to all the other trophies they've won in the past for all of the new ones they are going to pick up with their freshly modified chop