While Dayton, Ohio, might not seem like a hotbed of custom motorcycles, Pat Patterson and his team at Led Sled Customs are putting Dayton, also known as the "Gem City," on the custom motorcycle map. Dayton has a rich tradition of inventions such as the powered airplane, cash register, and movie projector, and boasts more patents per capita than any other city in the nation. It's no wonder that Pat and his team keep coming up with innovative, refined custom motorcycles. Even though Pat and his team dabble in Big Twins, their main focus is Sportsters, because they are affordable and, pound for pound, much more powerful than a Big Twin.
Pat and his crew have two signature bikes, the Impaler and Whiskey Bent, that are still on the road and have become widely known as Led Sled bikes. The Impaler, built over four years ago, was the first official bike to come out of the Led Sled shop. It has been to more rallies and done more flaming burnouts than any other motorcycle I know of, and it's still rolling. Whiskey Bent was Pat's way of pulling out all the stops. He cut the tranny off a Sporty motor and bolted on a Big Twin kicker and primary. Both of these bikes have helped solidify Led Sled Customs and Pat Patterson as a standout in the new generation of custom Sportster bike builders. This new build is not a cookie-cutter, bolt-together custom; this bike is a full custom, ground-up build, which was one of the reasons Sean, the owner of the "Gem City Cruiser," went to Pat to have him build the bike. It would be a one-off build, totally custom and completely affordable.
The story of the Gem City Cruiser starts, as with most good stories, with a girl. Sean started dating a girl who rode, and he had always wanted a custom bike. She turned him on to Pat and Led Sled Customs. Even though the relationship with the girl didn't last, Sean and Pat became good friends. Anyone who has spent any time with Pat knows that he is a pretty easy guy to get along with, so it's no wonder that he and Sean have become good friends and that Sean trusted Pat to build his first custom motorcycle. The process started in 2006, when Sean began giving Pat payments for what Pat terms a "donor bike." Pat found an '03 883 Sportster that was perfect for this project. The only things he was going to use were the drivetrain, rear brake, foot controls, and a few other incidentals, but by using a donor bike Pat could keep the cost down to a minimum. There was only a short list of items he would need to order, like a DNA Springer frontend, Mid-West 60 Spoke Wheels, a V-Twin headlight and a '32 Ford taillight.
Pat has always had the mindset that everything that can be made should be made. This was evident on his previous project, and the Gem City Cruiser was no exception. He started by welding up one of his Led Sled Qualifier frames that had 40 degrees of rake with 6 inches of stretch in the backbone, and 8 inches of stretch in the downtubes. This frame gave the bike a similar stance to Whiskey Bent, and reflected Pat's preference for choppers that combined modern styling with touches of old-school flair. After the frame was made, it was time to get the sheetmetal pounded out. Pat and his crew are one of the few that actually spin their own fenders and provide fender blanks to a lot of top builders. This gives them the flexibility to make fenders that fit the contour of the rear tire exactly.
The oil tank was a collaborative effort with the guys in the shop, and it seemed to fit nicely under the seat. When it came to the gas tank, Pat wanted to do something different, so he started by hacking apart a Sportster tank. After the sheet metal was fabricated and the bike was mocked-up, it was on to some of the details that finish off every Led Sled Custom. Pat made a set of billet grips and billet footpegs, along with the handlebars. He then fabricated a simple hand shift lever and foot clutch set-up. After mock-up, everything was torn apart and painted in-house.
The bike went through final assembly, and when Sean saw it for the first time he couldn't believe that it was his bike. It was similar to Whiskey Bent, but had its own details and feel to it. The bike rode so well that Pat mentioned it was a cruiser, and with Dayton being the Gem City...well, you get the picture. Led Sled Customs turned out another gem of a Sportster.