Anyone who doubts that "it all starts with the first modification to your first bike," just has to talk to Jeff Carr. He grew up and still lives less than 10 miles from the Carlisle Fairground (Pennsylvania) that hosts one of the nation's largest bike shows and swaps every year. Jeff started by buying his dad's '94 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider then got to thinking it was time to make some changes to it. Of course, those changes became a new frontend, new tins, paint, and pretty much a down-to-the-frame rebuild.
Less than a year after that, half of his garage was home to a huge collection of parts, welders, and fabrication gear. He was rushing home after work from his job as a graphic designer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to hammer out some ideas with a Chandler Originals rolling chassis that he bought. There was a lot of down time while saving to buy major components. Jeff admits that being his first custom ground-up build, some of the steps along the way were done a few times over until they were done right. But, Jeff found the whole fabrication fun. The biggest problem he had was the electrical system and chasing down problems that made one turn signal work when the other lit the high beam, and that kind of thing. It all came down to patience and making the changes until it all worked right.
The paint process started with an Indian Larry Legacy dished tank and a custom camouflage layout that Jeff came up with. In his parents' garage, Jeff, his father, and neighbor, Mike Hutsky, did the bodywork and primer work. The painting and stripes were done in a paint booth at a local auto body shop in which Mike worked. They would go in on weekends when time permitted. One of the design details unique to this custom include a Mack Bulldog shifter on the suicide stick. The bulldog came from eBay. Jeff drilled out the back and installed a line-lock for the rear brake. Having a foot clutch, the line-lock helps stopping and starting on hills. Jeff also welded his initials into the homemade sissybar made from round bar found at the local Home Depot. The seat was taken to Neil Choquette's shop to be covered. Neil gave him the leftover hide to wrap around the handlebars and shift lever.
Jeff's effort to build this bike was well supported by many vendors and suppliers as well as family and friends. Says Jeff, "The best thing I found out was that these guys are just a phone call away, and their advice was a huge help. Adam from Chandler Originals was a big help, and the Club Chopper website had lots of good info, too. My dad is a genius when it comes to motorcycles and cars so I could always count on him to help me when I got stuck. We spent more than a few nights working on the wiring together. The guys at Vicious Cycles helped with the painful process of getting the bike registered and up to code with Pennsylvania's new custom build requirements."
The whole experience taught Jeff a lot about bike building. It's something he wanted to do for a long time. When you build it yourself you know how everything works. He wanted to be a part of every aspect and was involved in every part of the build: the welding, the fabrication, the painting, the wiring and the best part-the riding.
Anyone who's been on the fence about building a bike because he or she wasn't sure how to get answers when running into roadblocks shouldn't worry about it. There is help and advice out there. That advice, combined with a "slow and steady" approach to the build paid off. Jeff's bike won First Place in the Old School Class at the Bike and Rider Show during the 2008 Carlisle Bikefest. SC