Model: Cherry Dollface
From the Fall 2010 issue of Street Chopper MagazineI have always dug old bikes, but I didn't have any friends or family who were into motorcycles. After thinking that I couldn't or shouldn't buy an old bike, eventually I decided to just say screw it and bought one to see what I could do on my own.
After some Internet and backyard searching, I got in touch with this old guy in Long Beach, California, who had a few old Triumphs in his garage. When I snatched this Trumpy Trophy off of him for a nominal fee, it looked pretty close to original, but once I got it home and started taking things apart I realized it had been wrecked pretty badly at one point. Luckily, I had it checked out by a couple of professionals and found that the frame was still straight after all these years of jamming gears.
The whole teardown and rebuild was a huge learning process. Remember, it was my first motorcycle, and I didn't have anyone to help answer any of my questions until I met Wes White of Four Aces Cycle Supply. That guy is a saint, and was incredibly patient and helpful with all of my questions and concerns while building this bike.
For the first four months of the build I didn't have a garage and had to do all the work in the bed of my old truck. In the process of the build I also taught myself to weld, so a bunch of the welds looked like shit 'til I fixed them and/or dressed them up.
The frontend is off an old Ducati, and the previous owner had a set of gold Akront MX rims put on along with gold bars and gold scallops on the original tank. He also had the side covers, carb, swingarm, and brake drum chrome plated. He had put quite a few miles on the bike including a few love rides with the ladies, but kept it pretty clean throughout the years he owned it.
My favorite parts are the taillight that Gabe at After Hours Choppers made for me out of my '63 Ford F-100 license plate lamp lens. The sissy bar was built by Jeff Leighton (STC, Summer 2010). In case you don't know who the hell he is, the man builds killer bikes under the radar. When I swapped out the gas tank, the one I used was black primer, but when it was pulled off and acid dipped, it came out looking all funky, so it stayed that way. I also ditched the gold MX handlebars and got a set of chrome Biltwell Friscos.
Once the bike was completed, there was one last hurdle 'til I was legally motoring down the highway. The registration was on non-op for close to a decade when I got it, but the DMV didn't want to let me use the original blue and gold plate that came with the bike. Finally, after a year of battling with them I got the pink with the original plate hooked up and law-friendly.
I have been ghetto blasting around on this bike for about a year now with little to no issues on a machine I built myself. I like to think that every time I kick it over an angel gets their wings.