Just like back in the ’70s Street Chopper will again be playing around with and testing a few new bikes. Like Steve Stillwell, Brian Brennan, and other past editors of this magazine, we’ll be showing you chopper riders some alternatives for your daily commute and maybe even a new model bike as a foundation for customization.

Seems to me that a lot of people are rollin’ on what could be called “Performance Harleys,” bikes that have been modified from stock to be ridden at high speed for extended periods of time. Not that anyone out there rides faster than the speed limit of course, but bikes that are meant to really work for that style of riding. Harleys have never really been a “Performance handling bike” so to say. They work, but the suspensions have never been up to par with what they could be. The performance Harleys that I am referring to are mainly Dynas and FXRs, but can extend for sure to XLs. The 39mm Showa forks on these bikes are a decent fork, if you have the FXDX or Sportster sport fork you have adjusters built in, but, as is the stock 39mm fork needs a little work. I have always recommended a progressive wound fork spring and heavier oil for these forks as well as the various damper modifications out there to really get them where they need to be a suitable fork.

Fly Racing
Paradigm Helmet »

When we scored a 1950 Panhead motor on the cheap that had been through hell and back, we originally wanted to slap it in some sort of old H-D roller of the same vintage and get to riding it as soon as we could.

For years now guys have been ditching their front fenders and front brakes for the same reason Gloria Steinem ditched her bra: to stick it to the man, make a cultural statement, and be at ease in the breeze.

Fly Racing
Trekker Helmet »

Charhartt
B290 Twill Pant and S224 Twill Shirt

In this issue we are going to show what is called “Claying Pistons.” Basically we are checking the clearances between the valves and the pistons. This needs to be done when any high-performance parts, such as high-compression pistons, large grind cams, larger vales, or when the motor has been stroked. We are performing this process on a ’47 dual-carbed Knucklehead motor for a Bonneville race bike, but this process is the same for all motors. This Knuck motor has a lot of upgrades including 80-inch fly wheels, Sifton H beam connecting rods, Panhead barrels, high-domed Wiseco Pistons, a Leineweber 420 lift 313 duration cam, and 2-inch intake valves. As you can see, a lot is going in this motor, so to make sure the top end works correctly, this is what we did. STC

Over the past few months we have gone over getting this 1968 Triumph back on the road. Next on the to do list was to finish up the fabrication work to the rear of the motorcycle. Installed on the original front frame section is a 4” over rigid hard tail. So that means we have to come up with new mounts for the rear fender and the seat. First we had to decide what kind of mounting style we wanted to use for the rear fender. We could go with the classic chopper sissy bar or the simpler struts. We opted to keep with the low stance and clean lines that the bike already had with the stock tank and drag bars and went for a short grab bar style sissy bar.  SC

There are two sides to every story. For instance, to make your bike faster (and a lot more fun) there are two ways to go: Change and/or alter the engine components, or change out various other parts of the bike (like the wheels, tires, and frontend). The first Super Glide was an example of the latter—reduce the weight of the frontend by a 100 or so pounds equals “go faster”…bitchen’. In the case of the Super Glide, a Sportster frontend pretty much fell on the big twin chassis from a different side of the production line. A 2-into-1 exhaust system worked better than some thought, and the rear fender treatment made people talk. No matter what they said, good or bad, they talked about the “new model.” Another direction some riders looked to for lightweight parts was at the British bikes, mainly Triumph and BSA and sometimes Norton stuff. While some British bikes gave up their frontend for American custom riders, the British owners sought after and acquired 16-inch rear wheels and “fat” tires (5.00-16). Here, again, the H-D and Indian guys wanted the 18-inch rims with their skinny/lightweight Dunlops, found on the rear of British bikes.

We’ve had this ’87 Sportster kicking around the Street Chopper world headquarters for quite some time now and while at Sturgis our man Pat Patterson of Led Sled threatened to come out at give it a hardtailing. After a bit of pestering phone calls and email browbeatings from none other than yours truly, Pat flew out with his right-hand man Kevin Koeppe, and they sliced, diced, and TIG welded their way to rigidness in a little less than two hours. Follow along as we show you how it all happened. SC

Some styles will never die...even if they aren't the best idea from a safety standpoint-like choppers-but if it wasn't dangerous, it wouldn't be fun! Since the early days of cutting up perfectly good stock bikes, a spool front wheel has always looked good even if it's not the safest thing when braking is concerned and should only be used for show (i.e., use at your own risk!). For those who still want the spindly look of a spool hub there are a few things to consider before throwing on that crusty old wheel you found at the swap meet!

I have a roommate with an old Panhead that gets ridden-a lot! It's a neat old chopper that runs a stock wet primary with a chain...that happens to leak, which many people think is normal. To each their own, but what really gets me is that he is adjusting his primary chain once a week. So what do I do? Learning from his greasy mistakes, I put a Belt Drives Limited (aka BDL) belt drive in my Shovelhead! But this isn't another 3-inch open belt drive install. I am also weird because I like the timeless good looks of the '36-54 H-D tin primary covers on just about any old bike from the Motor Company. I was leaning this way on my Shovel now that it's kick-only and in a rigid frame with a ratchet top 4-speed-you know, simple. Well, factory tin inner primaries were never made for an alternator bottom end; that's where Paughco stepped in decades ago and stamped them to use a stock or reproduction outer. So with one part Paughco and two parts BDL with the belt drive and clutch I could get the job done.

Model: Kassandra Brooks