It's no secret that something as small as handlebar selection can make or break the way a bike looks-especially when it comes to proper choppers! There are plenty of bikes out there with big, wide, comfortable bars, or ridiculously tall ape hangers, but why not have a set of bars that makes your scooter look good-not some over the top cry for attention.

Motorcycles aren't dangerous-people are dangerous. There are always those quick-to-talk individuals that bad mouth open primaries, but we'd bet it wasn't the primary's fault if something happened. It is up to someone to install the open primary drive components, adjust them, affix necessary guards, and in the end ultimately up to the rider to know it is there and how to ride accordingly.

Over two years ago, Greg Friend (ex Street Chopper editor) and myself were sitting in a lunch meeting with Keith Ball (the boss at the time). He asked us if given the chance to build a bike from the ground up, what we would build? Immediately ideas started flying through my head about my ultimate chopper build.

Get a Grip
The mad men over at Todd's Cycle have come up with the hottest grips for your ride. Each grip style blends old school craftsmanship with modern, state-of-the-art technology. Each grip is CNC-machined from either billet aluminum (chrome, polish, or black) or heavyweight polished copper. The Hole Shot, Moto Grip, and Vice Grip models can be ordered with a knurled metal finish or with a rubber sleeve for a little more comfort. Hidden Allen bolts are used to secure the grip to the bar.Todd's Cycle:http://www.toddscycle.com

Here at Street Chopper we love Sportsters. It's a great chassis to build a cool scoot without a lot of cash, and they're quicker and more agile than their big brothers. One downside to the Sporty is the sometimes-cramped riding position that is somewhat caused by the midmount 'grasshopper' footpegs. Some of the factory bikes come with forward controls, but they're kind of cheesey cast metal units. There aren't a ton of aftermarket foot control options available for XLs.

Rene Chavez is a godsend. The days of throwing a beanie on to get that vintage helmet with rotted-out padding to stay on are officially over. Primo's will reline your helmet to fit your head perfectly in no time and for just a little dough. He starts with all-new foam that is correctly sized to your dome and then covers it in your choice of fabrics from mild to wild. You can even send him your favorite bandana, pillowcase, drapes, or T-shirt and he will make the liner out of it. SC

Harley clutches are pretty hardy. They can and have taken hard knocks in their quest to deliver the power of the V-twin engine to the rear wheel providing the forward momentum. However, clutches are perishable. The fiber (driven) plates wear away, the steel (drive) plates can wear also, but the main cause or reason to replace a clutch is warping. The smooth operation of a multi-plate clutch is due in part to the flatness of the plates. When the clutch lever is out (or in the engaged position), the clutch springs press the plates together, making the rear wheel connection. Pull in the clutch lever and the spring pressure is eased, allowing the plates to spin next to each other and allowing the engine to continue running while the bike is immobile. Simple, right? That's true, if all of the components are in good working order.

"Is that bike done? How much longer? What happened to your build?"It's about time. It was built in 24 days-it just took 24 months to get it done. But that is what happens when you only get about one day a month to work on it.

Wth all the high-dollar customs on the market today, building a ground-up bike can seem like a daunting task. Jesse Greenhalgh of Huntington Beach, California, took on this challenge by piecing together a bike of his own. Having just become a proud new father, Jesse was determined to find a way to start putting together his bike without spending all his hard earned cash. He started with a frame from Kraft/Tech and a '99 H-D Evo motor. The tank is from Indian Larry Legacy, and the frontend is a '36 I-beam Springer that he was able to pick up from a friend. Shopping the local swap meets, Jesse found a '99 five-speed Softail transmission and a unique oil bag that matches the gas tank perfectly. His bike is rolling on wheels and tires from Midwest Motorcycle Supply.

Tere aren't many better experiences than carving your scooter on a midsummer midnight mountain ride. Cool breeze and the smell of nature. The solitude and lack of traffic can let your mind focus on what's under you, within you, and what lies ahead. Glowing roadside beacons often signal furry critters intent on waiting until just the right moment to cross the road. Does roadside grass taste better than the endless forest at their disposal? I digress-but animals and road hazards are easiest to prepare for by having notice. Even an extra 100 milliseconds may mean the difference between a cool campfire story about the one that got away (you) and the hospital.

This all started with the help from a phone call from a local builder Jason Wilson of Sacred Steed, telling us that he was asked to build a bike for the Artistry in Iron show in Las Vegas and had a few ideas that he would like to try. From the start, Jason knew that he was going to use a Panhead motor, build the frame from scratch, and use a leaf spring frontend. The only question was whether he could get the one he needed in time. He knew just where to go to get this done on time and just the way he wanted it-Kiwi Motorcycle Company. After he told us that owner Mike Tomas was going to build one the size he needed to meet the measurement of the frame he built, we headed out to Riverside, California, to follow along and see how it's done.

Choosing a new gas tank for your scooter isn't always the easiest proposition. There are a ridiculous amount of options-such as style and size-available. That's an important decision before even deciding on who and where to get the tank. Stock is...well...stock, and generally cheap and easy to get new or used. At the other end of the spectrum are full-on custom tanks, made to order for your application. That's great, but a custom tank might cost more than the basket case you're trying to assemble.

OK, so we have had this poor, neglected Softail sitting in our shop for the past year. It was so ugly that the only time it ever got ridden was when people from out of town came in and didn't have anything else to ride. It even sort of became known as the "Rental" around the office because of its status as the ugly duckling of the fleet. I really started to feel bad for the bike, and figured that something needed to be done to update the look a bit. So I did what any self-respecting bike enthusiast would do: I picked up a copy of Street Chopper and started marking pages with parts I liked on different bikes. After stealing sufficient ideas from bikes in the magazine, it was time to start collecting the parts it would take to transform the "Rental" into something much cooler.

I just want to start off by saying that my friends suck. That's because they always point out one of two things:One, my bike is dirty. Yes, I am aware that my bike gets dirty. In fact, it has had more oil changes than baths in recent months. But I ride the hell out of my bike and have been caught in the rain quite a bit recently. So why bother washing it when it is just going to turn into a muddy mess the first time I roll it out of my driveway?

In the last issue, we went through some of the steps necessary to keep your Big Twin, four-speed transmission shifting smoothly and staying oil tight. This time we'll deal with looking over the ratchet top for problems that would cause hard shifting or oil leaks, plus we'll show how to align or time the ratchet top to the gearbox. The gaskets we used came from the same gasket/seal set from last issue, which we bought from V-Twin. One of the keys we have found over the years to smooth shifting is careful assembly, double checking your clearances, and making sure all lock tabs are secure. But above all else, don't forget to put oil in. You won't believe how many people rebuild their transmissions, put them back in the bike, shim and align it to the engine, and then forget to fill them with oil. Don't be one of them.

"You're gonna need something to put your brains in!" My mother likes to remind me of this at a high level of decibels. Well, whatever it is, it might as well look cool, right? Right. This has been the decisive train of thought for centuries. Helmets have always done a little more than what they are supposed to do. Take a look at the ancient Greek and Roman warriors with their helmets adorned with giant Mohawks. What protective function did this have? None, but it sure looked tough. Even the Conquistadors' (no, not the GMC version of the El Camino) helmets were in vogue at the time they decimated the Aztec empire.

Working For Peanuts
Detroit Bros. has been stamping, shaping, and welding away in their shop to produce their vintage-inspired deep tunnel and Frisco-style peanut tanks. Although the tanks have the appearance of larger capacity, the approximate volume is measured at 2.2 gallons. Petcocks and gas caps are not included with the tanks, so contact the boys at Detroit Bros. to get hooked up.Detroit Bros. (866) DET-BROS www.DetroitBros.com

A couple of years ago, the crew at RSD looked out into their parking lot and noticed an alarming trend: All of the Softails that used to pack the lot had been replaced with Street Glides, Road Kings, Ultra Classics, and even an FXRT. The guys and gals who used to commute 40 miles a day on their Heritage Softails, Fat Boys, Bad Boys, Softail Standards, and whatever other configuration of Softail that they made have relegated them to the garage during the week. And now that the Softail models are old enough to be a lot of people's second bikes, and they are inexpensive enough to buy used, people are looking to chop them up a bit. So Roland and the RSD crew decided that it was time to do a line of parts for Softails that would actually make them look like stripped-down bobbers, but still be fully functional, dependable late-model motorcycles.

We got up early and went to the swap meet down in Long Beach, CA, last month, looking for a couple of things that none of our friends either had or would part with. As we wandered the back lot (past the grandstands) up one aisle and down the next, we seemed to be following a couple of young guys looking to buy a four-speed transmission for a Big Twin. The one guy who was going to be doing the buying would get all excited when he saw a candidate sitting in a seller's booth and would begin to rapid-fire questions at his buddy: "Whaduya think? "Do you think it's OK?" "What about that bead of weld?" Most of the time his buddy's response was "I dunno, it looks good," or "Go ahead and ask the guy what years it'll fit." We forgot exactly what year that transmission was supposed to fit, but it didn't sound right to us.

eBay is full of custom motorcycle parts. Some are out there in your face, while others are hidden in obscurity at the bottom of a milk crate full of junk...just like at the swap meet. One section of parts that receive a lot of attention is the selection of custom seats; specifically Bates solo seats. Bates seats have been bringing sky-high prices for a few years now and there is no end in sight. A Bates seat adds ambiance to the period-built bike.

Rigids are right-swingarms suck. OK, that's one school of thought. There is the visual of a rigid-frame bike, sitting low to the ground, with an eye-pleasing line from the steering head to the rear axle that just looks right, as opposed to the sudden squared-off look of the frame, ending abruptly just past the transmission, at the swingarm pivot point. As they always say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in our eyes, rigids just have that inherent beauty.