Customer Bike Spotlight: Rich's '74 XS650 Chopper

"It ended up being a father son project. My dad had lots of tools and a realy nice bike lift I didn’t have to go buy, so I asked him if he wanted to help out and it kinda took on a life of its own. Basically its all new bike... Besides the obvious chopping it in half  we completely rebuilt the motor, forks, brake calipers, master cylinders. Installed a new clutch, the old one was floating around in the oil... all new bearings. 

I also sandblasted almost everything on the bike and polished all the original aluminum, wheels, tappet covers, brake calipers, forks, etc . Installed new carbs , had to radius and bob the rear fender (your DIY write up was most helpful). Fabricated all the brackets, and sissy bar. Wired it with all new charging and ignition system. Then I picked out the colors and dad and sprayed it, he has been doing custom paint since the 70's so I figured who better.

Funny side story I kept kicking around color ideas and couldn’t settle on one, but had added a Lowbrow Weirdo t-shirt to an order I had just got and kept looking at it thinking black and green hmm... and so I ended up with what you see in the photos. I'd list all the parts i got from you guys but somewhere around 1/3 of your catalog bout covers it. Anyways just wanted to say thanks it wouldn’t have happened without y’all. Oh yea I am currently looking for the next project bike, I'm hooked !"

This Saturday....The Dixie Roundup!

That's right....finally it is time. The Dixie Roundup 2 is THIS Saturday in Vandiver AL. Larry and crew over at Garage Co Customs have set this event up, and it's gonna be a good one! Free camping Friday and Saturday nights, bikes, and I am sure a heaping helping of crazy times. Saturday morning there is also a group ride to Barber Motorsports museum and a guided tour sponsored by Biltwell. We hope to see you all there! More details HERE!

Customer Bike Spotlight: Kevin's Copacetic Triumph

"Hey! My name is Kevin Hawk I'm from Pensacola, Florida and this is my 1972 Triumph Bonneville. The engine was built by D and D Cycles here in Pensacola and the tank was painted by Fred @ Fulton Paint Works. A large portion of the parts on this bike was purchased from Lowbrow Customs like oil tank, battery box, stock headers, bung kit, rocker oil feed and inspection caps and seat just to name a few. I also decided to run a disc on the front but I couldn't stand those massive HD touring style hand controls with master cylinder that was the the size of a shoe box so I bought a set of  those tasty KustomTech polished hand controls. They work great and they are the perfect solution to handle bar clutter.  It was fun to build and a blast to ride!  I cant wait to start another build"

Just Kickers Bike Camp Out & Ride Davis, Oklahoma April 27 - 29 2012

The Just Kickers bike show, camp & ride is happening April 27th - 29th, 2012 at Washita Hideaway in Davis, Oklahoma! Get your bike dialed and be there. Stay in the know via the Just Kickers blog or Facebook event page.

Four Aces 2012 Bonneville Salt Flats Support T-Shirts

 

Wes White of Four Aces Cycle is a salty guy. Help him go set some land speed records by buying one of his limited-edition 2012 Four Aces Bonneville support t-shirts! This will be his 6th year on the flats racing his 1951 500 c.c. Triumph motorcycle. Wes has some interesting bikes come and go through his shop in Pacoima, including Stagefright, a dual engine Triumph drag bike campaigned in the 1960's in southern California. Zang!

W&W's Big Winter Blast Off: Sportster Ice Racing in Sweden

I posted last month about Ice Racing in Sweden, and our friend Wolfgang from W&W Cycles in Germany sent along some pics and a link a writeup of their efforts at the Orsa Speed Weekend. They brought a 1200cc Sportster bored out to 1460cc. Check out their full write up and more photos here. With a little effort and luck perhaps we can join them next year!

Now In Stock: Spectro Performance Motorcycle Oil

Lowbrow Customs is now stocking Spectro motorcycle oils. In addition to providing a high quality, performance product, Spectro supports our chopper scene and features builders in their magazine ads, and we are happy to be able to return the favor and support them in return. See the Spectro line of products here.

Salt Ghost Scale Model!

 

We received this email and these photos from Ulrich in Ravensburg, Germany last week. He had seen a photo of the Salt Ghost in a German magazine and started on this scale model:

"Hi guys! Just came across your website. Was looking for info about the Triumph Salt Ghost. I started to build a 1/8 scale model of the bike. It appeared some years ago on a German classic motorcycle magazine when it was rediscovered. The model is now 80% finished with many scratchbuild parts. The basic model is a Revell 1/8 scale Triumph T100.

I did many parts in aluminium (engine mounts etc) The tank was modified and the cylinder heads are also scratchbuild. There were no correct head in this scale. Wheels were respoked with thin insect pins.

I think it is close to the real thing Don´t ya think?

Greetings from over the pond
Ulrich Hoffmann
Ravensburg,Germany"

Milwaukee Murderer: Dual Engine Triumph Build Update 4-11-12

 

Work ensues on Milwaukee Murderer, my dual-engine Triumph land speed race bike that I am plugging away on, getting it finished to bring and debut at Born Free 4 in California on June 30th, 2012. I originally had a hillclimber style  H-D springer on the front, which looked great, but I opted for this NOS Metal Profiles 32mm fork from the early 70's instead, half the weight and better handling. Especially at speed.

 

Todd, in-house Tech at Lowbrow, has been working on assembling the motors. We are further ahead than this at the moment, however I just love this photo. 

Setting up the rear wheel with the quick-change Lester mag wheel, carriers, sprocket, 10-1/2" quick-change disc, and KustomTech caliper has been time consuming! One of those tasks where nothing is easy to find or even exists, and every bit and piece has to be made or modified so it all works together. This bike will have much more stopping power than my 1955 single engine Triumph race bike, though stopping isn't what I am concerned with, it's going.

 

A quick mockup, testing controls on the old Tommaselli clip-ons. Dead-man switch in case I come off the bike, KustomTech Classic Master Cylinder, Pingel micro switch as a kill, and a dual pull throttle. Lots going on there, but all necessary.

Hardtails for 1982 - 2003 Sportsters are GO!

David Bird has been working long and hard over the years to keep developing new frames and hardtails unlike any others made before. Now available are David Bird hardtails for 1982 - 2003 Harley-Davidson Sportsters! To view the ease at which one of these beauties can be installed on your bike viddy the install instructions here. Made to order in either looped (shown) or straight style, in your choice of stretch and drop. Does it get any better than this? $329. Get yours now.

Customer Spotlight: Noel's Alaskan CB450

 Noel up in Alaska sent us some pictures of his tins awhile back, and now we get to see the finished product! Check out what he has to say below:

 

"Hey guys.  I sent you a picture of my tins awhile back and just wanted to update you with the bike.. This is my first show and first bike ever built. Had a lot of help from great people here and there and I will continue to build bikes from this experience.  Just wanted to say thanks for the "tech tips" and having a great selection of products for my bob! The old school scene is very little up here in AK and this year we got a record snow fall of about 135 inches so we will have a short riding season. Oh well. Anyways here are some pics of the bike!  -Noel"

"Special thanks to Rusti's paint and fabrication and Hawyn9designs for helping on my first bike"

  

Happy Easter from all of us!

Happy Easter to everyone from the whole Lowbrow Crew! -Tyler, Kyle, Katy Bear, Greg, Todd, John and Jim.

Wil Thomas Born Free 4 Builder Video

Mark Choiniere shot this video of Wil Thomas, an invited builder at Born Free 4. Wil is building a '69 XLCH, can't wait to see it! The show is coming up soon, June 28th, 2012, don't forget to buy your poster and get your raffle ticket for a chance to win one of the two 1969 Shovelheads! You don't have to be present to win, and the raffle is open to everyone world-wide! ChopCult is handling delivery of the bikes to winners in the lower-48 of the US, international winners are responsible for shipping costs to their location.

Introducing: Redliners Racing International

I am proud to introduce Redliners Racing International. A group of six dashingly handsome, smart, and fast individuals who waste way too much time and money on the irrational pursuit of making old, slow machines go fast. An eclectic mix of men and their machines make up the group, of which you can learn more of on the Redliners Racing website. Follow the site to see new motorcycles being built, race preparation being performed, and speed efforts in full effect as we approach August and Bonneville Speed Week 2012.

Custom Tool Bag For My Panhead

I just got my tool bag from Tiffany Collins at Hammersmith Leather. I wanted to fill the empty battery tray on my magneto-powered Panhead chopper with a bag to stash some oft-needed tools in. She filled that want perfectly with this stout leather bag that fits like a glove. If you are looking for someone to do some leather work you can email Tiffany at Hammersmithleather@hotmail.com.