hot.bike@sorc.com

Describe yourself in three words.
Detailed, simple, humble

When it comes to finishing off a custom motorcycle project, there are plenty of tricks a bike builder or painter can employ to hide the minute and even large imperfections that may have arisen from not taking the time to weld, shape, or finish off the sheetmetal properly. Large amounts of bondo/body filler, metalflake, and layers upon layers of paint and clearcoat are a couple of tricks that come to mind. However, when a builder decides to go au natural, well…he better have his shit together and be on top of his metal shaping game, otherwise he’ll get laughed right off the block.

With the economy being as tough as it has been these past few years, you are hearing more and more about big bike shops closing down, probably because there aren’t as many people out there that are willing to spend the big dollars on a wild custom bikes anymore. You’ll also notice that a lot more people are doing work on their own bikes, taking a stock Harley and customizing it themselves, at home. One such person is Richard Balicoco, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii. A carpenter by trade, Richard has added a new title to his resume this year, part-time bike builder. Richard says that it all started with him just helping out friends, working on their bikes for fun. What came from that is this beautiful customized Sportster. This was the first full build for Richard, which ironically enough, came about from a dare from a friend. The friend dared Richard to build a bike with 23-inch front and rear wheels. Having never seen it done before, Richard thought it would be something really cool to try, and with that, he started to put this build into motion.

Yes, I know. “Skull Glide” sounds like what Ghost Rider might mount once he gives up his chopper. In reality, though, it’s a sweet ’09 Street Glide decked out in, well, skulls. Covington’s Customs tricked it out to show off its new Machine Head parts line, just in time for Daytona Bike Week in 2011.

After Harley-Davidson launched its Softail Blackline, many motorcycle forums griped that the Motor Company was fresh out of ideas. Multiple blog/forum posts would question whether or not Harley had jumped the shark, saying that it just revamps regular models by switching a few things and there you have it, a new motorcycle is born. After our time with the Blackline, Harley’s Dark Custom is probably one of our favorite Softails—maybe even Harleys—in the fleet.

Just the Facts Engine103ci Twin Cam TransSix-speed Cruise Drive Length105.8 inches Wheelbase66.6 inches Seat Height (laden)26 3/4 inches Fuel Capacity6 gallons Weight (as shipped)1,091 pounds harleydavidson.com

“It’s pretty easy to get that 97-inch engine up to 100-plus hp with 115 or more lb-ft of torque,” Jamie says. That’s a stout runner. And once again, something totally reliable.

Describe yourself in three words?
Modest. Happy-Go-Lucky. Busy.

If you recall a few years ago, the proliferation of custom bike builders popping up all over the country and everyone cashing in on their overpriced houses had people dumping their used Harleys for next to nothing to get a leg over the custom bike of their dreams. It wasn’t too long ago a guy could cruise the Cycle Trader, Craigslist, or eBay and find dozens of smoking deals on used Harleys. While the busted economy also helped dump a ton of used Harleys onto the market, it seems more and more people have caught onto this trend, making those smoking deals a little bit harder to find.

With more than 30 years of experience, Kirk VanScoten has had his hands in just about every facet of the motorcycle industry. From working as a freelance editor for HOT BIKE in his early days, as well as building bikes that have graced the pages and cover of HOT BIKE, to manufacturing and supplying fenders, saddlebags, spark plug wires, battery cables, and industry-leading powdercoating services all through his company, Sumax, Kirk has seen more and done more in this industry than most people will ever imagine. In fact, it was a stint in the motorcycle frame business with a friend back in the '90s that helped the purple powdercoated beauty before you come to be, albeit it took more than a decade for the bike to hit the streets.

For me, having a ground-up custom designed and built by Tom Foster was the realization of a life-long ambition. Tom and I have been friends for nearly 25 years, since back when he worked at Boeing and I was just a scrawny 15-year-old kid playing drums in heavy metal bands. This was back when Tom still had some surface area on his body that wasn’t tattooed, and I had yet to have a tattoo gun drill into my virgin skin. I held Tom’s son the day he came home from the hospital, and we’ve helped each other through broken relationships, the loss of family members, and many other ups and downs that are too numerous to list here. Tom has always been like an outlaw older brother for me. My family is straight-up “suburbia” from the South Bay area . Tom is straight-up East L.A. “OG,” by way of Chino. It was Tom who turned me on to choppers, bringing his latest creations by my house whenever he’d complete them. For me, there was nothing like the roar of those motors out on 124th St. in Hawthorne, California, as Tom laid into a burnout before blasting off to wherever he was headed. Anyone who knows Tom and his bikes, knows that they are designed for riding and riding hard. Don’t be mistaken, his bikes “show” well too. But with Tom, it’s about bikes that perform in a manner that I would best describe as “violent precision.” Tom’s bikes command respect, plain and simple.

In the past couple of months we have been showing you the build progress of the National Motorcycle Museum’s (NMM) Knucklehead-powered giveaway bike. For years the NMM has been raffling off bikes and for good reason. The proceeds of this era-correct custom motorcycle go on to fund the NMM so there is a place where this country’s two-wheeled history can be honored and cared for in the proper manner.

Confederate Motorcycles has been in the game since 1991 when it produced its first motorcycle, the Hellcat. CEO/Founder Matt Chambers grew tired of arguing law and decided to do something more soulfully beneficial. Fast-forward to today, Confederate’s third-generation C3 X132 Hellcat is going to be one pretty kitty.

The biggest complaint about those ’07-later Harleys, and it’s no secret, is their lack of low-end power. No sugar coating, these bikes are sluggish around town and it’s especially noticeable with the baggers. Don’t despair. There are a couple easy bolt-ons to address that complaint and the guys at Speed’s Performance Plus (SPP), who tune and hop-up thousands of these bikes every year, have some solutions.

Email your submissions to: Hot.Bike@sorc.com. Or snail mail to: HB Reader’s Showcase 1733 Alton Parkway, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92606. Please include hi-res jpegs, your name, hometown, email, phone #, bike year/model, engine size, frame, wheels, sheetmetal, painter, custom accessories, and anything else interesting about your bike.

Describe yourself in three words?
Artistic, creative, father.

Editor’s Note: While it’s only been around and widely used by the masses for a relatively short period of time, the internet has had a major impact on many aspects of our lives. You might not immediately think of the internet when you think of custom motorcycles, but the web has actually played a significant role in our industry. Before the internet, bike builders and customizers often relied on their local network of friends and riding buddies to drop by the shop or garage to shoot the shit, check out their latest build/modification, offer a helping hand, or throw in their two cents on the latest project/achievement. Now however, with the popularity of social media sites like forums and blogs, a builder can post a pic of his latest mod or part install and immediately have responses from all over the world. Whereas before customizing or building a bike was a bond that could only be shared amongst those in your immediate area, the internet has allowed builders the opportunity to let the world slip into their shop, pull up a chair, and watch over their shoulder as they toil away on their bikes.

Things have definitely changed in the custom motorcycle industry. Well, maybe not so much changed as the industry has just reverted back to its roots of taking a stock Harley and completely giving it a new look, just as the early customizers and bike builders used to do. While customizing or rebuilding a stock Harley never went out of fashion, the prevalence of aftermarket frame manufacturers and a high flow of discretionary income made scratch-built/ground-up custom builds the hot trend for many years. Now that all the money trees have been whittled down to toothpicks, and the big-bucks bike builds have slowly withered away, enthusiasts are looking into the corner of their garage at that old Harley they stored away and envisioning a new life for an old friend. In fact, that’s pretty much how this bike came to be.

What do you name your bike when your A-list of brothers is Barry, Foy, Pete, and Chris from Accurate Engineering, “club” members Rogue and Buzz, Scott from Corrupted Concepts, Billy from Choppers Inc., Nicky from Nicky Bootz Customs, and Wayne, Jeff, and Tree from Southern V-Twin? The only appropriate name I could think of for this bike was “Guilty by Association.”