Crimson Custom

Rick Lutrel owns and operates a trucking company out of Bakersfield, California. Along with enjoying the services he provides, his customers, and the perks that come with operating his own business, there is a downside. You guessed it, stress - and a lot of it. One evening after a particularly stressful day, Rick went home, had dinner, watched some TV, and turned in for the evening. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, Lutrel finally drifted off to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he was a changed man, acting like a kid on Christmas morning. The reason for the change? During the night Rick had a dream, and the focal point of his dream was a beautiful red motorcycle. There he was on the bike riding away from work, leaving all his troubles behind. It was at that point that Rick knew a new motorcycle was in his future - and soon.

In a heartbeat Lutrel, was on the phone with his brother Mark and their friend Danny Erwin. Rick couldn't wait to tell the boys about his dream. As the dream goes, Rick and the boys build the bike from the ground up. It would be long, low, and wide; hot rod red with a lot of chrome and skulls adorning the paintwork. When asked if they were in, the two of them voiced a resounding yes.

After making what seemed like hundreds of sketches, Rick nailed it. The next day he saw the guys and showed them the sketch. It was just what the trio had talked about. Now was the time to put the plan into action.

Rick began ordering the parts, and as they began arriving, he started organizing them on shelves in his garage. Each time more parts would arrive, Mark and Danny would stop by to check out the latest component before asking him how long until they would begin assembly.

The morning the project was to begin, Rick woke up and brewed some coffee. By the time he poured a cup and went to the garage, he found Danny already out there getting things started. Danny has been wrenching on bikes and cars since his teens, so he just kind of took charge of the mechanical portion of the project.

Setting the Pro-One Millennium frame on the bench, Danny was ready to start turning some wrenches. The Millennium has a scant 2 inches of stretch and 38 degrees of rake. This would give the bike a reasonably short wheelbase and still keep the frontend looking good. Attached to the neck, a pair of Ness triple trees is home to a set of 2-inch-over 41mm Boyd tubes and lower legs. The rear suspension is handled by a torsion bar setup that Danny mounted by welding tabs to the swing arm and the frame. This made the torsion bar clean-looking.

Rolling was made possible with the installation of a pair of 18-inch Performance Machine Criss-Cross billet wheels. Mounted on the wheels are Avon tires. A 130 keeps the front rolling, and a 180 provides traction at the back. A pair of Ness four-piston ball-milled calipers runs, front and rear, putting the squeeze on PM Criss-Cross discs.

When it came time to build the motor, Danny lobbied Rick to get together with an acquaintance of his, a guy by the name of Lambert. Lambert has been building high-performance motors for folks in the Bakersfield area for years, his specialty being headwork.

The polished S&S cases, wheels, rods, cylinders, and heads were loaded in the truck and brought to Lambert's shop. Once there, the heads were treated to a porting and polishing procedure that Lambert had perfected over the years. With the lower end assembled, he slid the polished cylinders over the J&E pistons. The tricked-out heads were bolted in place, and the motor was finished up with the addition of a Mikuni 44mm carb, a Dyna ignition, and a Thunderheader.

To put the power to the rear wheel, Rick chose a Ness five-speed transmission. The polished Delkron case is home to Andrews gears, while a hydraulically operated Pro clutch gets connected to the S&S via a Billet-4-U 4-inch open belt primary.

None of the boys were all that adept at sheetmetal work or painting. So they all put their heads together to figure out if they knew anyone who would be able to help out. It was then that Rick remembered a guy who works at his company that used to paint hot rods and bikes for a living back in the '60s and '70s. The next day at work, Rick approached Sinbad (the past-life painter) and explained to him his predicament, then asked if he'd be interested. Sinbad responded,"Absolutely!"

Since Rick didn't have a spray booth, they decided to build one by taking half of his garage and lining it with plastic sheeting. Then they got a couple of large furnace filters, a fan, a little vent pipe, and voila! -- an instant spray booth.

Before painting could take place, the West Coast Choppers fenders, the Pro-One oil tank, and a 2-inch stretch Pro-One fuel tank were test-fitted. Pleased with the way the parts looked together, they were removed, and Sinbad got started laying down multiple coats of Mars Red. He then went to town with an airbrush, creating skulls, flames, and bullet holes. Once the paint had dried, the makeshift spray booth was disassembled to make room for the final assembly.

A set of Ness handlebars with built-in risers sits atop the triple trees as does the Ness headlight; the bars are home to a single Ness mirror and hand controls. Matching Ness foot controls complete the front of the bike. Visibility for the rear of the bike is provided by a Joker Machine taillight mounted on a Joker license mount. Rick built his own seat pan and had High End use it as an anchor for one of its custom seats.

With the bike ready for a test ride, Rick jumped on and blazed away. Returning a short time later, he was ecstatic when he jumped off the bike. He immediately walked toward the house, so the boys asked him "What's up?" He responded, "This worked out so well I'm going inside for a nap to see what I can dream up for the next one."