Good magicians and politicians both know one thing: The best deceptions are based on a little truth. These words of wisdom weren't lost on Jerry Jackman. In fact, you could say that's a big part of the general idea behind the bike he built for Douglas Gump. Jerry built this machine to look like an old stock Harley; he even used H-D parts for portions of the project (that would be the "based in truth" part). But here's the deception: None of the bike's parts were made before the year 2000.
It started when Doug came to Jerry's shop, Jackman Custom Cycle Inc. (JCC), in Gaithersburg, MD, for a motorcycle. He wanted a classic Harley, and, given Jerry's reputation, it made sense for Doug to look him up. Jerry's been building bikes since 1973, and during those 30-plus years he's acquired a skill set that runs the gamut of motorcycle tinkering, from restoring old iron to fabricating custom parts, first for his friends and later as a full-time builder. When Doug first contacted Jerry he wanted an old '49 H-D, which was fine; Jackman could do that. But Doug also wanted it to be a daily rider, and Jackman knew exactly how much of a maintenance headache an old bike could be, so he suggested a compromise. Why not build a motorcycle with the look of a vintage Harley but use modern parts for smoother riding and greater reliability? Doug gave Jerry the go-ahead, and the project was born.
Jerry kicked it off by building the rolling chassis. He ordered a frame from Chopper Guys with modest measurements, not only for comfortable riding but also to set the stage for the proper profile. It's a wishbone rigid chassis with 1-1/2 inches of stretch up and out, as well as 35 degrees of rake at the neck. Once the frame arrived at the shop, JCC added Ride Wright rims with Jackman's spokes and hubs shod in Metzeler tires (the rear being a 200 to beef up the back end a little). After that, they finished up with Harley-Davidson calipers and rotors to give Doug much better braking than he would've gotten with drum brakes from the '40s.