A year has passed since J&P Cycles built the panhead-powered raffle bike for the National Motorcycle Museum. Just as with last year's build, over the past two issues HOT BIKE has taken you through the steps in creating a ground-up bike-from mock-up, fabrication, and paint to final assembly. Again, the motorcycle industry has stepped up by donating parts and valuable time to create a unique motorcycle that will be raffled off, with the proceeds benefiting the Anamosa, IA, museum.
Through donations and fundraisers such as this raffle, the museum has expanded its collection of bikes to more than 200. All things two-wheeled spanning the entire 20th century are on display at the museum. It's not just the machines, but the people as well who are honored.
John Parham, owner of J&P Cycles and president of the museum's board of directors, summed up this year's project by saying, "The support of the motorcycle industry again on the museum raffle bike project has been fantastic, and the styling of this year's motorcycle is great. While the motorcycle has a very nostalgic flair to it, it incorporates all of today's technology and safety features, including front and rear disc brakes and an electric start. The finished product includes the best of both worlds, and we are very excited to get it out in front of the public."
A knucklehead-style motor and five-speed transmission, both donated by Custom Chrome, form the basis for this cool, retro bobber. KraftTech generously donated the rigid frame and, staying with the historical scheme of the build, the paint has a '50s theme as well. Most of the bike was conceived and fabricated by J&P's Jeff Wiley and Kody Wisner, with help from Shannon Appleby. Other experts were called in for various tasks, such as Jim Pearson from Performance Fabrication, who handbuilt the exhaust system; Chad Renken of Def Air Painting, who laid down the scalloped paint job and graphics; and Mary Ann Parker from Leathers Plus, who tooled the leather for the gas tank and seat.
Building a bike is usually a collaborative effort, even if many builders might want you to believe they did it all themselves. As with the labor involved, parts and accessories must be sourced from the experts in the field. A smooth-running, retro-looking 100ci, 4x4 (bore x stroke) knucklehead motor was donated by CCI, along with one of the company's five-speed gearboxes. This tranny, complete with an operating kicker (with cover by New York Choppers), appears to be a four-speed, but on the inside it actually contains five gears. BDL was called upon for the open-belt primary and clutch duties, and a Tech Cycles starter gets the motor spinning. All of the motor and transmission internals are also RevTech products. Rocker boxes contain the latest technology but resemble Harley knucklehead rocker boxes. On the outside, the gas mixer is a 42mm-bore Mikuni that breathes through a cool-looking Goodson air cleaner. Custom exhaust pipes with trumpet mufflers follow the lines of the rigid frame with an interesting over-under arrangement that adds extra flair.
Continuing with the old-timey look, the KraftTech rigid frame was dressed up with a stock-length DNA chromed Springer frontend holding one of the company's black powdercoated spoked wheels. Sixteen-inch Avon wide-whitewall tires roll at both ends and are slowed by PM brakes and Russell stainless rotors. To soften the road a bit, Kody added springs under the seat. In our last issue, we showed Kody creating the seat from scratch; now it's covered in brown leather that matches the insert above the split gas tanks. A nice touch was the addition of hard copper oil lines connecting the oil tank to the motor.
Trying to keep this bike retro-looking yet technologically modern, the paint job, motor, and wheels combine to keep that '50s solid-pattern look. Def Air Custom Paint was called to lay down the scalloped blue and white paint scheme. To add some depth to the paint, Chad Renken added gold pinstriping around the scallops. Each side of the oil tank received a National Motorcycle Museum logo, which was put under the clearcoat.
The drawing for this bike is December 27, 2007. Enter today-you don't need to be present to win. All donations to the museum are tax-deductible and help create new exhibits, obtain new bikes, and help with general operations. More information on the museum and getting raffle tickets can be found at www.nationalmcmuseum.org, or by calling (319) 462-3925. A link to the museum can also be found on J&P's website (www.jpcycles.com); you can also call (888) 994-7677. The museum would like to thank everyone involved for their generous sponsorship of this year's raffle fundraiser motorcycle: J&P Cycles, Def Air Custom Paint, Performance Fabrication, Avon Tyres, DNA, Custom Chrome, Crocker Motorcycle, New York Custom Choppers, Goodson Air Cleaners, Performance Machine, KraftTech, Milwaukee Twins, Wires Plus, and, of course, HOT BIKE magazine.