CP Kustoms - Under The Radar

Like any talented builder, Chuck's friends (most of which were also big name wrestlers) began to take notice of the bikes he was creating and they would ask him to work on their bikes as well. "They'd ask me to stretch their tanks or make them fenders or do some paint work on their bikes," Chuck said. From there things began to progress as a couple of his wrestling buddies wanted ground up customs and Chuck was more than happy to build the bikes. He's built bikes for Dave Bautista and Rey Mysterio. "When I was building Rey's bike, I was thinking of his heritage. Kind of like a lowrider bicycle with a twisted 24 karat gold frontend. I used a Denver's Choppers twisted leg springer, then made the rear fender and twisted some square stock for the fender support to match. It's not really something I would be into, but its something right up his alley," Chuck said. The blue and black bike was built for Chavo Guerrero. "I pulled the drivetrain out of another bike Chavo had and put it into a West Coast frame. Then I flat bottomed a Sporty tank, made the bars, rear fender, pipes and added Ride Wright Wheels, Joker Machine controls and Chopper Shox for the seat. Actually I use parts from all those companies in my builds, they make good stuff."

One of his latest builds however was a charity bike that had nothing to do with his wrestling connections but tied in with his and his brother's service to our country. That particular bike was a red and black Shovel with jockey shift and a kicker, and was dubbed War Machine. Once the bike was complete, Chuck rode it from San Diego to Rockingham, North Carolina, where the bike was raffled off with proceeds going to Fueled for the Fallen, an organization that helps wounded veterans.

After looking at some of the bikes he's built it's easy to see, Chuck's philosophy is more along the lines of the less is more approach, as most of his builds are short and tight hardtails with minimal sheetmetal. It's also evident that Chuck has a great appreciation for the older styles of choppers/bobbers, but also likes to incorporate modern components and his BMX racing background into his builds. Many of his bikes feature Frisco mounted Sporty-style tanks, Ape or Baby Ape bars, and sprung seats. "I love BMX, so I try to incorporate some of those style components into my builds," Chuck said. "I used an old Bear claw-style pedal and made an adapter to fit the pedal to a kicker.

I also made some risers to look like old BMX style Crow Necks/Tough Necks. I used stainless shafts and I can make them for Springer of regular triple-tree style frontends." Some other components Chuck has been working on are cast air cleaners and more one off pieces like neck gussets, axle covers, and gas caps. "The sand cast air cleaners kind of resemble the hood scoops you'd see on an old dual-quad setup from the late '60s, basically it's just turned sideways. With the covers and stuff I just take material like thin aluminum or brass and I cut and shape it then I send it to, this amazing engraver, Heather New, and she engraves the artwork for me," Chuck said.

While he's still wrestling here and there, Chuck is putting more time and effort into CP Kustoms than ever before. Like any business in this down economy, the custom bike scene is feeling the pinch. But Chuck's head is in the right place and he is definitely enjoying this new chapter in his life as he left us with this comment, "The custom bike business is tough, you really got to love what you do, there's not a lot of money in it. Business might not be booming right now, but whether it's for me or for a customer, I always seem to have at least one bike on the rack, and I am always working on my parts line to keep me busy and help fund the business."