Big Time | 2011 Harley-Davidson Street Glide

Staring at this custom bagger built by John Shope of Sinister Industries (SI) made me flash back to the very first bike of John’s we ever featured. It ran in the December 2006 issue and the bike was a radical black and copper high-neck, drop-seat, S&S Shovelhead chopper with a wild exhaust and tons of attitude.

In some ways things haven’t changed much for John since that first photo spread. His creations still feature crazy custom exhaust designs and he still builds bikes that are on the extreme side. On the other hand, some things are quite different. Since that time, John has racked up numerous accolades including winning CMT’s Chopper Challenge, he relocated his shop to Phoenix, and instead of building wide-tired choppers, as of late John has been blowing up the bagger scene. Oh, and as for attitude, yeah his bikes still have plenty of attitude, and so does John—and that’s what I’ve come to like most about the guy.

It’s hard to respect people that think their shit don’t stink if they constantly turn out crap. John, as cocky as he is, has a right to be proud of his builds. In a short period of time, his shop has become well known amongst the bagger crowd. The bike’s that roll out of his shop are on the cutting edge of the bagger scene. In fact, if you take a closer look at many of the custom baggers you see these days, a lot of those bikes are rolling around with John’s parts, or look a lot like a SI bagger. As they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

We spotted John’s latest build, dubbed Big Time (note the front wheel), at a bike show a while back and as always were quite impressed. John informed us that the bike was a brand new 2011 Street Glide that was rolled right out of the dealership and into his shop. Then it was completely blown apart so that they had a clean slate to work with.

John likes to mix up his paint schemes. While the right side is covered with intricate purple airbrush work, the left side is almost completely gloss black.

John likes to mix up his paint schemes. While the right side is covered with intricate pur

In order to ensure the name Big Time fit with the bike John decided to install a 30-inch wheel, so out came the reciprocating saw and they began cutting, bending, and welding the frame to fit the massive components. The neck rake was kicked out, the backbone bent up a bit so the neck sat a little higher, then custom arched downtubes were welded in place to solidify the reworked frame. Next, a set of HHI 12-degree raked trees were installed along with 2-inch over fork legs outfitted with a SI air ride. Out back a SI air ride system was bolted up as well. A freshly cut 30-inch, five-spoke SI Edge wheel wrapped in a Vee Rubber was then slipped between the fork legs. At the rear a stock 16-inch wheel was mounted between the swingarm to give the SG a squat stance.

Skinning the bike, a SI 30-inch fender with custom-molded tips was mounted tight over the front wheel. Over the backbone a totally custom gas tank was fabricated to sit low on the frame and seamlessly taper back into the seating area. Atop the tank a dash was created to house a boost gauge for the Pro Charger that would be added to the engine. Next, a SI rear fender complete with filler panels and flush-mounted lighting was secured to the back of the bike. To match the long look of the fender, a set of SI’s stretched ABS saddlebags were added with Bagger Concepts Loud Lids. Actually audio plays a big part in this bike as SI built a custom chopped Tour-Pak with a 10-inch sub to boost the bass output. Up front instead of going with the standard Street Glide fairing, the fairing was converted to more of a shark-nose Road Glide style with a mix of recessed and ridged body lines for a completely custom look.