It seems that we will never be able to get our heads above water, we, the collective staff of HOT BIKE think aloud. Among writing all the pages (you read here each month), photographing the tech articles and feature bikes, and running off to motorcycle events scattered around the country, it leaves us very little time to do much else. And we're the same group of guys who put out our sister publication Street Chopper every other month. All of a sudden, we get caught up and someone says something like "Ya know, it's been awhile since we built a bike, how 'bout we get one started?" That's all the prodding we need and reply, "Yeah we're busy, but this sounds like fun, let's do it." Next thing we know, Howard's on the phone and in no time parts begin arriving.
Our latest project is designed to be a bit of a departure from what we normally do here. Usually the first and foremost item on our list is speed, second is speed, and third is -- you guessed it -- speed.
On this bike, speed would take a back seat to style. It was decided that a RevTech 88-inch polished motor would be the perfect mill. The modest displacement would provide plenty of power to its sibling -- a complete RevTech five-speed transmission.
Next, we needed to find a good-looking Softail-style frame, but one with a twist. We wanted to build on a rubber-mount Softail-style frame. Our search landed us at Gambler Motorcycle Company of Hendersonville, Tennessee. One of the frames Gambler builds is (what the company calls) the Innovation -- or in more technical terms, the G-2000 series rubber-mount wide-drive Softail.
The Innovation is chock-full of standard features which helps point the project in the direction we want it to go. A low Softail-style seating position is maintained while the Innovation shocks give a ride quality one would expect from an external shock bike. Also way up on our list is the vibration isolation that comes from Gambler's G-6000 rubber-mount system.
With styling concerns a priority, we contacted Perse Performance to see how they could help us out with some front suspension. They came right back at us with one of these Fat Hexed Long-Sleeved chromed frontends. The Perse Unit looks great coupled to the Gambler frame, and it boasts engineering and manufacturing features that make it one of the best performing units available.
Read along as we get to hang out with Charlie Lentz and Dave Donato at Lifestyle Custom Cycles in Anaheim, California, and begin building Project Gambler.
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Perse Performances Fat Hexed Long-Sleeved frontend is truly a thing of beauty. From the or
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After Dave removes the axle covers from the 41mm tubes and loosens the cam-locks that secu
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Prepping the frontend for mounting is a matter of loosening the lower tree so it may be sl
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A 3/8-inch Allen wrench is used to remove the stem. The lower tree is drilled and tapped a
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The internal fork stop has two different radiuses to choose from. Charlie decided to go wi
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The G-2000 rubber-mount Softail-style frame is placed on the lift prior to installation of
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...he drives it home, using a punch specifically designed for this purpose. A little greas
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It takes both of them, David and Charlie, to lift the front-end into place and still have
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As the stem protrudes through the upper cup, Dave slips the greased, tapered roller bearin
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With all the parts in place, it's just a matter of cinching down all the fasteners until t
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Dave test-fits the pivot cap to the frame (making sure the pin is on top). It fits into po
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...Charlie breaks out his die grinder, complete with a rotary file, and massages the metal
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After the pivot cap bolts are in place, the rubber swing arm isolator is placed on the pin
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Dave and Charlie mock-up the transmission and the swing arm to see if everything will line
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Out comes Charlie's trusty die grinder once more, this time with a cut-off wheel attached.
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A washer is used to space the swing arm away from swing arm isolator. It gets a little tri
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A few hands, and a couple of blocks of wood later, the guys get all the parts to line up p
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...and the other end is finally secured with a nut.
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Gambler's Innovation shocks are the secret to the great ride on this non-traditional Softa
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Not bad-looking, for our first day in the shop. It's easy to see the lines starting to com
SOURCES
Lifestyle Cycles
1534 N. State College
Anaheim, CA 92806
(714) 490-0155
Gambler Motorcycle Company
128 Volunteer Dr.
Hendersonville, TN 37075
(615) 826-7777
www.gamblermotorcycles.com
Perse Performance
(303) 761-1383
www.perseperformance.com
RevTech
Contact your local Custom Chrome dealer