Whiskey had to leave his mark on the BDL open belt.
The coil/motor mount accents the green melted-down-looking paint scheme nicely.
Now that is a good-looking green. It looks like it’s straight from the planet Krypton!
Right about the time dressers were rolling into popularity, Martin Aguilar walked into Sanitarium Cycles in Ontario, California, looking for just the opposite. The chopper lovefest had peaked; tons of new builders were still looking to make a go of it, hawking chopped iron to anyone with the green to buy the dream. Some were saying that long choppers were starting the long fade out of the spotlight, but that didn’t deter Martin from getting his.
Well, sorta-kinda. Using a second mortgage to buy a bike wasn’t Martin’s bag. Instead, he hunted around for a reasonable shop and went with Sanitarium, partly because they were willing to work with him to build a good chopper for less than the federal deficit. The shop’s owned by a guy who goes by Whiskey; he’s a former jet propulsion engineer who was raised around motorcycles. For Whiskey, riding is a family tradition spanning three generations. It was a hobby that snowballed into a full-time career. He prides himself on clean and functional V-Twins for reasonable prices. Instead of one earth-shatterer, he builds lots of reasonable customs.
The key to that with Martin’s project was moderation. “We kept it in between mild and radical. I went in going for cleanliness. It’s not all overboard with molding,” Whiskey said. There also isn’t much in the way of one-offs on this chopper. Hand-fabricated, unique parts really personalize a bike, but they also gobble up time in the making and when you’re charging for labor you can be damn sure time equals money. Having said that, Whiskey chose the aftermarket parts for this project very carefully, so as to give Martin the classy and rideable chop he’d asked for. The sort of bike you can take to a show, then hit the road for a good ride afterward.
Choosing the right parts was foreplay for the main event, though. Once he had enough parts to get under way, Whiskey still had to make them all flow together into a unified design, and that was the real work. He concentrated on sanitizing it and molding it just enough to clean up the welds and make the sheetmetal look like it was made just for the Diamond Chassis. That sounds a lot simpler than it actually is; the same’s true of the paint. The bike oozes a darkness offset by green flames, but there’s a subtle glow to it from the candy green that went over the initial paintjob.
By the time the chopper was ready to roll, dressers were the next big thing. A lot of new chopper builders fell victim to changing trends, but Sanitarium wasn’t one of them. Whiskey’s reasonable approach not only made Martin Aguilar a happy customer, it also keeps Sanitarium alive and kicking.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.