Chaos Cycle’s Sugar Bear-Style Chopper
1978 Shovelhead
Mark V.
George Stinsman is the lead builder and owner, along with his wife Dee, of Chaos Cycle in Long Island, New York.
Our customer Darius is a well-known photographer who has a strong interest in black culture and history of motorcycles. He came to us and asked us to replicate a ’60s-style chopper with some modern touches and immediately a Sugar Bear springer came to mind. I’ve been wanting to build a bike around one of his front ends for years.
Bare Knuckle Choppers Air Cleaner, Chaos Cycle Gas Tank
Mark V.
We started with a 40-inch over Sugar Bear springer with his unique rockers and had Anthony from Chassis Design build a frame to match. Then we took the frame and modified it to incorporate oil coolers in the downtubes to give a little extra flair to the frame and add some functionality. Once the frame was all set we placed the fresh Shovelhead in it along with the Baker Frank and tranny and went to work on all the bracketry under the transmission oil tank.
“The end result was an 11-1/2-foot-long motorcycle that anybody who has seen Darius can attest rules the streets of Brooklyn.”
Mark V.
After we got it up and rolling, we started to make the tins in-house. I had long admired a caliper Greg Westbury had made for his Biker Build-Off bike, so I gave him a call and asked him if he had anymore. Coincidently he had recently disassembled the bike and was willing to sell me the actual one he used. Next, we built a very minimalistic sissy bar and sat Darius on the bike to set the handlebars just right inside some Indian Larry throwback risers. We fabricated a seat pan and sent it to the best in the business for some leatherwork by Christian at Xian Leather, and once again he killed it. The tins went out to Ryzart for some candy magic paintwork. If you tried to follow the graphics with your eyes it might make you dizzy. Finally, we topped it off with a f—king gas cap from Speed Dealer.
One of our goals was to keep the bike as skinny and narrow as possible, so we made some tight-fit exhaust pipes shotgun style that were tucked in tight once everything was fabricated. We sent the frame out to Prismatic Powder Coat for some liquid black, and all the chrome went out to Bar Plating in Connecticut.
Darius is a tall guy so we were able to build a very stretched-out and raked motorcycle to fit him, as he is one of the few people who is even able to ride this bike. I’m only 5-foot-8, so I couldn’t even test ride the bike after it was done. We had to have Darius come do the shakedown runs as I made adjustments. The end result was an 11-1/2-foot-long motorcycle that anybody who has seen Darius can attest rules the streets of Brooklyn.
1978 Shovelhead with model Dani
Mark V.
| Specifications: | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Owner: | Darius Vick |
| Shop: | Chaos Cycle |
| Shop Phone: | (631) 714-4101 |
| Website: | chaoscycle.com |
| Year/Make/Model: | 2015/Chaos Cycle/Looong bike |
| Fabrication: | Chaos Cycle |
| Build Time: | 1 year |
| Engine | |
| Year/Type/Size: | 1978/Shovelhead/80 in. |
| Builder: | Chaos Cycle |
| Cases: | H-D |
| Cylinders: | H-D |
| Heads: | H-D |
| Rocker Boxes: | Chaos Cycle split |
| Cams: | Andrews |
| Air Cleaner: | Bare Knuckle Choppers |
| Exhaust: | Chaos Cycle |
| Transmission | |
| Year/Type | 2015/Baker Frankentranny |
| Gears | 6-speed |
| Clutch | Ultima |
| Primary Drive | Ultima |
| Frame | |
| Year/Type | Rigid |
| Rake/Stretch | 6 up, 4 out/51° |
| Suspension | |
| Front end: | |
| Length: | 40 over |
| Triple Trees: | Sugar Bear |
| Swingarm: | Rigid |
| Rear Shocks: | N/A |
| Wheels, Tires, and Brakes | |
| Front | |
| Builder/Size: | DNA/21 x 2.15 |
| Tire/Size: | 90/90-21 |
| Calipers: | N/A |
| Rotors: | N/A |
| Rear | |
| Builder/Size: | DNA/16 in. |
| Tire/Size: | 140/70-16 |
| Caliper: | Performance Machine and Westbury |
| Rotor: | Hawg Halters |
| Finish/Paint | |
| Manufacturer: | Chaos Cycle |
| Colors: | Gold, black, and green |
| Paint/Graphics: | Ryzart |
| Plating/Polishing: | Bar Chroming |
| Powdercoating: | Prizmatic Powdercoat |
| Accessories | |
| Rear Fender: | Chaos Cycle |
| Gas Tank: | Chaos Cycle |
| Handlebars: | Chaos Cycle |
| Grips: | Drag |
| Hand Controls: | Performance Machine |
| Foot Controls: | Chaos Cycle |
| Headlight: | Bates |
| Taillight: | Westbury |
| License Mount: | Chaos Cycle |
| Seat: | Xian Leather |
