Choppers
Inc. - Billy Lane
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Fifty Percent
Not as Good as Billy Wanted
By Howard Kelly
Billy Lane and his Melbourne, Florida-based, Choppers Inc.
shop have been pretty well-known in the custom world for years
now. But, thanks to the Discovery Channel and the Biker Build-Off
series, Billy is selling T-shirts to many people who would
never have heard of him before: the non-riding, television-watching
public.
Last year, Billy was asked to do a show that pit him against
one of the oldest names in custom bikes -- Dave Perewitz --
not too long after his initial build against Roger Bourget.
Billy knew from his last go-round the pressure is on when you
can only work on a bike when the camera is rolling, and you
have a 30-day window to complete the project. He knew it would
be close, and this bike would only incorporate 50 percent of
the ideas he had because there was not time to pull off any
more.
When the flag dropped and Billy got the go-ahead to start building,
he turned to his righthand man, Nick, for constant assistance.
They started with a Choppers Inc. Down and Dirty rigid frame
that was built to radical proportions, 50 degrees of rake
and 6 inches of upward stretch. They called on a Denver's
10-inch-over Springer to level the chassis out, then slid
some Extreme Machine wheels in place. Up front, a 21-incher
carries an 80/90 Avon, and out back, the 18x8.5-incher is
wrapped up with 250mm of Avon.
By the time they had the front Performance Machine caliper
connected to the Extreme rotor, it was time to figure out the
spacing for a drive-side rear using both companys' wares as
well. The clock was ticking pretty loudly, but Billy felt it
was a good time to add a set of custom-built Choppers Inc.
bars to the chassis to make moving it around the shop easier.
It was time to power the chassis up, and they decided to go
all-out with a Mid-USA Powerhouse 114. The side-by-side rod
configuration of the Powerhouse lets it spin to much higher
rpm levels, which makes a ride much more entertaining. The
motor was polished to look its best and mated up to a Baker
six-speed transmission, with a radical-looking Hi-Tech open
beltdrive.
Turning to the sheetmetal, Billy had a brainstorm that Nick
declared to be exactly that, a storm. Billy had decided that
since they always build their own pipes, and they almost always
modify, if not create their own fender, he could combine the
two. So, the pipes for the Discovery bike ran through the extensively
modified WCC rear fender, and if you saw the program, you know
how hot it was!
Next, they turned attention to a gas tank that is, well curvaceous,
and clearly hints to a style made popular by Aaron Greene at
Paramount Custom Cycles. Finally, a Moon Eyes oil tank was
mounted behind the transmission, and Billy and Nick had a chance
to breathe while everything went to chrome or paint. Not breathing
was handled by Joe Richardson, who had the incredible task
of painting the beautiful orange tones, in about three days.
Billy and Nick got some help for the final assembly when Aaron
Greene, of Paramount Custom Cycles, showed up to help. Nick
and Aaron took on installing all the remaining components,
while Billy finished fabricating the Devil Tail forward controls
for his 30-day wonder. The final element necessary on the bike
was a Paul Cox seat to separate Billy from the exhaust/fender.
Barely under the deadline, the Choppers Inc. creation rolled
onto the Discovery Channel trailer for a ride to Texas to compete
against Mr. Perewitz. The hard work paid off as the crowd chose
Billy's bike as the winner in a very close contest. If this
is a 50 percent bike, imagine what Billy can do with an extra
two weeks.
Credit
for this article
goes to: http://www.streetchopperweb.com
