This Month's Featured Bike:
Norm Brown's "Jupiter"

This is the first time my son & I have built a cruiserbut we wanted to do justice to it as a motorcycle & not write off shortcomings by saying that it's "just"a cruiser.

This shows the multi tube stainless steel kickstand.

This picture shows the carbon color header wrap, the black wrinkle engine paint, a brass shift rod, and a DML crank cover which has a funny story behind it that I'm not going to tell you

Everything was build in house which allowed us tomatch each componet with the bike design. It seemslike there are mostly 2 types of cruisers out there:1st, the TV show trailer queens that won't lean morethan 3 degrees without bottoming & generally getridden to & from the closest Starbucks. The secondkind is an accumulation of mismatched junk yard partsthat don't work worth cr@p but at least looks unique.

• Specs of this build are:
  4130 chrome moly steel frame & swingarm.
• One off custom fiberglass tank with a 6 gallon capacity & an on/off/reserve petcock.
• We use no keys, the ignition uses an on/off toggle.
• The headlights are also manually switched on/off.
• Dual 41mm FCR carbs with Malossi short intake manifolds, fully ported, with Uni individual pod filters
• The exhaust is scratch biult using all stainlees steel tubing & stainless steel megaphones. Each side of the exhaust contains a mini muffler as on a 9*6 bike.
• The seat comes off & the tank lifts for complete access with no tools needed.
• All exposed metal is either stainless steel of aluminum & has been either sandblasted or scotchbrite scuffed to give the bike a bit of a raw look.
• All nust & bolts are 316 stainless steel.
• 0-8000 mini tach.
• We used a 9*6 front steering eccentric so the front end can be adjusted to suit different handling needs.
• The clutch & brake master cylinders are Brembo radial GP. the brake is a 19x20 because I like my brakes to react with a minimum of lever travel.
• The motor is basically stock with a Nichols clutch basket & a FBF flywheel.
• Every bike I build has Nichols motor mount bolts & a steering damper.
• Wheels are stock 17x3.5 and 17x 5.5
• Tires are 120/70 and 190/55 Continentals
• Front & rear shocks are Ohlins (46mm front)
• Gearing is 15/41
• Weight with 4 gallons of fuel is 380# with a vertical weight bias of 24/76. (To give you an idea of the challenge I had in designing this bike, my sport bikes are usually set up with a 55/45 weight bias.)
• Triple tree offset is 24mm.
• Swingarm length is 23" with a +/- 1" adjustment. It has an 8% angle.
• Wheelbase is 68 3/8" with adjustments that can make it 1.5" longer or 2" shorter.
• The rake is 32.5% and the trail is 3.5".
  

Pic 5 shows some of the detail work of the twisted steel edges of the frame, and the Uni filters

A stock wheel with a Braking carbon carrier disc & Brembo caliper

This shows the beautiful Ohlins/DML forks. Their collaboration produced stunning results!

This shows the natural cork handle bar tape And a big gap under the tach where a GPS will mount. I've always been a fan of bicycle speedos but my son has dragged me into the 21st century kicking & screaming!

This picture shows the rear fender & overall stance of the bike. The rear fender is made of 1/2 x .020 stainless steel tubing, welded side by side & then sandblasted. The rear fender mount is 3 braided stainless steel rods twisted together & brushed

This shows the overall look of the rear Ohlins shock, cam cut out, bare belts, clutch work, Nichols motor mount bolts, & braided frame

Machined clutch housing with a cut out stock cover, stainless steel springs, and a Mad Duc spider spring retainer. DML oil temp guage & a soon to be replaced with a simple gauge, oil pressure sender.

A rest stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway with the French Broad river in the background

This shows the wiring, coils, ignition modules,fuses, starter relay, fuel filter, battery, etc.. All electrical wiring is heat & abrasion proof & fittings are marine grade. Any other connections are soldered. everything can be accessed & removed or replaced from this one spot. Ground & hot wires from the battery & starter are all oversize (I forget the gauge). The coils are stock, the ignition modules are 1.1 DP. The few wires that are carried to the rear of the bike are contained in a heat proof sleeve that will accept additional wires in the future, if needed.

This picture shows the gas tank cut out so the upper cam
pulley becomes visible

This bike is a departure from the cutting edge sportbikes that I've always made in the past & took a lotof head scratching to get it right. It was built forthe Ducati Daytona show but I got sick & couldn'tfinish it in time. It is, however, my personal bike &isn't for sale.

Click here for past featured bikes