Being a second generation machinist gave me an edge over the other builds. I also had an added resource, the expertise of my father, Howard Sr. “this guy has made parts that were sent to the moon!” Thus the journey began. We wanted to take the same hub-less idea and tweak it. The goal was to make something so radical and different, while producing everything in house. Literally ‘in house”, by that I mean our idea was actually produced in our own home’s garage. Only the chrome and paint were sent outside.
 After 2 years of R&D, I felt that we where ready to take on this project and approximately 4000 hrs later we were finished. Sounds simple? It wasn’t. We started with only a 300 x18 tire; a 1974 swing arm frame; and a 21 inch front wheel. We mocked up the assembly with blocks of wood and any other parts around the garage that resembled a bike.
 The easy part came first, the front end. We used Denver Choppers 21inch over custom Springer. This allowed us to put 6 inches in the back bone, 8inches in the down tubes, and 47 degrees in the neck. The front end was modified to accept a 2007 HD wheel with a left side disc brake assembly. Now with a majority of the front frame done, it was time to tackle the rear wheel and final drive.
Starting with several aluminum 6061 plates, weighing around 240lbs each, we were able to machine them down to a manageable weight of approximately 45lbs. This cutting and machining produced five 55 gallon drums of aluminum chips. This is where we spent most of the machining time. Using aerospace grade aluminum helped eliminate any material defects. Going this extra step and doing all the machining in house set us apart from other builders.
 The rear rim basically consists; of two 18inch car rims cut down, welded both halves and the mounting ring, and re-machined. The rim dimensions when finished are 18inches diameter X 13 ½ inches wide. With the drive assembly it gives the wheel the look of a 16 inch wide rim rolling down the road. Trying to achieve as clean a look as possible, we opted to enclose the drive system, along with the rigid mounting plate. This mounting plate supports a “jack-shaft”, along with the drive line braking system.
 As with any project, several issues came up during the build. The biggest is the final gear ratio. Because the rim has such a large ring gear, you would need to have an 8 speed transmission to get over 60mph. To alleviate this problem, we used a 24t transmission sprocket to a 20t on the jack shaft. This overdrives the jackshaft 14%, which allows the bike to reach speeds in excess of 100mph in fifth gear. Now we had the bike moving, but how do we slow the bike down from 100mph to 0 mph? Since there was no real practical place on the wheel to put a brake assembly, we went for a drive line brake, off the jack shaft. It consists; of a rotor from a Banshee quad, and a four progressive piton caliper from a Ducati 996. This created 5 times the braking force to the back wheel. Oops, fast stop!! This was so efficient we actually had to add a little air in the line to give a cushion.
Next we were up against a power plant option. I found a 1969 FL that was 85% original. After much deliberation I decided to pull the motor only from the bike, and sell the rolling chassis.
It seems like each issue we resolved brought up another issue. Thus the next issue! How do you go from a 1969 Fl to a 1993 FXR transmission? The answer! Change the left side case, making longer motor shaft adapters, and modifying a 1993 soft-tail primary.
In keeping with the initial goal of keeping the work in house, we fabricated our own master cylinders for the brake, hydraulic clutch, along with the foot pegs, and Devil Tail controls. 
Now with the bike becoming a roller, we needed handle bars. Sounds simple, but after fabricating a dozen styles, and running out of material, we finally had what we needed. Adding our own internal throttle, our own billet grips, along with an internal front brake line, this gave us the look we wanted. At last the rolling Chassis was complete.
We then took sheet metal to fabricate our own oil tank since room was limited, and we knew anything stock would not fit the frame. The gas tank was a stock sportster 2.5 gallon with some modifications. The seat pan was only 18 inches off the ground; the rear fender would become a key focal point. Trying to accent the wheel with the rear fender, we decided there was too much sheet metal covering the tire. We debated on cutting a logo or something of that nature into the sheet metal to give it some flair. After hours of trial and error someone noticed there was a beer sitting on the bench making a sweat ring, and held it against the fender. Wouldn’t it be neat if it had hole like the rim of the can! Traveling to several taverns in search of the right diameter beer can we opted to go with a Fosters, Coors light, and Red Bull for a pattern?!? Drilling the holes in the fender was a simple task. After sampling the hole diameter goods, someone had the thought to continue the hole design in the gas tank. The entire shop went silent knowing this bike was going to paint in 2 days. However this was the finishing touch that would complete the bike or quest.
You’ve got to keep in mind we completed our journey using only the pieces of machinery we have in our garage and we were determined to build the bike ourselves. We continue to keep with that motto making specialty and custom items. We are not the first, but we are the next!
If it wasn’t for the support of my family and friends, this dream build would never have become a reality.
Would I do it again? In a minute! Wonder what’s next?
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