Heath Hildreth: I just wanted to throw together a bike to have a chopper to ride. After my Sportster gave me issues, I started piecing stuff together. I had nice stuff already and wanted to keep the same look, so some of the Sportster stuff was recycled into the new bike. I bought a new tank and fender but kept it the same style. The seat, brakes, and wheels were taken from the Sportster. I had an idea of what I wanted in my head and didn’t want to half-ass it, but the goal was to simply get something on the road while making it look as pretty as I could.
HH: Dude, I didn’t feel like myself during that time. You don’t want to ride anything else after riding something that feels like an extension of yourself.
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HH: I’ve tried to do research, but think it’s either an old AEE or Corbin-Gentry frame. I like the stance and the square tubing. It just fits with the sharp lines on the oil tank and square headlight.
I picked up the front end, the frame, the motor, and a set of wheels that I’m not using right here in Follansbee, West Virginia. I went out on my lunch break and looked at it. The dude is an old Ford guy who had an Evo chopper. It was cool to stop by after I finished it to show him. He was pumped.
I bought an aftermarket V-Twin transmission in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. I’m using a Gasbox oil tank, Gasbox exhaust, Lowbrow Customs tank and fender, and Old Gold Garage seat. The handlebars and sissy bar were made custom by Hunter Norman, as well as a lot of the welding and fabrication. He’s really particular and took my ideas to come up with something even better. I had them chromed, along with as much little shit as I could like the foot controls, oil tank, and main drive.
HH: I got the top end done by Dennis at Mary’s Motorcycle Haven in Burgettstown. He dialed my bike in and I highly recommend him to anybody. I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s been a one-kick bike and super reliable.
Fred Marino of Wellsburg, West Virginia, did the paint. I was stuck on it for a while, and being colorblind doesn’t make it easy. He would send me photos of paint on cars and bikes, and we both kind of agreed on something together. He did such a great job, and people seem to really like it.
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HH: My neighbor, Matt, made the air filter. It’s an old vintage Vanguard fire alarm. I was getting ready to load it up for Glory Daze last year, and he came over with it. He took a lot of time to make it, and it brought a tear to my eye. He was nervous because he knew I was picky about my bike, but it was perfect and fit the bike so nicely. He makes knives for fun and helped me out a good bit with the bike. Anytime I needed another set of hands, he’d come straight over to help.
HH: I remember taking photos of it around Easter last year when it was just thrown together. I figured, let’s just try to fucking start it and see what happens. It ran for a little bit but wouldn’t start when it was too hot. I didn’t want to go through that again, so that’s when I took it apart and reached out to Mary’s Motorcycle Haven. It had two different jugs on it. One was a 74-inch jug and the other was an 80-inch with a different number of cylinder fins. I just wanted to do it right this time.
HH: It’s set up for me. I can just hop on and enjoy it. Once I got the engine back, we went to Myrtle Beach fall bike week and had a good time. It was cool having the only chopper there in a sea of baggers and regular bikes. People were fascinated that it was a kickstart-only bike. They just thought that was the craziest thing ever, even though it’s normal to us. I love being able to start it and ride it for hours without a hassle. Everything went together really smoothly.
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