by Sean D. | Nov 12, 2013 | Blog
Last weekend my buddy Gerry hit me up about his neighbors ’97 Xl 883 that only has 2,500 original miles. He knew the owner had it sitting in his driveway under some plastic for years and finally decided to ask him about it for me. The neighbor was interested in selling so I cruised over and struck a deal. Needless to say I got it for a great price and immediately began stripping it down on site. After ditching the old man crap in the trash. We tore the wheels and front end off and disassembled the tail section. Once the parts were removed we cut off the rear struts, grinded them smooth and touched them up with some Krylon Gloss (a dead match to the frame color). Next was to paint the wheels, pulley and front end. As the wheels and pulley were pitted and semi corroded I went with Satin Krylon. This soaked up the paint and gave it a cool textured look. The front end needed a little cleaning up too so I ran some Sandpaper 1000 grit wet and knocked most the pits and imperfections out. Once everything was painted and sorted it was all about bolting everything back together along with the parts I squirreled away for a rainy day XL Cafe project. I managed to stash some really cool stuff! The Burly Brand Cafe Tail Section, 15″ Stiletto Shocks, 1″ Clubman Bars and new Cafe Cable Kit coming soon. Working at Burly has it perks, having access to these parts is definitely one of them. Thanks Burly!! I’m also running some RSD parts like the Speedo Relocate, Fork Brace and...
by Sean D. | Sep 20, 2013 | Blog, Videos
Not too long ago a friend of ours Thomas (@thecalife) picked up an 2001 Sportster from Craigslist for a great deal. He reached out to us for info on our Cafe Sportster and composed his parts list with a bit of our help. We of course suggested a Cafe Tail Section, 15″ Stiletto Shocks and 1″ Clubman Handle Bars. He also sourced other parts from RSD, Biltwell, Todd’s Cycle, Chainsikle and ebay. Click here to see the Chop Cult build thread for more info. Watch the build video he did for us...
by Sean D. | Sep 20, 2013 | Blog, Videos
Love working with the guys from Born Free and helping out when we can. Had the opportunity to interview Jeff Leighton and Frank Kaisler regarding the bike and how they knew each other. Couldn’t get it all in 5 mins but just enough time to tell the story. Check out the other BF5 videos on Chop Cult now! Can’t wait for the show this Saturday, see ya...
by Sean D. | Sep 20, 2013 | Blog, Videos
Duane Ballard is known pretty well in the industry for is skilled leatherwork at DB Custom Leather, but he has a passion for ’70s style Japanese motor based choppers/diggers! This year for Born-Free 5 he built an amazing Kawasaki KZ named Kosmoski that will be a standout among the rest of the Invited Builders. Come see them all June 29, 2013 at the Born-Free Vintage Chopper and Classic Cycle Show! for more info please log onto bornfreeshow.com Shot by Sean D. with a Canon 60D 24-70 L Series I...
by Sean D. | Sep 4, 2013 | Blog, Event Photos
The Ace Café presented a preview party and auction at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA a couple weeks back. The Brough Superior Team and many others helped raise funds for the “Boot Campaign” at the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles. The Boot Campaign helps war veterans achieve mobility by raising funds for artificial and prosthetic limbs. The Peterson made for an amazing venue by offering their rooftop for the event. With a display of a few great bikes never before seen by the public it truly was a privilege to be invited. Two of such were to be raced at the Bonneville Salt Flats and given a chance to set world records for the first time. Jay Leno was on hand to auction off gifts from sponsors, one of which was an old Cushman Scooter donated by Bruce Willis. He also generously auctioned V.I.P. group tours of his own garage in Burbank! In addition, Jay placed the winning bid on a special Cafe Racer Triumph from the dudes at Dime City Cycle, helping the Boot Campaign reach their goal. After meeting Jay in person, I found him to be not only generous with his time, but also with his wallet. All in all, it was a very special shindig and we were proud to be...
