
What exactly goes into building a show-winning, custom motorcycle, anyway?

Mike Boyce is an artist, but you won't see his work hanging in a gallery. You might see it on the streets, or in places like Myrtle Beach and Daytona when a bike show comes to town. You will definitely see his work, from time to time, in magazines such as Easy Rider.
Article: "Binford Custom Cycles - Indian Larry tribute motorcycle Binford’s creation turns heads Paul Binford knows custom motorcycles. Since the age of 16 he has been using the two wheeled machines as a main mode of transportation — picking up the passion from his father and learning at an early age how to work a wrench to turn an ordinary bike in something special. With an established shop now under his belt as well, Binford has moved on to the next step — custom show bikes that are racking up coveted awards." See more details of the bike made for the World & European Championship and on binfords.com.


Viper Powersports has entered into a binding agreement to purchase a 32,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility on 4 acres located in Monticello, Mn. The facility meets Viper’s current manufacturing needs and is zoned for expansion as Viper continues to expand and grow."-- Big news update- Billy has agreed to do another Biker Build Off. This build off will be against Russell Mitchell and begin filming in May with a goal air time of early this fall. Billy is excited about the opportunity and looking forward to the next Biker Build Off installment and other exciting projects with Discovery and others. Discovery is now rerunning many of the Biker Build Off's. Since Billy was in so many, you may now have the chance to see episodes you missed. Billy has two that episodes that will re-air very soon. I have listed them below along with re-air dates so you can tune in. Biker Build Off against Mike Brown will re-air February 13th Tribute build in memory of Indian Larry will re-air February 6th Check your local listings for times on Discovery Channel."
By Tim Carrithers

Thunder Mountain Custom Cycles (TMCC) held its first annual dealer meeting Friday July 22nd which was a great success not only for our dealers but also for Thunder Mountain Custom Cycles. We would like to thank the 60 plus dealers that made the trip out to see us at our home base in Loveland, Colorado! We are proud to announce that our very own Blackhawk 240's have launched TMCC into the top 5 custom bike builders in the world, which was done with no external marketing outside of our dealerships. TMCC now has a full time marketing director dedicated to launching a national marketing campaign over the next quarter that will bring custom bike enthusiasts into our dealer network to find their perfect custom.
When Polaris Industries announced in the mid-1990s it was going to launch a new breed of American cruisers under the Victory brand, Harley-Davidson - among many others - yawned collectively. After all, how could a homey snowmobile and ATV company be expected to compete with the likes of giants such as The Motor Company and the Japanese Big Four?
One of Winter's Hidden Gems
This past June, the people at American IronHorse Motorcycles celebrated their 10th Anniversary by inviting a bunch of journalists to their factory in Ft. Worth Texas. The reason you're just hearing about this now is that they put an embargo on the gift of prose you're about to receive so it wouldn't pre-empt their annual dealer meeting announcements on Sept 11. We've been sitting on this hot potato all summer long, and it's ready to be mashed. If you're not already up to speed on what's going on in the small manufacturer/semi-custom bike world, allow me to help you find the throttle. Way back in the mid-Nineties when there were too many customers and not enough Harleys, a few forward-thinking entrepreneurs smelled an opportunity, and some of them are actually still in business. Among them, American IronHorse. They've been through some rough times, but have found ways to weather the storms that have sunk other, sometimes far larger ships (Indian, Excelsior-Henderson) by improving the consistency, quality and reliability of their bikes."
“You wanted the best,” The announcer screamed into the stage mike. “You got it, the best the hottest band in the world KISS!” That’s what you heard just before one of the most influential rock-n-roll bands of Michael Lima's time took the stage.



Terry Hermann was looking for a custom chopper motorcycle with an open primary. He drove two hours south to Arlen Ness Enterprises in Dublin, CA to check out their inventory.
By Laura Ammerman - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
This bike is not just another pretty face in the crowd. No matter where the V-TWIN Café goes, it draws a crowd. No fancy covers, no "Live to Ride" chrome. This bike was designed to be very functional on the street and the race track. Drag racing, land speed racing, a quick dash down a winding country road, cruising on Main Street in Daytona or just sitting down at the local watering hole are all on the menu for this motorcycle.
If you're an avid HOT BIKE reader, then you know that we've featured quite a few bikes built by Jerry Covington and his Woodward, Oklahoma, -based shop, Covington's Cycle City (CCC). If you've paid attention, then you've probably noticed that all of the shop's bikes are top-of-the-line custom pieces of machinery. A few months back, Jerry got some breathing room between builds, and was able to poke his head out of his shop and check out what the rest of the custom motorcycle industry was doing. What he noticed was there were plenty of shops building nice bikes that would fall into the median price range of the custom market, but there weren't too many people building cool-looking bikes in the lower price range.
DBBP visited 864 Garage. "LAST WEEK MARK "DUCKMAN" VAN DER KWAAK AND HIS BUDDY ART STOPPED BY TO SEE WHAT I HAD GOING ON . MARK HAS SOME OF THE COOLEST CAD BIKES AND REAL BIKES I HAVE EVER SEEN. WE EXCHANGED SOME T SHIRTS AND HAD A FEW BEERS AT DINNER. GREAT SEEING YA MARK AND ART. I WILL MAKE SURE TO LOOK YOU UP WHEN I AM IN HOLLAND! "
This article discusses the 2006 movie, "The World's Fastest Indian." Anthony Hopkins stars as Burt Munro, a man who never let the dreams of youth fade. In the late '60s, after a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt sets off from the bottom of the world, Invercargill, New Zealand, to clock his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With all odds against him ...
Harley-Davidson to Offer Military-Theme Paint and Accessory Kits for Fat Boy Motorcycles, Donate $100,000 to USO
"O School Choppers is the destination for the past, located just 3 miles west from the Vegas STRIP off Blue Diamond Rd.. Our shop features complete service, design, assembly, paint, leather works and the custom fabrication of down to earth..... no bullshit..... CHOPPERS and BOBBERS. We create and build the details from the age of the true chopper, that stops traffic with O Style nostalgia and sets our bike apart from the Garage Candy. O School isn't chrome and garage candy it's back to basics........ flat black, pin stripes, whitewall tires, apes, solo seat, peanut tank. A real bar hopper no ole lady on these fenders....OK sum times ya gotta give in."

More pics here.
More pics here.

Harley-Davidson's less-dressed dresser is the perfect choice for a rider who wants to travel in minimalist luxury with a touch of nostalgia. From the December 2005 issue of Motorcycle Cruiser magazine. By Art Friedman