The allure of a custom bike," Harvey Bessette said in a laid-back Southern accent. "There's nothing like seeing something that is your very own creation." That is exactly what this '05 custom bobber is, the product of Harvey's imagination. His vision was of an old-school bobber infused with elements of a fat-tired dragster for a retro bike with a longer, lower look.
Harvey has owned all kinds of bikes, including at least six or seven Harleys. He says, "The reliability of a nice stocker is wonderful." It doesn't compare to the fun he had while building his custom bobber at Trend Killer Cycles (TKC), a small shop in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Since the shop is small and only takes on a few bike projects at a time, they allow customers to really get involved in their build if they're interested. Harvey said it was this hands-on learning process that was the best part of his experience. Because he assisted with the build for the three months it took to finish the bike, he gained invaluable knowledge about exactly how his bike runs so he can maintain it-or any bike for that matter-with his improved skills thanks to the staff at TKC.
In the beginning, all Harvey knew was he wanted an old-school project, a Shovelhead. He didn't care what condition it was in-he just needed a starting point. Harvey got exactly what he asked for when a friend found a '79 H-D Shovelhead languishing in a garage, a stagnant memorial to a son who had died too soon. Upon closer inspection, it was decided all that could be salvaged from the bike was the motor, and even it needed some major TLC. Once the stock 80-incher was in the capable hands of Bucky LeBlanc at Trend Killer Cycles, Harvey said the rest of the build was a smooth ride.
After a little research, Harvey and Bucky decided to go with a Sucker Punch Sallys (SPS) frame and several of the company's custom-made components. Harvey said he liked SPS's retro, hot-rod designs, and many of its products, including the fuel tank, oil tank, mirrors, and headlight, brought to life the look he was envisioning for his bike. Harvey and Bucky were able to custom-order his rigid frame with 38 degrees of rake and 2 inches of backbone stretch. They chose a Paughco springer frontend to go with the lower-style frame. Harvey's retro and dragster themes were materializing right in front of him.
Spoke wheels in front and back were a fitting choice for the bobber's old-school requirements, but the dragster element Harvey wanted again came in with the addition of healthy Avon tires, a 90mm up front and a 200mm in the back. The bike sports a 20-inch seat height, and Harvey assures us that just about anyone can hop on this ride and take off with no problem.
Another element of the bike of which Harvey is particularly proud is the paint by Marc LeFevre of Dago's Custom Painting. Marc brought to life Harvey's gold and silver leaf, tribal pinstripe ideas, but took things a step further by adding ghost pinstripes. To Harvey's surprise but extreme satisfaction, Marc used House of Kolor (HOK) chameleon paint (which you can only truly appreciate in direct sunlight) to accent the wild tribal graphics. The color of those chameleon accents depends on the angle at which you happen to view them.
Before Harvey even got to ride his finished bike, Marc LeFevre called Harvey and asked him if he could enter the bike in the Midnight Fantasies Car and Truck Show located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, one of the most popular shows in the area. Harvey had actually won first place for best custom the year before with a different custom. Just as excited about his new build, he gave Marc the go-ahead to trailer the just-dried bobber to the show, where it won first place for custom build. Harvey told us the whole experience of building his custom got him "so fired up I sold one of my other bikes, and now I want to build another old school with an Accurate Engineering 120ci Panhead motor." Like he said before-the allure of a custom build...there's just nothing like it.