A Custom Hot Rod

Over the past few years, HOT ROD BIKES has been involved with many different bike builders, fabricators, and painters. What never ceases to amaze us is the dedication and attention to detail these guys pour into to every project they touch. Be it something as involved as a ground up custom or just swapping out a set of bars, watching some of these guys work is akin to witnessing an Olympic athlete performing at the highest levels.

Steve Poole is one of the guys we rate right there with the best of them. Ever since he opened his shop, Poole's Pro Built in Brea, California, about a dozen miles north of our offices, we have made it a habit to regularly stop by, say hello, and see what kind of cool stuff he is working on.

We were visiting one day when a friend of his brother's by the name of Scott Church came by to talk to Steve about building a motorcycle for him. Scott is like many of us when it comes to riding motorcycles. He started when he was young, then bounced around from bike to bike as he grew older, but he never owned a Harley, the bike he always wanted. Now having Steve build you a bike won't necessarily yield a Harley-Davidson, but it will produce a beautiful, powerful V-twin motorcycle that will never a have problem keeping up with anything from Milwaukee, all while attracting stares wherever it goes.

We listened as Scott described what he was looking for. He wanted a bike that he could jump on and ride, one he could put some miles on without it beating him to death. He wasn't in the market for a bar hopper; it needed to demonstrate good looks and clean classic styling complemented by good road manners. After checking out a few of Steve's other creations scattered around the shop, he realized he had come to the right place.

Steve's motorsports background is very diverse. Over the years, he has built monster trucks and custom cars, and fabricated at the highest levels for racing teams, including Indy and Can Am series cars. In addition, he has worked for and designed motorcycles for some of the biggest West Coast motorcycle builders. All of this experience is what allows Steve to build bikes that not only look good, but ride and handle better than most.

The project began with Steve ordering a custom frame from Xtreme Cycle Design spec'd with an inch and a half of backbone stretch and 2 additional inches in the downtubes. As soon as the frame arrived at the shop, Steve got busy hanging a 2-inch-lowered Perse Spherical frontend from the 38-degree neck. Scott's wheel choice came in the form of a minimalistic three-spoke Marshall wheel design from RC Components. The front wheel measures 21x2.125 inches in order to secure the Avon 90/90/H21, while sitting between the swingarm rails is an 18x5.5-incher wrapped in a 180 Avon. In the stop department, Steve chose a set of matching Marshall rotors that take the heat from a pair of four-piston RC Comp calipers. A set of EMS Softail shocks completed the roller.

Since Scott required good looks and clean, classic styling, Steve drew up a Sportster-style gas tank with dimensions to fit the backbone perfectly. After long hours of work with an English Wheel, a shrinking machine, a planishing hammer, and a TIG welder, Steve had himself a beautifully shaped tank, which was just begging to sit atop the backbone. Both the front and rear fenders began life as Fat Katz blanks. After shaping and radiusing the front blank to fit the wheel's diameter perfectly, the front fender received some reinforcement by way of an 1/8-inch rod welded around its perimeter. Steve quickly transformed the rear blank into a sleek, compact unit, complete with internal struts and a recessed seat pocket which barely covers the 180 tire. Finishing off the sheetmetal is an Xtreme oilbag that Steve modified the mounting system on before attaching it to the frame.

It was now time to call in a favor from a very good friend of Steve's, Mark Buris. The favor was for to build the motor for Scott's bike. Mark and Steve go back a long way, and Steve had always admired Mark's meticulous motor-building skills. After receiving an unassembled S&S 100-inch motor, Steve delivered the cases, cylinders, and heads to Juan at JD Polishing. Once everything was good and shiny, Dave Mackie ported the heads and precisely matched up the intake manifold to them to ensure maximum flow. Next, BPE Racing installed a set of compression releases in the heads before delivering them to the shop. Mark assembled the mill using all S&S parts and finished it off with a Crane ignition and a set of Steve's own 2-into-1 handbuilt exhaust pipes. A polished five-speed transmission, a BDL 3-inch open primary and clutch, and a Kevlar belt, link the motor to the rear wheel and help motivate the bike down the road.

Sadly, this would be the last motor Mark would build. In a strange twist of fate, one August morning while on his way to work, Mark was involved in a freak and tragic motorcycle accident, through no fault of his own, which resulted in his death.

Not quite finished, Steve added a few sweet touches to the bike by way of a super-clean license mount welded to the frame, polished stainless steel oil lines, a slick throttle-cable clamp connected to the bottom of the gas tank, hidden wiring and lines, and a Poole's Pro Built carbon-fiber air cleaner and points cover.

Rounding out the bike are PM Contour hand controls, RC Comp foot controls and pegs, a Headwinds headlight, a set of internally wired handlebars set up by Steve's brother Jeff, and finally a custom leather seat crafted by Bitch'n Seat Company.

The bike was then torn down and the frame was sent to EMB Powdercoating, where it received a treatment of a liquid metal product to act as molding agent before the entire frame was powdercoated black. All the sheetmetal found its way to Steve's buddy Andy Palmer for a flawless gloss-black paintjob before being treated to silver ghost flames laid down by Ted Cordts at GM Bootleg in Chino, California.

When it was all said and done with, Scott finally had the bike he had wanted for so long.