Dark Knight – Chopper Out Of Hell

If there was a bike getting around that’d look great as a villainous bike in a Hollywood blockbuster, Jamal’s Chopper would fit the bill perfectly.

And now, on his second chopper, you’ll never believe that Jamal once hated Harleys. He had always been a fan of Japanese crotch rockets, but it wasn’t until his reluctant ride on a mate’s Fat Boy that he realized what he’d been missing all these years.

Like Doctor Jekyll making way for Mr. Hyde, he completely rid his life anything Japanese and began shopping for his one V-powered weekender. Starting out with a Fat Boy much the same as the one the got him hooked, he soon hankered for something a little fatter! Not wanting to rip apart his current bike Jamal decided to start from scratch and put together a chopper with a 300 rear. Not doing things by halves, Jamal bought all the best bits and had names such as Cobra Craft and Queen Street smash do the fabrication and paintwork. It all paid off and he took out a number of awards with it.

Yet that was then and this is now. Now is the current bike you are looking at. Jamal wanted another crack in the construction of the custom Chopper and decided that going fatter was better. Starting with a 330-year-old rear tire, Jamal decided to look offshore and began talks with the crew from The Chopp Shop in North Carolina. With a great reputation for building a mountain of show winners, they were given the green light to continue the bulk of the fabrications based on what Jamal wanted. Being much more than the guy who saw the light, he knew pretty exactly what he wanted the bike to look like and it was just a matter of collecting parts and a spare pair of hands to put it together.

Beginning with a Wicked Willy frame from the USA, Ken from Cobra Craft and Jamal assembled the bike as it stands now over a period of 10 months. The frame itself is a Pro Street design and features a 45-degree rake and has been stretched 8-inches.

Rolling on a pair of Performance Machine “Recluse” wheels, the rear is the previously mentioned 330 and the front, a 21-inch. Both are wrapped in Avon rubber. Being a rigid frame there wasn’t much to think about with the rear suspension except for avoiding big bumps once completed, yet with the front end, Jamal chose a set of inverted 63mm forks built by American Suspension. Both ends are fitted with Performance Machine calipers and rotors and as you can see by the heat marks, the raked suspension means the rear brake gets used quite a bit more than the front one.

The engine is a 107ci S&S setup with Axtel barrels and S&S heads. Feeding this is a Crane ignition system and a Mikuni carby mounted on a Chopp Shop intake manifold. Jamal had been tempted by two other engine combos before this one, but it all really came down to aesthetics and with the diamond-cut finish on the barrels, this one suited his needs perfectly.

Breathing through a Martin Brothers exhaust, the power is transferred to the rear wheel via a Baker 5-speed RSD gearbox fitted with a Primo Pro hydraulic clutch and makes its way to the rear wheel via a chain setup.

With a combination of Performance Machine hand controls and Accutronics grips, the handlebars were custom built by The Chopp Shop back in the USA. Jamal was so keen on getting the quality of the bike to the top level, he even bought in a tank and both mudguards custom built and painted by The Chopp Shop. The seat on the other hand, well, that came from an unsuspecting donor Crocodile. Electronics wise, the speedo is a Dakota Digital unit and the headlight is a Headwinds teardrop beam. The taillight is just a simple LED setup.

As far as building Choppers goes, let’s just say Jamal loves how this bike turned out and really can’t wait to show it off some more, yet as most die-hard enthusiasts are; he’s already coming up with ideas for his next one. In the meantime, the bike is quite handy to use as a promotional tool for his wife’s lingerie business.

Source: www.throttlextreme.com

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