Posted February 4, 2005   Email   Print

V-Twin Expo 2005:
Big, bigger and biggest

By Bill Andrews

If a single word could be applied to the fifth annual V-Twin Expo by Easyriders, it’d be “BIG” — as in big engines, big rear tires, big crowds, and for the vendors and participants, big money.

There was a cornucopia of bikes, parts, accessories and apparel all geared to helping dealers meet the ever-increasing demand for bigger, better and more outrageous customized V-twin cruisers.

“I’m like a kid in a candy store, man,” one participant blurted into his cell phone at the Expo, which concluded Monday.

At second glance, however, the show at Cincinnati’s Albert Sabin Convention Center, looked more like a Halloween trick-or-treat night for adults, sans the costumes, than a candy store. Participants were going booth to booth, carrying plastic bags and small carts, all asking the multitude of vendors for the next treat to tempt their customers.

To underline just how lucrative this market is today, the Expo’s producers said there were 888 booths with exhibitors from all 50 states and 12 countries. Just moving around the Expo on Saturday morning meant simply swimming with the stream of humanity.

Besides the gleaming hardware, there were also plenty of vendors offering everything from biker vacations and insurance to hundreds of other items that might be of interest to the singularly focused crowd.

An overriding theme to this year’s show appeared to be big 300-series rear tires and right-side drives for big twins, as evidenced by the number of vendors selling everything from individual pieces, to kits, to assembled machines.

It's more than a styling theme. This trend is also functional.

“You can center the motor,” explained Gary Munoz of Vallejo, California-based Chopper Guys, Inc., just one of the vendors offering this setup.

On the big twin engines powering the custom cruisers, the primary drive comes off the engine on the left side and feeds the clutch and transmission. The final drive, which comes off the output shaft of the transmission, is also on the left side, but inside the clutch. That means as the rear tire gets wider, builders have to keep pushing the primary drive out to make room for the final drive.

By switching to right-side drive, builders can get away from “hanging everything off the left side of the bike,” said Munoz.

Customers’ tastes dictate what builders, like Munoz, have to build. In many cases, functionality doesn’t just take a back seat. It gets off the bus completely. The right-side drive puts a bit of functionality back in the equation.

Below, you’ll find just a few of the more eye-catching products that caused participants to stop, stare and say holy ...

Looking for a way to keep your custom, belt-drive twin cool without an ugly, bolted on radiator-style oil cooler? Check out this primary drive cover with an integrated oil cooler. Tauer Machine, based out of Mankato, Minnesota, makes this system, which the company says can drop oil temperatures by about 25 to 35 degrees.

The system also allows for the oil filter to be mounted onto the inner primary. Oil flows to the cooler/cover via the mounts, which have check valves inside, so when you remove it you don’t spill oil. Prices range from around $400 for just a cover, to over $2,000 for a complete system including the pulleys, belt and clutch. Bryan Clancy, with Tauer Machine, said the system is designed for open primary belt drive Harleys and customs only.

For more info visit www.tauermachine.com

Not new but still cool are these painted face masks from Wicked Wear, based in Hayward, California. Suggested retail price is around $29 and the company has branched out into a full line of scary faces, glowing skulls and flames. The masks are available through multiple outlets. On the web just search for Wicked Wear.

Here’s a hot setup from Storz, the performance parts company located in Ventura, California, for the new rubber-mounted Sportsters. This dirt-track-style conversion comes with all sorts of trick parts including rearsets, high pipes from BUB, inverted forks, new piggyback rear shocks, 180-spec rear tire, a chain-drive conversion and much more.
	The parts will run around $7,500 and can be fitted to either the 883 or 1200 Sportsters. You supply the bike. Contact Storz at www.storzperf.com

Arlen Ness showed up with a non-V-twin custom he calls Mach Ness. This helicopter turbine-powered bike is, as usual for Ness, more a design test than an actual runner. But it's seriously cool nonetheless.

Drag Specialties showed the crowd just how old old-school can go. Among the numerous antique style parts, this sidecar rig has an S&S 100-cubic-inch XL motor, a Baker six-speed transmission and numerous one-of-a-kind chassis components built by Arlen Ness.

 To see all that Drag Specialties can do for you, see www.dragspecialties.com

Gates Performance showcased a big 154-cubic-inch (2,524cc) prototype engine with a square 4 5/8-inch bore and stroke. The monster motor was built to provide a a monstrous appearance, and win horsepower shootouts, said Gary Maurer from Kustoms Inc, who makes a frame to handle it.

“We were looking for a very powerful, very street-able and very dependable motor,” he said. “It has to make 225 horsepower at the rear wheel, or we keep dynoing.”

The motor will sell for about $25,000 and custom frames to fit it will run anywhere from $2,500 to $8,000 and up—depending on what application you have in mind, according to Maurer.

To learn more about Gates Performance, visit www.gatesperformance.com

Ridley Motorcycles was on hand with its "3/4 scale" cruisers, which feature two-foot seat heights and Ridley’s own proprietary V-twin engines. But what’s new and interesting from the Oklahoma City-based company was their automatic pushbutton kickstand designed for the big-bike world.

The pneumatic system utilizes a self-regulated air compressor and tank for operation and is controlled via handlebar-mounted pushbuttons, which could be mounted anywhere, said company Vice President Jay Ridley. Hit a button, kickstand deploys, without the rider fishing around for it with a boot heel. Push another button to retract it, or simply put the bike in gear and it'll automatically go up.

MSRP for the PowerStand is $988 and currently only fits 2000–2004 Softails. The company brochure says it fits all custom applications, but it would be safe to assume that the word “custom” is key here.

For more information on Ridley and the PowerStand, visit www.ridleymotorcycle.com

What’s a custom if you don’t have one-of-a-kind wheels on the beast? Digital Manufacturing Concepts (DMC) out of Aurora, New York, can cut anything out of billet. And to prove the point, they made this wild, dragon-themed rim.

“There’s nothing to limit what we can do,” said Al Everett with DMC. “You’re only limited by your imagination, and your pocketbook.”

To learn more about DMC, visit www.digitalmanufacturingconcepts.com

If you’re going to have a windshield, why not have one that lights up with some real cool graphics? Cool Windshields, based out of Saratoga, California, uses a process similar to fiber optics to light the etching and the edge of the windshield, but not the clear part. Owner Mark “Godzilla” Goscila said. He has hundreds of designs to choose from, or you can submit your own. MSRP starts at $475 and, like most custom jobs, goes up depending on the detail of the project.

To see other designs and applications, visit www.coolwindshields.com

A V-twin not enough? Double your pleasure with a Peregrine V-four. Basically, Peregrine takes two Twin-Cam 88 engines and siameses them together at the primary, giving you a whopping 176-cublic-inch V-four.

Co-owner Curtis Steward said the inherent balance of the four-banger makes it smoother than even the balanced Twin-Cam. Besides the standard 176-inch engine, the company also makes a 190 and a 206, with horsepower figures starting at 125 and climbing to over 200, Steward claims. All engines require the use of a custom frame or stock frame modifications. At this time, Peregrine is just building them to order, and the price starts at $25,000.

Peregrine's website is still under construction at this time, but you can hear the engine run by visiting www.peregrineengines.com

If you’re already in the V-four frame of mind, Aardema out of San Diego can set you up with an 177-cubic-inch (2,900cc), overhead-cam engine that they claim makes 175 horsepower. The bike is called “Hardley A Davidson” and the engine is essentially half a 350-cubic-inch Chevy. The rest of the bike, according to literature available, is all Harley-Davidson, with only a modification to the frame.

Aardema's website is still under construction, but contact information is available at www.aardemasohc.net

Progressive Designs wowed the crowd with its hydraulic hub-steering chopper.

Though hub steering isn’t a new concept, it takes on an entirely different meaning when applied to a custom. The front wheel is held in a swing arm, and this model had air shocks that can raise and lower the bike four inches. The Bixby, Oklahoma, company has set the MSRP for the hub steering at $24,900 which includes the option of a 18, 38 or 48-inch swing arm. The chassis it mounts to is another $10,900.

One of the problems associated with going to extreme engine displacements is that the monster motor no longer fits in a stock frame. For Pegasus Torque Manufacturing L.L.C. out of Houston, Texas, that was just a challenge.

“Somebody told us there was no way you can get 131 cubic inches into a stock frame,” said Bob Bryce president Pegasus. “So what do you do? You can’t tell somebody they can’t do something. Then they’ll just go out and do it.”

On display was the end result. A 170-cubic-inch (2,785cc) prototype that Bryce said is good for 210 horses.

“We’ve got the potential to get pretty near to 300 cubic inches (4,916cc),” Bryce said.

But that engine won’t fit into a stock frame, he added. Simply put, that much power would need extra bracing to support it.

Oddly enough, getting these monster motors started is what got Pegasus into the business to begin with.

According to Bryce, a tech tip in a custom motorcycle magazine recommended de-tuning big-inch motors because the current starters couldn’t turn them over reliably. Not wanting to take away horsepower, Bryce and company decided to build their own starters.

“I made the starter out of necessity,” Bryce said. “And, we’ve got our own patent for it.”

MSRP for the starters is $399, and within a year they hope to have the 170-cubic-inch motor ready for market.

Looking for a little something different in your mirrors? Tinker’s Custom Turnsignal Mirrors could put YOU in them.

Alan Bell, with Tinkers, out of Vestal, New York, makes mirrors with etchings and lights in them. The lights take the place of the forward turn signals. His designs include sequential flames and a skull with flames, but he said with a good portrait, he could etch a face into the mirror.

Prices range from $480 to $525 per pair.

Custom bike builders are constantly looking for a clean look—they strive to hide wiring, cables and such. American Suspension, from Orange County, California, has forks with hidden brake lines and calipers built right into the inside of the forks.

Prices range from $1,850 for a single caliper on up to $2,800 for dual disks.

For more information go to www.american-suspension.com

© 2005, American Motorcyclist Association