Originally Published In The November 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source
Article By: Roadside Marty Photos By: Heath Hartwig – Bombshell Art Studio
Some of you reading this may have heard of Jeremy Pederson before and if you haven’t, I guarantee that you’ve seen some of his paint work! Jeremy owns Relic Kustoms up in Austin, MN. This also happens to be the home of none other than Hormel Foods which is best known for bringing you that “wonder” meat: SPAM!
Now Jeremy’s been riding on various assortments of two wheels ever since he was old enough to walk. His first bike was a Honda Mini Trail 50 that he still owns today. When he was old enough for the street, he was on a Yamaha BT 175 Enduro that he dragged out of a local farmer’s barn. This led him to the motocross scene where he raced from the age of 17 u p until he was 24. It wasn’t till about 4 years ago during a trip to Sturgis that he met Brian Elliott, owner of Black Sunshine Customs. Brian happened to be set up at The Broken Spoke with a few of his bikes including a green Triumph that Jeremy fell in lust with on the spot! Well, Brian is like a lot of us out there that are into custom bikes as well as custom culture. Because of this, he and Jeremy were able to strike up a deal.
Brian ended up trading a basket case Triumph for a ‘41 Plymouth Business Coupe that Jeremy had. Now that’s a deal where everyone wins and everybody’s happy!
Through this deal, Brian would do all of the build including the fab work, and then Jeremy would do what he does best — the paint. As a true artist, Jeremy realized that by giving Brian full reign to build the bike anyway he saw fit, he would get a truly amazing custom. Brian wasted no time getting started on the build. The first thing on the list was to hardtail the stock Triumph frame. After that, he would mount that beautiful original Wassell tank. Except for motor parts and a few small miscellaneous pieces, the rest was all Black Sunshine Customs’ parts like the oil bag, rear fender, the “Dream Catcher” front seat mount and seat pan and one of Black Sunshine Custom’s signature items: a custom built narrow Springer!
The mock-up took about 6 months after which Brian delivered the bike back to Jeremy in bare metal. Now Jeremy’s been pinstriping for 8 years and doing custom paint work for 5 years. A family friend who owned a paint and body shop taught him the basics and the rest he learned by trial and error. According to Jeremy, he practiced on anything that sat still. This meant a lot of helmets and more than a few old gas tanks. The reason Jeremy picked this shade of blue was because in all the work he does, he’s not seen that color used very much. The fish scales were laid down as a tribute to the late ‘60s and early ‘70s paint jobs that continue to inspire him to this day. Jeremy said that seeing people’s reactions to his work, as well as seeing a project all come together, is still one of the best feelings you can feel.
After the paint had dried, he bolted everything together and loaded the bike up for a quick weekend trip down to Black Sunshine Customs for some beer, whiskey drinking and to button up the loose ends. Jeremy said she fired up after about the 10th kick and she’s been running like a top ever since. It’s plenty fast and easy on the eyes; just what a chopper should be! Jeremy wasn’t above reaching out to a few other trusted people to help him on this build. His younger brother Nick did the leather seat, while Zack Kinsey did the engraving on the gas cap and Jordan from Union Speed and Style did the custom handlebars. With a long list of waiting customers for his paint work, Jeremy really enjoys riding this bike whenever he gets the chance. Though I would probably kill myself with that front brake lever controlling the rear brake!
Jeremy would like to thank Brian and Mary Elliott for all of their help and hospitality during this build and to Cycle Source for choosing his bike for a feature. And if you’re needing a sweet paint job for your bike, don’t hesitate to hit him up at Relic Kustoms!
Minnow Bucket Deluxe Tech Sheet
Owner: Jeremy Pedersen
City: Austin, MN
Fabrication By: Brian Elliott – Black Sunshine Customs
Year: 1965
Model: Triumph
Value: Make Me An Offer….
Time: There’s Never Enough
ENGINE
Year: 1965
Model: Triumph T100sr
Builder: Black Sunshine Customs
Ignition: Boyer
Displacement: 500cc
Pistons: Stock
Heads: Stock
Cam(s): Stock
Carb: Amal 626
Air Cleaner: Maund Speed Shop Velocity Stack
Exhaust: Black Sunshine Customs
Primary: Stock
TRANSMISSION
Year: 1965
Make: Triumph
Shifting: 4 On The Floor
FRAME
Year: 1965
Make: Triumph / Black Sunshine Customs
FRONT END
Type: Skinny Springer
Builder: Black Sunshine Customs
Extension:
Triple Trees:
WHEELS
Front Wheel:
Size: 21”
Tire: Kenda
Brakes: Missing
Rear Wheel:
Size: 16”
Tire: Firestone Deluxe
Brakes: Performance Machine
PAINT
Painter: Jeremy – Relic Kustoms
Color: Oriental Blue Kandy ‘n Flakes
Type: House of Kolor
Graphics: Fades ‘n Fish Scales
Molding: Relic Kustoms
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Union Speed 7 Style – Jordan
Hand Controls: Black Sunshine Customs
Gas Tank(s): Original Wassell
Front Fender: Missing
Rear Fender: Black Sunshine Customs
Seat: Tooled Leather By Nick Pedersen
Foot Controls: Black Sunshine Customs
Oil Tank: Black Sunshine Customs
Taillight: Black Sunshine Customs
Headlight: Mid-USA
Speedo: Missing
Photographer: Heath Hartwig
