Bernie’s “74” Rail Job Sporty
Article By: Rob Keller
Photos By: Chris Callen
Originally Published In The June 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
It was Biketoberfest 2008 at the Willies Tropical Tattoo Show when I first saw this Long Chopper. The sight of this Iron Stallion took my memory back to 1976 when I first laid my eyes on a couple of what I call Arizona Choppers. Where I come from in the backwoods around Pittsburgh Pa, the only 12 foot long bikes we saw were pictured in Easyrider Magazine. They acquired that name from me because two of my friends left for Arizona in a 1966 Chevelle and J came rolling back home on two of the longest bikes that I had ever seen. I couldn’t believe that they actually were able to ride them on the twisted roads of Western Pennsylvania. One was a red Triumph 750 with a chrome Springer and the other was a dark brown BSA 650 with extended tubes that looked to be about 8 feet long.
After the flash back I gave this Sportster a real good look over. In fact, I liked it so much that I went directly over to Roadside Marty, the famous emcee of the Willie’s Show and told him that if that bike wasn’t chosen as a winner already that It would be my choice for the Cycle Source award. Marty said that he really liked that bike and agreed it was worthy of the prize. As the day went on, this really big biker came over to our Cycle Source booth and started a conversation with me. He told me that his name was Bernie Tatro and that he lived just down the road in New Smyrna Beach. We talked about how many really great bikes were in the show and how hard it would be to choose a winner. He told me that he was a big fan of our magazine and that when he was a younger man back in the 1970’s he built motorcycles and competed against Dave Perewitz and Arlen Ness. He also told me that he even won a few times. It was about that time that he asked if I had seen the long chopper parked out front. I told him I really liked that bike and that’s when he told me that it was his. I didn’t tell him that I had picked it as our winner. I took the opportunity to lead him on that It was a cool bike and we continued our conversation about the motorcycle lifestyle. I knew that he was a genuine biker and a good man. I truly enjoyed our time together and was glad that he was going to get our trophy.
Born To Be Wild came to life many years ago in Bernie’s dreams. Bernie had built many motorcycles over the years but he longed for the opportunity to build the bike that he never had a chance to back in the day. It was a visit to his dear friend known as Repo Artie back in 1993 when the pieces of the vision began to come together. Bernie saw this long Springer sitting in the corner of his garage. It had no neck stem and the top tree was gone and of course it was all rusty. Bernie popped the question, “Artie what do you want for that front end?” Artie asked “What do you want with that junk?” Bernie replied, “I am going to build an old school chopper with it someday.” He said “Yea, yea, yea! Gimmy $75.00 bucks for it.” A year later he took it to Painter Ken, who Brenie says is a fab genius, and he made that old Springer safe and functional. Then his good friend Pork Chop made a new top tree. Now he had a 24” over AEE front end. Next he started hitting swap meets to find original 1970’s chopper parts. After a ten year long search, he had finally rounded up all of those swap meet parts and began his build.
He started with a true flat bottomed tank that was sectioned. Next he and his bro installed a new hidden filler cap, stretched it 9”, installed the hidden mounts under the tank and put the petcock to the rear. The rear fender got 22 cuts and was bent to the exact profile of the rear tire. His bro Mac from Jax hit him up with a set of original trumpet mufflers and a short King and Queen seat. He used an old stop sign to extend the seat pan and make it taller. He bought a set of ported and polished heads on EBay from Mike at Sorenson Cycle up in Canada. His brother Mark in Maine made the battery box and cut 3 inches from the center of the round oil tank to narrow it. Next he got his hands on a rear brake wheel and front wheel. Pork Chop fabbed and stretched the Paughco frame, kicked the center post back 3” to accommodate a round oil tank and fabbed the sissy rail. Pork Chop then built the mounts for the gas tank, oil tank, ignition housing, motor, chain guard, exhaust, rear fender, fender, battery box holder and seat. Once a full prefab assembly was done, he sat on it, took pictures of it and took it apart. Next he sent out the rocker boxes and countersunk the entire rocker box to accept Allen head bolts. It took two more years to have all the chroming done and have the 1974 engine rebuilt. The heads were ported and polished with compression releases, Manley valves, high lift P cams and an SU carb.
The next year Bernie sent the the tank, fender and frame out for paint. The paint job was brought to him during Daytona Bike Week of 2008. Now he had it all, parts, chrome, motor and paint. In January of 2009 he began the final assembly. Slowly every night he worked on it a few hours until the Wednesday night of Bike Week 2009. It was finally finished and running. The next morning he fired her up and left for Willies Old School Chopper Show, but unknowingly he had over tightened the steering head and couldn’t safely drive it, so he was forced to turn around and come home, unfortunately missing the show. He did get one ride up Main Street that next night and put about 75 miles on the virgin run. He next debuted the bike at Leesburg Bikefest in April where it took second at the Rat’s Hole Show in the Radical Sportster Class. He did one midsummer show “Black Sunday” and took best paint in show.
Bernie told us that “taking Cycle Sources Best of Show Pick at Willie’s Old School Chopper show is a high honor to me. Last October it took second place in the boardwalk show in the Radical Sportster class. I find fascination in the ingenious things I have seen homebuilders do to a motorcycle. I built this bike as we would have in the early seventies. No disk brakes, drum. Dangerous yes, by today’s standards, but authentic as it would have been in 1970. This bike was built at home intentionally against today’s trends and throw back if you will to the antique past of choppers. I have proven across my life I do not need to quit and hit a couch, I can choose to stay active in the lifestyle I love, being a biker and building motorcycles. I find talking to the young bikers who have questions about the style of this bike and how it used to be in the old days of choppers very rewarding. They are the future and we never know if we will inspire a young biker to build his dream ride. This bike was built as a tribute to how a bike was built in the mid 70’s and to the men of hand built motorcycles that inspire me. It is an expression of building a dream chopper that I envisioned starting with an old AEE springer front end considered useless and abandoned in a friends garage 20 years ago.”
“I refuse to tip toe through life, only to safely arrive at death!” Bernie Tatro • Bernie has become one of our true Cycle Source Brothers! He is a good man with an unbelievable passion for bringing his visions to life. He is also my dear friend and I have the deepest respect for this man. See you soon Bernie!
Born To Be Wild Tech Sheet
Owner: Bernie “Warrior” Tatro
City: Edgewater, FL
Fabrication By: Pork Chop and Warrior
Year: 1974
Model: Sportster XLCH
Time: 20 years
Value: $25,000
ENGINE
Year: 1974
Model: Sportster
Builder: Black Gold Dennis
Ignition: Dyna
Displacement: 1000cc
Pistons: S & S
Displacement: 10:1
Cam(s): Andrews
Carb: SU
Air Cleaner: SU
Exhaust: Warrior
Mufflers: Gift from Macdaddy
Primary: Stock
TRANSMISSION
Year: Old
Make: H-D
FRAME
Year: 1974
Make: Paugho, modified by Pork Chop
Rake: 52 degrees
stretch: 6”
FRONT END
Type: 1976 AEE
Builder: Painter Ken
Extension: 24” over
Triple Trees: Pork Chop
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Spool Hub
Size: 21”
Tire: Avon
Brakes: None
Rear Wheel: Stainless Spokes
Size: 16”
Tire: Dunlop
Brakes: Stock
PAINT
Painter: John McCarthy, McCarthy Signs
Color: Ed Roth Red
Type: Metal Flake with PPG Clear
Graphics: McCarthy Signs
Chroming: Space Coast Plating
ACCESSORIES
Bars: 12” Ape Hangers
Risers: Black Gold
Gas Tank(s): Sectioned Flatbottom, stetched 9”, hidden mounts by Pork Chop
front Fender: None
Rear Fender: Flat
Seat: Gift from Macdaddy, mod by Warrior
Oil tank: Mid USA narrowed 3” by Mark
Headlight: Bates
Taillight: Maltese
Photographer: Chris Callen