Article By: Lemme
Photos By: Mark Velazquez
Originally Published In The May 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
In an industry such as this, ruined by mainstream media and exploited by every talentless, mouth breather with a terrible idea, you have the masses wandering aimlessly in and out of shops making ridiculous inquiries into every little detail of a motor bike that they will never follow through with, and I’ve had to deal with my fair share. But the one exception to this daily heartburn inducing annoyance was always George Stinsman. For the longest time I only knew that someone who ran a shop called Chaos Cycle ordered some very expensive chassis from us at Twisted Choppers, and I built most of them myself. Now, despite making me construct the most difficult to build chassis we offered, and then some customizing on top of it, it was always a welcomed challenge. He would call and place a precise order, pay for it, and you would never hear a word from him otherwise. He was the perfect customer: never a complaint, never an annoyance, and never a fight over the bill. He knew what he wanted, and we sent it to him “his way” like we were f**kin’ Burger King or something. And sweet Jesus did he make some beautiful machinery out of these things. Anyway, evil forces conspiring to ruin relations with everyone we knew and worked with, forced George to start building his own frames, and he really has the technical as well as the artistic aspects of this particular process nailed down tight. But frames aren’t the only talent possessed by this dude. He builds every last bit of his bikes to include handmade tanks and fenders, chassis development and construction, all the way down to motor assembly and fine tuning.
The Lot Lizard has quite a story, as many scooters do, but I haven’t heard one quite like this. In talking with George about this bike, I got pictures in my mind of characters frantically flipping the pages of their very own graphic novel of some sort. Wild and sad stories mixed with high-speed insanity, and George goes right along with the flow as if he could be no farther away from the fear. Rather, the dangerous nature of riding life like a fifth-gear, full throttle, heart attack, lookback, soaring through the air sixty feet off the ground, moving forward in his journey and praying for soft landing but never really caring if disaster strikes in safety’s stead. Enter, Joey Serano: A one time employee and friend of George who felt the need to give a second chance at life to his father’s old 1965 Panhead drag motor. His dad had taken it apart years ago and left it in a barn to wait for its next master like it were a genie in a lamp rather than a Panhead in a bucket. But the barn burned to the ground, as barns tend to do, and in a flaming inferno of irony, a hanging barrel fell over the buckets of Panhead parts saved it. Joey dug it out, rubbed it clean, and in turn, the Pan granted him three wishes. But his only wish was to smear sport bikes in illegal drag races downtown and George made this wish come true. On the weekends, if you sport a keen eye, you might find Joey disappearing into a vision blurring haze of high horsepower hole-shots and irreparable hearing damage. The EPA and the law can go sit on each other’s faces. But another aspect that George has a nonchalantly mastered grasp on is his ability to leave innocent bystanders awestruck by the beauty of a high speed death machine as it quickly puts distance between its self and the masses of mutants assembled to be dazzled by the eloquent danger they know nothing about. George bent up the bottom half of the Lizard’s chassis, stuck the freshly rebuilt Pan in its cradle, and built the rest of the frame around the motor, making for a tight little package.
George swapped out the factory DNA front half with a set of his very own custom legs and mounted the works atop a set of Big Bertha spoked wheels from Matt at Liquid Choppers, which Joey insisted on using. George, in all of his handmade fashion, hammered his own take of a Sporty tank out of sheet metal, shaping it to accent the chassis as well as to tie the whole thing together. He then rounded it out with one of his “leave your problems at home” fenders. Add a set of narrow drag bars for some criminal activity and a killer paint job with beautiful and authentic gold leafing by John “The Painter” Asarisi, and you have a fine looking machine. But not without a finishing touch trusted by George to no other than Christian Marsh at Xian leather. And not only the seat, but Christian also designed George’s business logo as well. Other than this, George wanted to thank Neil, a.k.a. “Papa Bear” for his loyal help here and there, and Joey as well for lending a helping hand in building the neck gusset; don’t kill the messenger. This dangerous monster hidden behind the façade of an innocent looking work of art should be treated with the same respect used when dealing with plastic explosives. But everybody has had their run-ins with a handful of lot lizards in their day, right? They seem nice until you get a fifth of whiskey in them and the next thing you know you’ve got a raving lunatic on your hands who’s shit their pants while trying to pluck your eyeballs out of your skull. And through these experiences, we learn the lesson: Don’t f**k with a Lot Lizard.
Lot Lizard Tech Sheet
Owner: Joey Serano
City: Mastic, NY
Fabrication By: Chaos Cycle
Year: 2011
Model: Lot Lizard
Time: 3 Months
Value: To The Owner: Priceless
ENGINE
Year: 1965
Model: Panhead
Builder: Chaos Cycle
Ignition: Morris Magneto
Displacement: 103ci
Pistons: Wiseco
Heads: HD
Cam(s): Andrews
Carb: Cycle Xchange
Air Cleaner:
Exhaust: Chaos Cycle
Primary: Chaos Cycle/BDL
TRANSMISSION
Year: 2010
Make: Baker
Shifting: Super Smooth
FRAME
Year: 2011
Make: Chaos Cycle
Rake: 38 Degrees
Stretch: Neg. 4 Up – 0 Out
FRONT END
Type: Springer
Builder: DNA/Chaos Cycle
Extension: -4
Triple Trees:
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Liquid Cycle Supply
Size: 21”
Tire: Dunlop Trailmax
Brakes: DNA
Rear Wheel: Liquid Cycle Supply
Size: 18”
Tire: Avon
Brakes: Harley
PAINT
Painter: John “The Painter” Asarisi
Color: Brandywine Over Superflake
Type:
Molding: None
Graphics: Real Goldleaf (Not Some Stupid Sticker)
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Chaos Cycle Trackers
Risers: None
Hand Controls: Brembo
Gas Tank(s): Chaos Cycle
Front Fender: None
Rear Fender: Chaos “Leave Your Problems At Home” Fender
Seat: Xian Leather
Foot Controls: GMA
Oil Tank: eBay Special
Taillight: Todd’s Cycle
Mirrors: Look Over Your Shoulder
Photographer: Mark Velazquez