Save Yourself

December 6, 2016

Article By: Paul Wideman

Photos By: Nichole Grodski

www.bareknucklechoppers.com

Originally Published In The May 2011 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

I gotta tell ya, my monthly assignments with Cycle Source are the balls, man! Every month Wildman gives me the coolest scoots to write about. Now, I’m not saying the other bikes in the mag are slouches, not by any stretch, but damn, I get some good ones! Mitch Bergeron last month, KHS the month before, John Dodson a few more months back… life is good. But to get to write about one of your closest homies; one of the dudes that is always there for you, that’s a true honor. Rockin’ Beers is a flat out trip to be around. High intensity and balls to the wall with the only filter being a worn out liver. Blah, blah, blah… let’s get to the bike. Back in ’03, Terry was going though some, uh, life changes. Lightening the load a little, if you will, and he stopped by the Sucker Punch camp in Miami, OH. There he met Donny, Jeff, and Jason. He immediately struck a relationship with the hardworking chopper jockeys, and made a deal for a roller. A few months later, his boxes showed up and he quickly pieced the roller together. At this point, the aforementioned life changes took their toll on Terry’s wallet, slowing the project to a crawl. So between 12s of Warsteiner and handles of Jack, Terry saved a few bucks and snatched up the venerable HD Evo, both for reliability and warranty. The warranty end of it later proved pointless, as the bike wasn’t done till shortly after it had expired. Things started picking up for our inebriated hero through 2004 and 2005, and the chop gained steam. A 5 speed was picked up at a bargain price, and a 3” BDL primary was grabbed to hook the drivetrain up.

It was around this time that I met Terry; he called and ordered a set of pipes from us. Shortly thereafter he was cruising through town and wanted to meet us to rock a few beers, and a legend was born. Not too long after that hazy encounter, Terry ordered a few more items from us, like the forward controls and a set of high bars. He also got a set of Donny’s Hot Rod struts for the rear end. Bare Knuckle also modified the Sportster tank to include the Berserker gas cap from Paul Cox (I could also mention another ridiculous tank setup we tried, that seriously resulted in Terry hauling ass down the highway on fire, laughing his tits off, but you gotta hear that one in person). Terry managed every bit of the fab work right in his garage, running his own TIG machine and small lathe to kick out the bits and pieces needed. The man is responsible for some very highend security networking during the day, so his wiring is tight and very impressive. Neither Terry nor I remember all of the changes this scoot has gone through; it is on its second oil bag, third or fourth set of bars, second set of pipes, second taillight, third seat, and it has switched frequently from hand shift to foot shift, depending on mood and season. In 2006, we also re-powdercoated the wheels to the current configuration, and relaced and trued them to well beyond factory specs. As for the tires, the rear is now a Metzeler that Terry is very fond of, considering the hard riding the “Cracker Jacker” sees in Colorado. The previous couple rear tires were Avons, and I think the bulk of both of those are still on the ceiling of my old shop. Not far from his uncle’s shoe (very stupid story).

The current ride features the paintwork of Radical Randy, whose work has been seen here and across the globe many times previous. It’s a combo of cobalt candy, silver, and black, with a ton of flake. Of course the Throttle Junkies’ logo adorns the tank, as Terry is the Grand Dragon of the Colorado Band of Idiots. To finish this tasty little number off, Terry added the Black Sunshine Model B taglight and a Bare Knuckle/K&N air cleaner. Done! Well, at least for a minute or two. When Terry showed up a month or so ago to our place we whipped up a new set of pipes. Ever-changing, man; you know the drill. When I first asked Terry if he’d ever named the bike, he said he never thought about it. I thought that was cool, cuz too much goes into the presentation sometimes, and not enough into the riding and building. The very next day, Terry and Denver Paul walked across the street to grab some beer from Haji, and a couple of our little town’s finest females were behind the two in line. After some kind of hillbilly pick-up line tossed at Terry, the two left. Terry made a comment about hooking up with a cracker jack in Missouri. Denver Paul blurted out that he should name his bike the “Cracker Jacker,” cuz that’s exactly what Terry is; that, and a damned good dude. Love ya man.

Save Yourself Tech Sheet

Owner: Terry “Rockin’ Beers” Henning

City: The Springs

Fabrication By: Terry

Year: 2005

Model: Chopper

Time: Never Done

Value: $666

ENGINE

Year: 1999

Model: Evo

Builder: HD