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Tight And Shallow

Article By: Chris Callen

Photos By: Jeff Cochran

Originally Published In The May 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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We are extremely proud to have Will Ramsey on staff as one of our tech writers, but not just because he is so eloquent with the English language; this cat straight up knows his shit. This was the second year in a row that he was invited to Artistry in Iron, and the second year in a row that his build for that show is featured on our cover. All the work that he does out of his shop in Louisville, Kentucky is that of another kind when it comes to bike building in general, and trust me, I know some of the best. With Will, however, he takes such a scientific approach it sometimes makes you feel a little dumb when you listen to his in-depth explanation of alloys and gasses, molecular effects of what you do to the metal…he’s amazing. To look at this bike you might think that at first glance it’s pretty cool, but when you get down to the details that’s where you realize how awesome it actually is. That’s the main reason that we wanted to give his latest build — Tight and Shallow — a cover spread.

It all started when Will got the call to compete in Artistry in Iron again, and he was without a commission for that event. The build would be Article By: Chris Callen Photos By: Jeff Cochran coming out of his own pocket so he wouldn’t have any limitations. After spending a year and a half of developing the Springer frontend you see here, the bike was built to showcase Faith Forgotten’s new product. Typically, Will likes to use a front brake on his bike. He rides a bit harder than your typical chopper jockey so he wants to have the best braking, but he went on to tell me that the Speedking/Wilwood brake system in the rear is actually enough. And this is just the beginning of the list of exotic components.

Starting with the frame, Will worked with John from Hardtail Choppers to get stock frame castings developed out of stainless. It’s the same frame design as his last build, using stock castings, but he puts 2¼ inch stretch in the frame and kicks the casting out 1 degree to bring the backbone down. A lot of people think it’s a stock frame; it’s absolutely not. As he began fitting the frame components and the tubing, he didn’t just make joints, he went as far as to forego the fillet weld that would interrupt the paint-to-stainless effect he wanted. That was onehundred percent inspired by Paul Wideman’s “Incognegro” build. So he put a sleeve over each piece of tubing, welded the sleeves to the casting and dressed off the welds completely. It looks, to the untrained eye, that the tubing was never welded to the casting.

This was a point of contention for a moment with the judges from the IMBBA during their show in Galveston, TX. They were convinced that Ramsey had shortchanged the fabrication of the frame and actually deemed it as unsafe. After Charlie Hadayia (Biker’s Choice) came over and Will explained it to him, and as a credit to Charlie’s experience, the effort was rewarded.

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effort was rewarded. Beyond that, each casting was taken to the limit in polishing. Two polishers failed before Will went to his friend who has a tool and die shop. He was introduced to a turbo hone and went at it. Every tiny nook and cranny on the fixtures were highly polished and look like chrome. The downtube fixture was an item that John didn’t offer back then and Will actually custom made that one to resemble the stock fixture and keep that look. This finished frame has now become Faith Forgotten’s signature frame design.

Will explained that the use of titanium was self-indulgent, but h e also feels that he can make a valid argument for its use in fabricating a gas tank. When it comes to titanium being a more appropriate alloy over the aluminum that most people like to use now, the titanium has better characteristics. It is very shock proof and far less apt to suffer stress cracks; this fits well into his theory of form following function. Of course the rest of it rides on the fact that he wanted to showcase his ability to work with titanium. This is not an easy metal to fabricate with. You can’t just hook up a TIG welder and go to it. There has to be a purified environment and you have t o have purified argon to weld this material. So when you read that he used titanium for the gas tank and the rear fender, that’s no small feat. Even legendary master fabricator, Fay Butler, advised Will at the beginning of this not to even try using this material.

Minimalism and a soft aesthetic are the key features in a Faith Forgotten custom build. You won’t find his bike on the “50 stupid ways to die,” list. Every corner is rounded and radiused. Even the paint is simple and muted. It’s a Monte Carlo blue from BMW, but it’s intentionally left to that satin finish to not overpower anything else that was built on the bike. Form must follow function because otherwise, it’s just dumb to build something you can’t ride. And trust me, I’ve seen this cat all over hell’s half acre on hardtail Shovels and the like. He and his boys stretch ‘em out. So with zero time left to get to Vegas, they were on par. It was running and ready but they were even tightening bolts as they loaded it. Neither Will nor his guy Jason had slept in days, but they got in the truck and headed out. To say they were at each other’s throats is the least of it, but they made it. In spite of not taking the big prize home, one of the best things for Ramsey was the other builders he has mad respect for were also there. One such case for Will was meeting Michael Barragan whose work he has been a fan of for quite a while. They spent a good amount of time together. Will, who feels he doesn’t claim that he invented the wheel, says it’s important to find inspiration from as many places as you can. From there, Will took the bike on to the Lone Star Rally in Galveston where he and other Artistry in Iron cohort, Giovanni of Blacksmith Motoring, tore the town in half, but not before Will scored several trophies including “Best of Show” in the Cycle Source show on Seawall. No telling where Will goes from here, but you can be sure that his next build will be another step above. Look him up!

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Tight And Shallow Tech Sheet
Owner: Will Ramsey
City: Louisville, KY
Fabrication By: Faith Forgotten Choppers
Year: 1956
Model: Panhead
Time: 70 Days
ENGINE
Year: 1956
Model: Panhead
Builder: Jess Cleary – FFC
Ignition: Morris Magneto
Displacement: 74”
Pistons: S&S
Heads: OEM
Cam(s): Andrews B
Carb: Retro Fitted CV
Air Cleaner: Joker Machine
Exhaust: FFC
Primary: Tech Cycle
TRANSMISSION
Year: 2013
Make: STD Cases/Andrews Gears
Shifting: Suicide
FRAME
Year: 2013
Make: FFC
Rake: 31
Stretch: 2.25”
FRONT END
Type: Tapered Leg Springer
Builder: FFC
Extension: Stock
WHEELS
Front Wheel: HDW
Size: 21”
Tire: Metzeler
Brakes:
Rear Wheel: HDW
Size: 18”
Tire: Metzeler
Brakes: Dual Wilwood w/ Speedking Stainless Bracket
PAINT
Painter: Danny Taylor
Color: Monte Carlo Blue (Satin)
Type: PPG
Pinstriping: Danny Taylor
Molding: Brian Howell
Nickel plating: Browns
ACCESSO RIES
Bars: FFC
Risers:
Hand Controls:
Gas Tank(s): FFC – Titanium
Front Fender:
Rear Fender: FFC – Titanium
Seat: FFC – Warren Ramsey
Foot Controls: FFC – Titanium
Oil Tank: FFC – Titanium
Headlight: Spotlight
Taillight: After Hours Choppers
Photographer: Jeff Cochran

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