BREAKING

Feature Bikes

Sabotage

Houston Retro Bobbers

Article By: Matt Reel

Photos By: Kerri Schindler

Originally Published In The May 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

Feature 4a May 14 Kerri

The saying “everything happens for a reason” has most of us scratching our heads and wondering just what the hell that reason is. Well in 2010, Adrian Intgroen found himself wondering just that. Adrian was recently laid off from his job and trying to figure out ways to put some cash in his pocket.

To get a little cash flow generated, Adrian sold his racing four-wheeler and then invested that money in an import motorcycle. He then decided to customize that bike and flip it for some profit. After doing the work, the bike spent a little time on Craigslist and then found a new home.

Suddenly, Adrian knew what the reason was for his lay off; it was so he could find his true path. That path is building affordable custom motorcycles for the average person. So, with the first bike gone and customers lining up, Houston Retro Bobbers was born.

Retro Bobbers will build on any platform, but the majority of their business is building custom rides of import chassis. The import customs have become so popular that the first build is the only one Adrian had to find a home for. Every build since then has been for a customer.

With the shop now established and bikes and customers moving in and out the door, Adrian decided it was time to build himself a bike. He wanted to have something he could ride around, hit some shows and let people see what Houston Retro Bobbers could do.

Now if you don’t own or work in a motorcycle shop you may think, how hard could this be? Having an entire shop at your disposal, bring the bike in, customize it and drag it out. Truth is, in this situation, everything comes before your bike. Customer bikes are always first. If you’re short a part, it often gets robbed off your personal bike to get another bike out the door and sometimes the dog eats your wiring harness (yeah that happened to this bike, special thanks to Nick Wright for fixing that problem). So building a bike in your own shop is often a real hassle.

Feature 4b May 14 Kerri

Knowing all the hold ups he was going to encounter (except the dog thing), Adrian picked up a 2002 Honda Shadow 600 and started an 8 month journey. This journey would involve unlimited custom work. This included suspension work, metal fabrication, retro fitting wheels, and the amazing work of 2 painters.

To get things started, an air ride system originally designed for a sport bike was modified, with the help of Adrian “Tiny” Zalindo, to fit the Shadow frame. With the rear suspension ready, a 19 inch rim was laced to the original hub. The front suspension was then dropped 4 inches. A 23 inch wheel meant to spend its life on a Harley Davidson front end was then adapted to fit the Honda forks and still be able to use the Honda front brake caliper.

With the chassis sitting low, Adrian turned his attention to metal work and fabrication. First, since the front fender was not going to be used, it received some trimming and found a new home covering the rear tire. Next, a fuel tank was needed so Daniel at Pandemonium sent out one of his that then received some custom work before being mounted on top of the backbone. With this done, a couple of new side covers were made for the front of the frame to blend where the backbone and down tubes come together.

parts were fitted, they were pulled off and attacked with a grinder. This gave it the distinctive swirl pattern you see all over it. The metal work was then handed off to a pair of paint shops. Magic Customs and Czar Zamora of Master Mind Designs combined their talents to pull off the eye catching job you see here.

Once the paint returned, reassembly of the Shadow began. As things went together, a custom seat from Jamie Jordan was added, and Adrian fabbed up a jockey shift set up with a clutch lever built into it. The powder coated and pin stripped engine was slid into place and a set of custom exhaust pipes were welded up.

With everything finished up there was only one thing left to do — show off the Shadow, and that is just what Adrian did. To date, the bike has been entered in 6 shows and brought home 6 trophies. So if you’re in the market for a custom ride and don’t want to sell one of your kids to fund it, give Houston Retro Bobbers a call. Let them show you that it doesn’t have to come with a gigantic price tag to be cool; cool is what you make it and they definitely know how to do that.

Feature 4c May 14 Kerri

Sabotage Tech Sheet
Owner: Adrian Introgen
City: Houston, TX
Fabrication By: Houston Retro Bobbers
Year: 2002
Model: Honda
Time: 9 Months Off and On
ENGINE
Year: 2002
Model: Honda
Builder:
Ignition: Stock
Displacement: 600cc
Pistons: Stock
Heads: Stock
Cam(s): Stock
Carb: Rejetted Stock
Air Cleaner: One-Off Custom
Exhaust: One-Off Custom
Primary: N/A
TRANSMISSION
Year: 2002
Make: Honda
Shifting: 4 Speed
FRAME
Year: 2002
Make: Honda
Rake: Stock
Stretch: Stock
FRONT END
Type: Stock Slammed
Builder: Honda
Extension: None
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Billet SMT Machining
Size: 23”
Tire: Avon
Brakes: Honda Caliper/HD Disc
Rear Wheel: Custom Rim – Re-spoked To Hub
Size: 19”
Tire: 130-19
Brakes: Stock
PAINT
Painter: Magic Kustomz/Mastermind Designs
Color: Raw Metal Old School Striping w/ Candy Teal
Type: House of Kolor
Graphics: Copper Leaf
Chroming: None
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Clip-Ons
Risers: N/A
Hand controls: Stock
Gas Tank(s): Pandemonium Modified w/ Spikes
Front Fender: None
Rear Fender: Stock Modified w/ Spikes
Seat: Jamey Jordan Custom Aluminum
Foot Controls: Stock w/ MX Style Pegs
Oil Tank: None
Taillight:
Headlight: Stock
Photographer: Kerri Schindler

Related Posts

1 of 54