Aztec Robot

Article By: Roadside Marty

Photos By: Chris Callen

Originally Published In The June 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

Ok everybody, if you haven’t already just take a really good look at this water cooled Knucklehead. Yeah, that’s what I said, a water cooled Knucklehead! Most of you reading this will agree that a Knucklehead is one of the most desirable motors that H-D ever produced and a few of you may be fortunate enough to own one, but this baby is o n e of those dreams that for most of us is a winning lottery ticket away! Well, Dan Carr or Bacon as he’s known to his friends and numerous clients is one of those guys who has been around long enough to make the connections to make this dream a reality. You see, 18 years ago Bacon started at a local Harley shop, Northern Thunder Classics, while he was still in high school where the shop did everything from service and tire changes to building big dollar fat tire bikes, basically the things that every reputable bike shop does to keep the doors open.

He was fortunate that the two brothers who owned the place, Rob and Randy Kelly, took him under their wings and spent years teaching him what works and what doesn’ t when building a bike that was meant to be ridden. Rob and Dan were even partners for awhile in a shop until the building they were in sold. As with most things in life Dan ended up doing a bit of traveling around and ended up working at Ben’s V Twins in Concord N.C., another great bike shop.

Just like plenty before him he headed west to that dream of riding year round, California baby. There he ended meeting Jesse James, yeah that Jesse, and ended up building him a 46 Knuckle that had already been the product of a deal that Jesse James had done for a friend. Jesse was in the middle of building a water cooled Drake Knucklehead, which Bacon thought was one of the greatest things he had ever seen, he helped get it up and running for a history Channel show that was being filmed at the time, Jesse James Blacksmith. After asking Jesse for a set of those Drake cylinders, Bacon found a set of them in his Chevy after a trip out to Texas, now that’s a gift! He ended up sharing a shop with Jesse for awhile in Austin until he met his beautiful wife, Felice, and they set up DC Choppers in Spicewood Texas just outside of Austin. Now with two kids, Fiona and Calvin, they are one happy family! If they weren’t busy enough, they just added Motortechnic Manufacturing USA to the shop, so check them out at dc-choppers.com for more info.

This bike actually started when Bacon met Ron Weber from Fresno, CA, when he was looking for someone to machine his Drake cylinders. He heard that Ron had the fixtures, which worked out pretty good. Over the course of the next few years they got to be great friends. One of the times he was out there Ron was working on a Petruzzi motor, which is similar to the Drake. These motors were originally designed by a fellow named Joe Petruzzi for use in midget race cars, the genius is the heads on a Petruzzi are removable where the heads on a Drake are not which really sets this design apart. Ron gave Bacon a set of cylinders and told him to build a great bike. I’d say he definitely succeeded. He built a set of 41 cases with a 4 3/4 stroke, and he had to modify the frame a bit but the end result is perfect, he’s running a set of American racing wheels with dual Hurst calipers, DC Choppers own in house built controls and for the tanks he modified a set of original Panhead tanks where the right side holds water and the left holds gas allowing him to run a small radiator and no pump. All the rest of the fab work including that sweet 2 into 1 stainless pipe was done by Mr. Pete Massett, DC Choppers main man in the fab division! The bike runs great in that Texas heat and it’s now Bacon’s everyday rider. He has plans to hit Bonneville after Sturgis just to see what it’ll do out on the salt, now that’s gonna be awesome! Some people have asked me why he’s called “Bacon” and I tell them the story of how I first met Dan back in Salisbury N.C. for the Smokeout back in 06. He was hanging around the hotel where a bunch of us were staying and he had us in stitches with his stories of how he got there riding the rigid frame cone Shovel he was on at the time when Bad Monkey Ian just started calling him Bacon, short for Canadian Bacon..get it?? Great story and a great nickname for a man that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. I’m proud of him for all he’s accomplished ever since I’ve known him. I wish him and his beautiful family nothing but success and happiness!!!

Aztec Robot Tech Sheet

Owner: Dan Carr, DC Choppers

City: Spicewood, TX

Fabrication By: DC Choppers

Year: 1941

Model: FL Petruzzi

Time: 1 year

ENGINE

Year: 1941

Model: FL

Builder: DC Choppers / Ron Weber

Ignition: Morris Magneto

Displacement: 88”

Pistons: 8.5:1

Heads: Petruzzi water cooled

Cam(s): W & S

Carb: S & S L Series

Air Cleaner: Velocity Stack

Exhaust: Custom Stainless 2 into 1

Primary: Harley Davidson

TRANSMISSION

Year: 1946

Make: Harley

Shifting: Jockey

FRAME

Year: Panhead/Shovelhead/DC Choppers

Make: HD / Custom

Rake: 32

Stretch: 2 up

FRONT END

Type: Narrow 41mm

Builder: Harley / DC Choppers

Extension: 6 over

Triple trees: Old chopper trees found in a pile of parts

WHEE LS

Front Wheel: American Racing

Size: 18”

Tire: Avon Speedmaster

Brakes: Dual Hurst Airheart

Rear Wheel: American Racing

Size: 15”

Rear Tire: Dunlop Qualifier

Brakes: Gremeca

PAINT

Painter: Scott Craig

Color: Black

Type: Base coat, clear coat

Graphics: None

Molding: None

ACCESSORIES

Bars: DC Choppers

Risers: None

Hand Controls: None

Gas Tank(s): DC Choppers

Front Fender: None

Rear Fender: Gas Box/DC Choppers

Seat: Rich Philips Leather

Foot Controls: DC Choppers

Oil Tank: DC Choppers

Headlight: Bates Style

Taillight: Bates Style

Photographer: Chris Callen