Originally Published In The June 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source
Article By: Chris Callen Photos By: Fran Kuhn
Music and motorcycles have gone together since, well, probably since the first cat rode the first motorcycle and started humming a tune as he moved on down the road. Now I’m not sure what it is that makes these two separate worlds have so many similarities, but for whatever reason it is that draws a person to one, they also tend to be drawn to the other. As a bass player, I can tell you that in a crowd of motorcyclists I can generally pick out other musicians among us. It makes sense since the only thing that’s harder to make a living at than music, is probably the motorcycle industry. We hard headed sons-a-bitches tend to end up bike builders and publishers with weekend gigs shreddin’ with the boys. That is until one or the other takes over and even then, the other isn’t far away.
This is the story of how I came to know Lucas Joyner. Like many of us, Lucas dropped out of high school. He then ran off to LA in hopes of making his way into the music world. After doing anything he could to make a living back then, he would eventually find his way into the motorcycle business. Now, through the company he has started, The Factory Metal Works, Lucas has become one of the premier young builders of the day. He’s been invited to the biggest shows in the business and has even built quite a few motorcycles for high profile personalities. One such personality, Butch Walker, is the owner of this little beauty here. You may be asking yourself, who is Butch Walker? Well, Butch is a hell of a musician and song writer and has a list of credentials a mile long that you can read more about in the Full Throttle Rock column. For our purpose here, suffice it to say, Butch is another musician with a severe motorcycle problem. He has been in some great bands himself but is probably more known for the hit songs he has written and produced for artists like: Avril Lavigne, Pink, Weezer and Sevendust. The best thing about him is he’s a down to earth kinda cat who is easy to talk to and by no means is he a hipster. A quote that sticks out in my head from his interview is about people who come into his recording studio: “…as long as they don’t mind the smell of oil and gas… ‘cause the bikes aren’t going anywhere.”
As it turns out, Lucas’s wife Stacy was very familiar with Butch’s work. She was, in Lucas’s own words, “head over heels in love with his music.” So one day, Joyner was taking the daily Internet orders and answering e-mails when one came in with the name Butch Walker. Almost as a smartass, Lucas sent off a reply questioning if this was the Butch Walker, the recording artist. “Yeah,” came the reply and he added that he needed some help with his motorcycle. Butch had bought some other Factory Metal Works products but he had this 500 that he wanted Lucas to get involved in. Now Lucas hadn’t done a full-out custom on a 500 before, but he’d be damned to not get this build. He agreed and sent his boy Ryan, who is on the West Coast, to get the bike, tear it down and send the frontend out to their shop in Charlotte. Ryan would keep the motor and do a complete overhaul on that, while Lucas would take the frontend and basically fab a complete chassis around it. This was a tall order for Lucas since Butch is a big guy. It would be hard to get enough stretch out of a 500 to keep it from looking like a little toy with him on it.
The success in this design concept is more than apparent as you look over the killer lines of this bike. Lucas has a way of putting so much personality into his bikes, even one like this that comes without flashy purple metal flake paint. You see, Butch isn’t a real flashy guy himself and Lucas would have to pull back on the freak control a bit for this one. Butch is a big fan of brass accents, so with that feature in mind, Lucas went to his guy Pork Chop who would lay down some killer, dirty white stripes over a basic gloss black paint scheme. All these components together sort of remind you of a vintage Les Paul guitar. I’m not sure if that’s the axe of choice for Butch, but man I can see it in his bike.
With the finish in place, Joyner would ship the roller out to California where he would fly out and join it for the final assembly phase with Ryan. Now remember, this was his first 500. Over the next couple of days and nights, with no sleep and a ton of work, he noticed the many differences in it from a 750 in clearances and fitment. Still they rocked it out, with only a few minutes to spare before they were meeting Butch. They’d even have time to shoot some pics of it out by the original WCC shop before heading to Santa Monica to meet the new owner.
Butch rode the bike back to his studio with Lucas in tow and they hung out there for a while. The bike was a hit; Butch was thrilled and Lucas let out a giant sigh of relief. Like I said in the beginning, Butch is a real rider, hence the comment about his work space. He is a very active rider, Lucas told me, who gets out at least once a week with his riding crew. He also said that it’s always nice to know that the person you’re building a bike for will get on it and ride. Lucas gets regular text messages from Butch saying how much he loves this bike.
While Lucas and Stacy have a second son on the way right now, forcing him to take time off of the road, , you can still catch up with him at a few events. TFMW will be at Born Free and the Smoke Out for sure, so set your alarm and get ‘er done. Now, Lucas is currently building a bike for Ryan Reynolds and is talking about a second one for Butch. I can tell you for sure that whatever the next big thing is to come out of TFMW, it will be worth the time spent watching for it. Keep an eye on the Cycle Source blog and The Factory Metal Works own Website to see it with your own eyes.
Cycle Re-sources: The Factory Metal Works 888-308-6641 www.thefactorymetalworks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheFactoryMetalWorks Follow Us On Twitter @T_F_M_W
Stretched Out Triumph Tech Sheet
Owner: Butch Walker
City: Venice, CA
Fabrication By: The Factory Metal Works
Year: 1966
Model: Triumph
Time: 3 Months
Value: Priceless
ENGINE
Year: 1966
Model: Trophy
Builder: Ryan Mullion – The Tiger Shack
Ignition: Boyer
Displacement: 500cc
Pistons: STD
Heads: Single Carb
Cam(s): Stock
Carb: Amal
Air Cleaner: Velocity Stack
Exhaust: TFMW Rippled Drag Pipes
Primary: Chain
TRANSMISSION
Year: 1966
Make: Triumph
Shifting: Four
FRAME
Year: 2012
make: TFMW
Rake: 32 Degrees
Stretch: 5” Rear Section
FRONT END
Type: Conventional
Builder: ?
Extension: 2 Under
Triple Trees:
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Triumph
Size: 21”
Tire: Avon
Brakes: TR5W Drum
Rear Wheel: Triumph
Size: 18”
Tire: 4.50 Firestone
Brakes: Pre-’70 Triumph
PAINT
Painter: FNO
Color: Gloss Black
Chroming: TFMW
molding: TFMW
Graphics: Pork Chop
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Euro Style Cut Short
Risers: 1”
Hand Controls: Triumph UK Style
Gas Tank(s): Wassell Peanut Ribbed
Front Fender: None
Rear Fender: Barons’ Speed Shop – Ribbed Duck Bill
Seat: TFMW Vintage Brown
Foot Controls: TFMW Brass Mids
Oil Tank: TFMW Vintage One-Off
Taillight: CSC
Headlight: CSC
Photographer: Fran Kuhn
