California Cowboy Pan

April 28, 2019

To Read The Full Article, Go To www.cyclesource.com

Article By: Roadside Marty

Photos By: Michael Lichter

Originally Published In The November 2028 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

If you were in Sturgis this year and you happened to catch the Passion Built show hosted by the legendary Michael Lichter at the Buffalo Chip then you were fortunate enough to see this bike in person, lucky you! If you’re weren’t so lucky then I’m happy to be the one to share it with you. Even though I had a bike in the show myself this bike was hands down my absolute favorite. After talking with several other builders, I found out that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way! Stacy McCleary is the man behind this build. I met him and his wife Danell last year in Sturgis and saw the Slabside Shovel he brought out with him then. Knowing his level of skill and attention to detail I was looking forward to seeing this year’s offering. It all started when Michael called to ask Stacy to be in the show. At fi rst, he was hesitant because like most of us he didn’t like the idea of building a bike in a six-month time frame. Well, after a week or two of coming up with excuse after excuse fi nally Danell told him to just get out to the garage and build a damn bike for the show! Initially he was unsure of what he direction he would take but after looking at the list of builders he fi gured that most of them would be building Choppers and Bobbers. He knew he didn’t want to blend in with the crowd, so to be a little different he decided to build a fl at track racer. Stacy had never built a fl at track racer, so he fi gured why not challenge himself while he was it!

He decided to use an engine that he had built in 2008. McCleary opted for a set of STD cases. Heads were sourced and since he had a choice, Stacy went with a set of 80” cylinders with Wiseco pistons. An Andrews cam was put in place along with a set of Jim’s pushrods and lifters. Stacy decided to go with the tried and true S&S Super E carburetor. Since he wanted to save a little weight he ditched the battery and went with a Morris Magneto for spark. Once he had the motor wrapped up, he found a ‘62’ 4 speed that he did a good once over on. Next up was the frame. Stacy said it originally started life as a Paughco straight leg frame, but he had a different idea in mind. McCleary ended up cutting the frame in half and changing the rake to 29°, then he fabricated a new single downtube.

This required him to modify the front engine and tranny mounts. Once that fab work was done he spent a good bit of time fi lling and sanding the rough spots, so the gloss black powder coat would look like glass. The gas tanks started out as an original set of beat up OEM H-D tanks that he narrowed and separated. The right one is now his oil tank. He started out with a 4” round fender that he fabricated some long metal braces for. While he was at it he made the rear support look like a vintage Triumph fender. He hammered out a quick seat pan and his good friend Juan covered it for him. Those pipes are a really nice touch. To keep the heat away from the magneto Stacy ended up routing the front pipe to the left of the bike and kept the rear pipe on the same level as the front. For the wheels he went with a set of Excel High Shoulder aluminum rims that kept the race look. He also powder coated them. Again, to save some weight he ended up using a 1 1/2” BDL belt drive. One of my personal favorites on this bike is the way the clutch cable is routed with pulleys along the seat post tube.

His use of chrome button head Allen bolts throughout the bike along with the fi t and fi nish of this bike still completely amazes me. I sat and stared at this bike for a couple of hours during the week and each time I found a new detail that I had missed earlier. It was an absolute pleasure talking with Stacy and his wife and hearing his stories of bikes and cars that he had built over the years. Stacy would like to thank his wife, his kids and especially his grandkids who he says brag about the bikes he builds to their friends at school. We look forward to your next bike Stacy!