Fool’s Gold

March 20, 2016

0Points

Article By: Liza LaRoche

Photos By: Joshua Elzey

Originally Published In The September 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

When John Huff set out to build this chopper, he just wanted a cool little bar hopper he could rip around town on. His longtime friend and custom biker builder, Jason Grimes of Northeast Chop Shop, had a good deal on a used bike. It was a sweet, matte black bobber with a 4 speed kicker. After working out a deal to trade some paintwork and a fistful of cash, he walked away with the perfect candidate for his custom chopper. His intentions were to do a little sheet metal fabrication and a cool metal flake paint job. As this was his first build, ideas changed, new features were added and the build began to take on a life of its own. Huff decided he really wanted a 5 speed with an electric start. This put him at a crossroads. Should he modify the existing frame, or find a new one? Around the same time, his business partner, Darryl Sargent, was starting a build and had acquired a pair of rigid frames. With some more horse trading, John now had the platform upon which his chopper could be built. Since this was his first effort, Huff lacked some of the knowledge necessary for such an undertaking. He called on Keith and Troy from Dube’s Custom Street Machines to swap parts from the old bike to the new frame and also put the roller together so he could start the sheet metal fab. Being a novice welder at best, John got the basic mock-up together and handed the parts back to the professional to finish the Tig welding.

As with many budget builds, this bike took awhile until its completion. With three years from start to finish, plenty of time was spent finding the best deals on used parts. He scoured antique shops and f l e a markets to find unique pieces to enhance the esthetics of the bike. During one of his outings, John found a used primary cover for $15. He had always wanted to try metal engraving and he couldn’t think of a better time to give it a shot. So, he purchased some antique gravers and began the work on the cover. This piece would be what set the tone for the rest of the build and be the birth of JH Engraving — Huff’s engraving business. After doing the primary cover, he decided he wanted to engrave panels for the tank and rear fender as well. He was on the hunt for some thick aluminum that he could cut up and hammer to fit the shape of his parts. It would be an old cast aluminum Dutch oven he found collecting dust in his kitchen that would do the trick. The lid, once cut in two, was the perfect shape for each side of the alien tank. When all the panels were hammered and bounded to the sheet metal using SEM 2 part epoxy, countless hours were spent on the engraving process.

With the panels all finished, it was time to get the bike into some paint. Darryl Sargent of Kandyman Kustom Paint, is the master of shooting heavy old-school metal flake. He began by laying down gold flake and then added some black pinstriping to accent the lines. He finished by burying the bike with House of Kolor Pagan Gold Kandy and a liberal amount of clear for the show quality finish. When it came time for final assembly, John again called on his friend Jason Grimes. Jason would add the finishing touches along with his signature style bars and a few other one-off parts. In closing John said, “This build went exactly as I hoped; a collaborative effort of New England’s best putting their touches into my bike.”