Article By: Chris Callen
Photos By: Mark Velazquez
Originally Published In The July 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
It was the Indian Larry Block Party last year that gave us this little bitch you see here. I was sitting on the sidewalk painting with Seth, and one of our guys, Mark Velazquez, comes up and starts to tell me about this bitchin’ Sporty that pulled in. Now I had seen this thing at least once before, I think I had even told the cat to make sure he got in touch with us when it was finished, and man did it come out great. I gave Mark the job on grabbin’ some shots, and I sat down with the owner, Russ, to get the skinny. Turns out, Russ and his dad are fellow PA dwellers and in Pennsylvania, one of my favorite spots to hit is Bill’s Old Bike Barn in Bloomsburg. Russ just happened to have been working there when he started this project. He still wasn’t very adept at the mechanical side of things but was willing to learn. He started making plans and collecting parts for the build while earning his earliest motorcycle experience under his dad’s tutelage. Russ Sr. had been a motorhead since he was a teenager building and working on V8s. He already had a few killer motorcycle builds under his belt and all while working a full-time job. Everything at that time was done in a single bay garage using homebuilt power saws, sanders and a lathe from around the turn of the last century that he rescued and painstakingly rebuilt.
This build started with a Paughco frame, a basket case motor missing the rear head and the front rocker box, and a wild set of early Sifton cams that were scored at Bill’s. The father/son team went at it by chopping the frame and machining a Big Twin neck to accommodate a Super Glide frontend that would later get modified. Some of the ideas Russ had at the time weren’t necessarily what he would go with now, so he didn’t mind when the progress fell off while he worked through his I.B.E.W. apprenticeship. In the meantime, h e continued to gain more experience and scrounged more wildly mismatched parts at swap meets in order to keep the build affordable. The real meat of the build started when he scored a ‘73 XLCH in the winter of ‘08-‘09. Using the better of two bottom ends and transmissions along with some new old stock and quality aftermarket parts, Russ built the foundation of a solid bike. He topped it off with some 10.5:1 forged Wiseco pistons. The heads from two different years were used and opened up by his dad. Then Russ finished the assembly with high-lift valve springs to compliment the cams. He fabricated foot controls, bringing the shifter to the left side with roller bearings pressed into handmade control plates, along with the pegs, grips, sissybar, battery box and hold-down using a bass guitar tuner and string, and all tabs and brackets as well. Russ Sr. fabricated the offset trans sprocket and the sprocket cover which carries the shifter and kicker shafts. He also handled most of the crucial welding on this job.
Russ’s brother, Mike, sprayed the dark brown base and clear, loaded with gold pearl, making this a true family affair, which is just how we like it in PA. The bike was finished just hours before the first show it was entered in: the 2011 Super Swap in Reading, PA. There, Russ’s work was honored by taking first place in the Sportster Chopper class. It’s always great when you get a nod for a lot of hard work, especially when it’s your daily rider! Unfortunately, an inferior drive chain put Russ and his girlfriend down on the gravel shoulder three miles from home in the fall of 2011. They healed, but the rear arm for his taillight and a couple other parts were damaged. Russ whipped up a temporary bracket for the taillight and made a couple other temporary repairs to get the most out of the ending riding season. Since this shoot, he’s made a solid reproduction taillight bracket along with the other permanent repairs, but if this bike is anything like the ones the rest of my boys in PA. have, it will go through a lifetime of tweaks and adjustments. Nice job guys! In closing, Russ wanted to send special thanks out to his dad, his brother Mike and the rest of his family, along with Ace, Doug, Scott, Big Jeff and their friends at Bill’s Custom Cycles. Check out their other garage built bikes and parts at Facebook. com/blackdiamondcycle and @ russbeef on Instagram.
Golden Koolaid Tech Sheet
Owner: Russ Nahodil III (Young Russ)
City: Coal Township, PA
Fabrication By: Russ III & Russ Jr. (Black Diamod Cycles)
Year: 2011
Model: XLCH
Value: Yes
Time: Worthwhile
ENGINE
Year: ‘73ish
Model: XLCH 1000
Builder: Young Russ
Ignition: Crane HI-4
Displacement: 1000cc
Pistons: Wiseco +.010, 10.5:1
Heads: H-D Modified
Cam(s): Sifton
Carb: Super E Modified
Air Cleaner: S&S Velocity Stack
Exhaust: Paughco
Primary: H-D – Solid Engine Sprocket
TRANSMISSION
Year: 73ish
Make: H-D
Shifting: Foot Modified
FRAME
Year: 2000ish
Make: Paughco Modified
Rake: 44 Degress
Stretch: Nominal
FRONT END
Type: Super Glide
Builder: H-D
Extension: +4”
Triple Trees: Super Glide Modified
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Modified H-D Dyna Hub
Size: 21”
Tire: Avon Roadrunner
Brakes: PM Single Disc
Rear Wheel: HD Dyna Hub – Twisted Spoke
Size: 16”
Tire: Avon
Brakes: PM Disc
PAINT
Painter: Mike Nahodil
Type: Dupont Chroma
Color: Brown, Gold Pearl
Graphics: None
Molding: Mike Nahodil, Scott Capps
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Santee
Risers: H-D Inverted
Hand Controls: Joker Machine
Gas Tank(s): Mustang
Front Fender: None
Rear Fender: BDC
Seat: Corbin Gentry
Foot Controls: BDC
Oil Tank: Moon
Speedo: None
Taillight: ‘46-’48 Chevy Fleetline
Headlight: 4 1/2”
Photographer: Mark Velazquez