Article & Photos By: Mark Velazquez
Originally Published In The January 2016 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
In an industry that all too often becomes saturated with egos and pretentious wanna be rock stars, it is refreshing to meet a builder with enough talent to really spin your head, but whose excitement about his work and involvement in the industry reminds you what “all this” should really be about; passion. Mike McFadden, owner of M&M Customs, is as talented and humble as you could ever want a motorcycle builder to be. But even beyond that, he is truly passionate about his work and his skill set. At M&M Customs Mike does everything from motor work, to design and fabrication, and paint. He takes pride in knowing that a bike bearing his logo has truly been built by him, from start to fi nish. McFadden began his journey into the custom world working in a paint and body shop. Fresh out of tech school in the mid 80’s McFadden found himself honing skills that would eventually put him on the “custom map” so to speak. After his mentor retired Mike took over the body shop and happily ran it for years. Unfortunately the prospect of knee surgery forced McFadden to look for a job with a solid health insurance policy. But even with a day job, Mike never lost sight of his passion. Working after hours in his small dimly lit shop behind his house in Owensboro Kentucky, Mike McFadden has been cranking out some of the coolest custom metrics I’ve ever seen; and enjoying every minute of it.
I saw Mike this last year at the Mid-American Motorcycle Expo in Evansville Indiana. He was there with four of his beautiful custom builds and enthusiastically talking to everyone that had a question for him. His newest bike, Holy Moly, made me stop and take a knee so I could get a serious look. Mike graciously talked to me about this build and the more he told me about it, the more inspired I felt by his work. Holy Moly began its life as a $600 barn fi nd. This 1973 Honda CB450 quickly found itself a new home at M&M Customs where it sat on the build table until Mike was sure of which direction he wanted to go with the build. Initially he wanted to do another cafe racer but after his trip to the Harley Museum for the 110th anniversary show, Mike was heavily inspired by the vintage board track racers. He decided that he wanted to build an interpretation of what he believed the Japanese would have brought to the old board track races.
Regardless of anyone’s opinion Mike had a precedent and the passion to go after it. So he started by reaching out to Sam at RideWright Wheels for a matching set of 21” Exotica wheels. McFadden covered these wheels with a vintage style set of Continental race tires. With a unique and unorthodox wheel and tire set up Mike was ready to chase his vision. He warmed up that CB450 motor with a 500 big bore kit and a set of 35mm Mikuni carburetors. An aggressive cam and taller gearing maintained the authenticity of a bike built to run fl at out on a board track. The DEI header wrap on the exhaust completes the performance look of the drive train. When it comes to the design aesthetics of a bike Mike has the vision to draw inspiration from literally any aspect of life. The design of the backbone and rear end of Holy Moly were inspired by the function and look of a king cobra snake. As outrageous as that sounds if you look at the bike you will see that inspiration. You will also realize that Mike captures that concept with such subtlety that it does not distract from the overall design; in fact it complements the whole aesthetic of this bike. The fi nishing touch is always in the paint. In this case McFadden wanted the fi nish to mimic the feel of an old vintage Gibson guitar. He need a color scheme that would work with all the brass hardware he was using, and with over 20 years’ experience in paint and bodywork, Mike set out to fi nd the perfect color. A custom blend of PPG paint yielded this slick brown and off cream combination. The addition of a pearl in the paint allows the edges to really pop in the sunlight. In true artisan fashion McFadden cut up one of his wife’s old leather coats to cover the seat, grips, and knee pads on the gas tank.
That’s what happens at M&M Customs when you leave anything in the shop; it will be cut up and redesigned into something useful. Mike’s enthusiasm for building custom motorcycles is intoxicating and his passion is nothing short of inspiring. He has reminded me of why I started building bikes in the fi rst place and clearly shown what you can accomplish when you love what you do. Personally I look forward to his future builds and I will continue to follow his work closely on Instagram @mmcustoms.
Holy Moly Tech Sheet
Owner: Mike McFadden
Fabrication By: M&M Customs
City/State: Owensboro, KY
Year: 2013
Model: Custom Japanese Boardtracker
Value: ?
Time: 8 Months
ENGINE
Year: 1973
Model: CB450
Builder: Ignition: M&M Customs
Displacement: 500cc
Pistons: One Over
Heads: Ported
Carb: 34mm Mikuni
Cam: 500 Big Bore Kit
Air Cleaner: Bellos
Exhaust: M&M Customs
Primary:
TRANSMISSION
Year: 1973
Make: Honda
Shifting: Added Plate & Heavier Springs
FRAME
Year: 2013
Make: M&M Customs
Rake: Stock
Stretch: 2” Backbone 2” Modifi ed Swingarm
Forks
Make: Stock
Builder:
Extension:
Triple trees: Stock Modifi ed
WHEELS
Front Wheel: RideWright Exotica
Size: 21”
Tire: Continental Custom Attack
Front Brake: None
Rear Wheel: RideWright Exotica
Size: 21”
Tire: Continental Custom Attack
Rear Brake: HD Rotor / XS650 Caliper
PAINT
Painter: M&M Customs
Color: Brown Pearl
Type: PPG, Basecoat Clear
Graphics: M&M Customs
Molding: M&M Customs
Chroming: None
ACCESSORIES
Bars: M&M Customs
Risers: Modifi ed
Hand controls: M&M Customs
Gas Tank(s): M&M Customs
Front fender: None
Rear fender: M&M Customs
Seat: M&M Customs
Foot controls: DX Pedals-BMX Bike
Mirrors: None
Oil Tank: None
Headlight: Mr. Lucky’s 4.5”
Tailight: M&M Customs
Speedo: None
Photographer: Mike McFadden