Twisted Buell

April 5, 2016

Article By: Kerri Schindler

Photos By: Chris Callen

Originally Published In The January 2012 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

Twisted Choppers is a name that has just recently twisted its way back into the motorcycle scene. This was not after having quite the learning experience along the way. Twisted consists of three guys: Kai, Joe, and Jason and they have worked together since they were each sixteen-years-old. Twisted has since restructured their business to be able to compete in these tough economic times. Since they began working together at a very young age, they understand what it takes to run an efficient shop, so they changed some aspects to make the business better and things are looking up. Joe is the one who is happy being in front of a computer for hours on end, Kai would much rather spend his time in front of a piece of machinery and Jason is the one that brings the degree to the table. Every one of them brings their own unique “thing,” and no one person is the “man” per say. They all work very well together and know what it takes to get the job done. From the past, they have learned some lessons and strive to make their business better today and in the future. This is what they want to do for the rest of their lives and it shows in their work.

What you see on these pages is a recent piece of work that has come out of Twisted Choppers. Some time ago, I remember seeing this picture. It showed a guy who was covered in tattoos in one image, and in the other image he was in a doctor’s outfit. The caption said: You never know who someone might be. Well this reminded me of just that. It just so happens that one day early this spring, a customer walked into Twisted Choppers. He looked just like any one of us and wanted them to take his newly acquired 2007 Buell that was damn near perfect, not a scratch on it anywhere, with only 3,000 miles, and chop it. Kai was then told about the project and how the customer wanted it chopped so it would fit his wife. As Kai looked over the bike, realizing they could do the job, he kept thinking how hard it was going to be to take this and chop it up since it was so new and clean. But as the saying goes: The customer is always right. He knew that he could turn this into a badass bike. Let the deconstruction begin. They got the bike in the shop and Kai brought the crew around and started going over what the plan was for it. Just like Kai, everyone was a little hesitant about taking this like-new bike and tearing it apart. The plan was to try and use as much of the Buell original parts as possible for budget purposes as well as performance reasons. They kept the Buell rims, tires, frontend, brakes, and several other parts.

About halfway through the build, this bike was really taking shape. The customer, Mike Mollet, stopped by to see how things were going and to let them know that the bike was no longer being built for a lady; he would soon be divorced. So this tidbit of information put a whole new twist on the build. They no longer had a strict budget and Mike gave them free reign to do what they felt best in every sense. Now some shops would take that and run but with Twisted Choppers, they just did what was best for the motorcycle. Sure, they could have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the bike and racked up the bill but they chose to put the bike first. This build was not without its challenges as with any build sometimes. When they decided to switch from fuel injection to carb, they ran into a road block and the bike wouldn’t start. So they called up a friend of theirs, Brian Fuller of Fuller Hot Rods. Now they didn’t even know if Brian would have the time to get back to them due to his crazy schedule but within 5 mins. of calling and leaving a voicemail, Brian dropped everything he was doing and called them right back. He walked them through some of the things to do, and voila, before they hung up the phone the Buell was running. The bike was finished just before the June deadline the customer had asked for and that was when they found out he was a heart doctor. So just remember, as the old saying goes: Never judge a book by its cover.