It was indeed an ape handlebar’d Twin Cam, and I was there to shoot and capture it on film for your delectation.

This ‘Dyna’ has come to fruition through Jock, its owner and builder, keeping his ear to the ground during the Twin Cam’s early years, as it replaced the Evo.

Jock stored all the feedback and reports of how good these TCs were, and once confident of their prowess, the collection of the requisite parts could begin for his next project.

Obviously, a motor and gearbox was top of the list, but once they were sorted, an order was placed, and a parcel duly arrived from SJP in Holland. The package contained one of their Fat Glide front end kits in ally billet - my Evo has been lucky enough to be wearing one of SJP’s raked yoke kits for the past five years, and I rate their wares very highly - as well as one of their dual headlight units. So, that’s taken care of the forks, yokes, front axle and headlight. The lighting rig was completed with the addition of a billet ally LED rear light from Rebuffini.

It’s amazing really, all you need to get a underway is a small amount of parts ... and your vision of vehicular wonderment can begin: it was time for the off.

Being a twenty-year member of the Chopper Club, Jock is yet another one of their membership that moves with the times of custom motorcycling. Despite choosing an up-to-date Twin Cam motor, his new creation was going to be a ‘softail’ wearing modern hardware, whilst still in the true, time honoured fashion of the Chopper.

His travels took him to Norfolk, to Briz at Custom Cycle Developments, to build one of his ‘Dyna Softail’ frames, and supply the pair of 15-inch wheels. These have compomotive split rims and billet ally hubs, with the rear item being fitted with a Performance Machine rear pulley. Smaller than stock, numbering just 65 teeth, it raised the gearing enough to run the smaller wheel, and it was also the slimmer version which allowed the use of a narrow belt conversion for the final drive. Making the most of that clearance, a 200/70 section tyre is slotted into the back end. Both hoops are wearing Metzelers, and look the biz, and although the front wheel has a 180 tyre on it, the rim will accept a 200 at a later date, if Jock so wishes.

Both fenders are from Motorcycle Storehouse but, in true fashion of reworking, Baz from NCC Glos, armed with his fabrication textbook, attacked both of them and in so doing, the rear one got a serious tampering with, ending up shorter and wider than the supplier intended. Baz also did the struts and beading, and welded up all the bracketry that Jock had tacked into place all over the frame.

The fuel tank is from Zodiac, but yer man Baz modified it to get the required shape, then fitted it with hidden mounts. Then ‘Studdy’, that fine young gentleman at Krazy Horse Kustoms took a break from ripping the piss out of Porky, the retired tripe purveyor to all things canine, and a good ole wheeling dealing Suffolk yokel (who is now making a nuisance of himself behind the doors of Black Bear’s establishment. Poor sods), for just long enough to supply Jock with a mini filler cap and Accel fuel tap. Porky had a hand in Jock’s decision to commission one of CCD’s frames, as he’d already had a Dyna frame built by Briz’ fair hands.

That Softail oil tank, is in fact a combined electrics / battery box designed to resemble the original, and was grafted by Briz to fit snugly in the frame. And it suits you, sir!

The 1450 motor was left well alone, as they are very successful in the performance department. The only additions being a Mikuni HSR42 carb, dyno’d and then finished off with a Rebuffini air filter cover, while making all the noise and polluting the atmosphere is done admirably by A.R. Harley’s chromed, modified softail exhaust system, and they really pound the ground.

If you have this power on tap, you have to halt its propulsion from time to time, but at least we can say that the stock brakes are up to this task, being upgraded on the post-2000 Twin Cam models.

The direction of travel is taken care of by the aforementioned 19-inch Apes with integral risers, from Ness, clamped up in OMP billet, while the controls are courtesy of OMP switchgear, levers and grips, matched by a set of forward controls with a master cylinder from OMP below decks. To keep you informed of progress, the Dakota Digital Dash looks very useful and dead neat into the bargain.

That was just one of the items that needed wiring up, and that - indeed, all the electrics - were handled by Jock himself, with a bit of help from a few stock nic-nacs. The coils were housed on a WM billet ally mount and stowed away up under the tank.

A fan of billet ally, Jock has used it extensively, including the rear axle plates, rear light sidemount and backing plate.

It’s always good having somewhere to sit, so with seatbase in hand, Outback Motorcycle Saddles were brought into the game for one of their seat covers in Connolly hide, and the one-off result matches the lines and graphics of the bike perfectly, as you can observe. Speaking of graphics, one of the world’s best was commissioned to do the paintwork: Ty Lawer at Pageant Paint did another subtle piece of class. It’s loosely based on Japanese images, and looks well smart. And to compliment all that, the ‘black as the ace of spades’ Gary Martin at GSM Polishers, the all-singing, all-dancing metal polisher in Axbridge who loves nothing more than to breathe in the soap off his polishing mops and get extremely black, just like his lungs, was entrusted with getting the brightwork gleaming. And he does get do an exceedingly deep shine.

And that’s it, another custom build to add to Jock’s already long list of classy custom builds. Once finished, he couldn’t understand why his stately abode, was a dump at the end of the build, but he hadn’t noticed his wife, Sandra, in the garage all that time, armed with her enthusiasm and spannering capabilities. She mucked in for the duration and he can’t expect clean skidders, a nice meal every evening, and a lending hand in a new project. That boy’s spoilt, because Sandra had put her own bike building exploits on hold so as to help out, but not without reward: Jock was needed to wire up her new project.

Perhaps some of you think this bike’s a tad on the tasty side? Well, I’m not going to argue with you, it’d be rude! And besides, bike show judges are in agreement too. So there!

Specifications