Custom Harley
Study the keeping of time and you’ll soon realise that methods for keeping track of the multitudinous moments that tick by before we all drop off this mortal coil are as many as they are varied. Which is all good and well, but what’s the best way of accurately measuring time if you are a biker? You can’t see a wristwatch under your leathers and take it from me, using radioactive isotopes to power your handle bar-mounted atomic clock really isn’t a good idea – the judge said I may never get off that !@#$%^&* terrorist watch list. But never fear, for I have found a way to measure biker time so accurately you’ll never need a watch again. How? It’s easy! You just need to note the time that has elapsed between two cool Harleys that are rolled through the out door at DP customs and divide by 60 to get a perfectly accurate 1 second measurement. why? Because that’s just about how often they’ve been managing to produce their superb new creations. At this rate, every Arizonian man, woman and child will be riding an DP Customs Ironhead by this time next year. Best get your ear plugs now before stocks run out.
black, white and blue – insert joke here about frozen penguins
Here’s Jarrod. “Our shop is in New River Arizona, but we haven’t had a local customer since the cows came home. That is, until we met a dude named Scott Brown at a bike Night late last year. He told us a story about how he was born in 1973, how all people born that year are very cool (of course I agreed with him, since I was also born in ’73), and that he wanted to build a bike in honor of his esteemed birth into the world of motorcycles. He said he liked DPC’s style and we were the ones who could help him realize his dream of creating Seventy Three. And it began…”
“He brought us an Ironhead Harley that was of the model year, well, you know… His requirements were few: It was to be really, REALLY black. With some hints of blue. It had to look mean. Roger that.”
“it was more crooked than Forrest Gump’s back,
and the welds looked like peppered bacon”
“The frame had already been hardtailed and raked. Once we scraped off all of the vintage grease and grime, however, we realized it was more crooked than Forrest Gump’s back, and the welds looked like peppered bacon. Justin hooked it up to the jig and had a chopping party that no one was allowed to attend. After fabbing and TIG welding the hell out of it, she was laser straight and the welds looked like the boys from Akrapovic had stopped by to help.”
“The bike had a bent shifter shaft. With these old right hand shift bikes, you’ve got go deep inside to replace it. It was worth the hard work though, as we also noticed the clutch had to be replaced. So we put in a new one while we were in the deep.”
“We used a black springer and powdercoated the cam cover, sprocket cover, primary cover and rocker boxes in satin black. Justin did his signature bitchin’ crossover exhaust, and perfectly followed the tips with the lines of the frame.”
“Our favorite part of this build is that we were able to stick with the ‘all black’ theme while mixing in the traditional bright colors that DPC is known for. The hint of white and blue on the matte finished tank blends perfectly with the bright blue wheels and the whitewall rear tire. Oh, and we’re proud of the ultra sano wiring throughout the bike and lack of clutter. It’s one mean looking machine! Scott was blown away when he saw it – in a cool way of course…”
Brand of Brothers – meet Justin Del Prado (left) and Jarrod Del Prado (right)
If you like what you see here, why not jump over to the official DP photographer’s website at strahmphoto.com to see more. And if that doesn’t satiate yr thirst for iron they watch this space, as Jarrod has informed me that he has a new cafe racer in the works. About time.
