IWoct11pgs SS IW0204Pgs CS - stephen bernerstephenberner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/iw_1011-domino-a-roll... · Any bike builder will tell you: the idea in your head for the bike

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ContentsSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011

ON THE COVERVolume 21 Number 7 Our 177th Issue

Any bike builder will tell you: the idea in your head for the bike no-body orders stays in your headunless something prompts you tobuild it. In this case TPJs Bryan Schimke got the nod fromMichael Lichter to participate in the Eternal Combustion show atSturgis 2010so the building frenzy began. It wasnt the firsttime a bike rolled into a show just under the wire with its bleary-eyed builder in tow, but Bryan made it and thats what matters.Everyone likes a happy ending, right?

FEATURE BIKESTPJ Customs Domino ......................8Necessity breeds brevity

Trikes from Toms Kustom Cycles ....26Where longevity has traction

LA Speed Shop..............................33Its about the hot rod look

A Shovel with a bit of Brit ...............44From Walt Siegls shop

Papa Clutch Customs.....................49When you cant buy it, build it

FEATURE STORIESIW Product Review ........................40Time for new saddlebag liners

Central Coast Touring ....................56Perfect for fall riding

IW Product Review ........................76Designing and ordering a one-off bag

IW GARAGEElectric ........................................57A generators main components

All About ......................................58Race Tech defines suspension

Road Glide Blackout .......................60Finishing what we started

The Leatherworks..........................62An evolved tradition

Evo Gone Bad................................64Component breakdown it happens

Big Bike Outfitters .........................66Made rightand right here

E-Fabs Air Cleaner Mods................67Tackling the backing plate

FTF Cycles Project XR1200 ...........68Putting a stop to bad braking

Horsepower and Torque .................70Posie tells allpart 2

DEPARTMENTSBuyers Guide..................................................72Whats in your garage?

IW Eye ...........................................................82Worth a thousand words

REGULARSSteve B ............................................................6Anticipation

Sam Kanish ....................................................12Police Escorts

Brian Klock .....................................................14Sketching a Vegas kustom

Bert Baker .....................................................16Spiders in your oil?

Marilyn Bragg .................................................18Mountain Magic

Margie Siegal..................................................781942 WLA

SPOTLIGHT: GMS Racing EnginesWhen going fast at the race track is what you do, the streetbikes you build are likely to exhibit the same attitude: lets go,lets get there fast, and lets do it now! Thats the case at GMSRacing, a shop in western Pennsylvania known in local racingcircles for pushing the limits of motorcycle engines for streetand track applications. And as youll see, builder Gregg Dahltrue to the culture he liveshasnt skimped on the go-fastpower in the street bikes he builds, either.

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Over time Ive come to recognize but-terflies, poor sleep, and an overallitchiness to simply get on with it,are all the hallmarks of pre-road trip antici-pation. I travel a good amount and I al-ways get butterflies before I leave homealways; be the mode of transportationtwo-wheels, my cage, or a planeor asthe case often is, a blend of all three.

I chalk the feeling up to anticipation be-cause I am not nervous per se, rather Ithink what gets my brain going is thestream of adrenaline caused by a clear vi-sualization of venturing into unknown terri-tory. Looking forward to heading out with-out a clear destination orplan in mind is somethingthat many non-moto folkshave trouble understand-ing and accommodating,but it is the dream ofmost bikeriders to do justthat: get lost without anagenda and simply havean adventure and gomake some stories. Ilive for those days, seeingnew sights and beingwhere there is little famil-iar. Being lost has al-ways gotten my juicesflowing and chasing thatfeeling has led me onsome adventures over the course of mylife, Id wager, just like you.

A few days before a trip I start mentallyreviewing what I am going to be doing andget a grip on what I will need, what I havein hand, where I am going and who I willbe traveling with, if I am not alone, whichis usually the case. This pre-trip planningalmost happens in the subconscious, astream of hmmms and ahhs and a reviewof mental sticky notes. Travelling on a bikefor any length of time requires you under-stand the requirements of packing yourgear as well as selecting just what you willneed and this is coming from an admit-ted over-packer. Experience camping, bicy-cle riding, or backpacking helps preparethe moto-traveler for the realities ofspace/weight constraints and the chal-lenges that lie therein. Good luck with

that. I am still trying to figure it out, al-though I think I am closing in on being effi-cient and frugal with the space on my ma-chine. Honestly, my solution over time hasjust been to make more room.

Weather is what it is, a non-event. Youwill hit weather no matter what you do andyou simply need to be prepared and pre-pared to react appropriately. If it rains,you put on your raingear and, if you arepart of my crew, soldier on. Some folkspull over, wait it out, or stop for the daywe dont. Being macho is not the intenthere; it is simply that we believe that if youtravel on a motorcycle, which is a weath-

erproof machine made to operate in theoutdoors, it is possible to continue on andmake your destination. Even in the days ofplastic bag rain suits we operated (foolish-ly and uncomfortably) this way. The onlything that I dont like doing is starting atrip in the rain. When rain looms large onthe horizon before departure, I ask theroad gods for an hour or two of clear so Ican get a rhythm going before I getdrowned. Usually it works.

Anticipation also brings us back closerto experiencing the special feeling we hadas kids, that seems so rare to experiencein our adult years that gee whiz, wowand check that out feeling. I hear GomerPyle in the background, Gollleee, willyalookit that! when I come upon somestrange sighting that reminds me I amfree-ranging, far from home. America is

simply an amazing place to just get lostand adventure. I implore you, get off thered lines and see the blue lines, and evenbetter yet, check out some gray lines. Ad-ventures start when you are far off thegrid; two hours from an Interstate is usu-ally sufficient to insure you are in adven-ture territory.

How many of us take the same rides,the same roads, eat at the same spots anddo the same thing nearly every time we geton our machines? Most bikeriders I know(myself included) are creatures of bothhabit and ritual, and those characteristics,if not monitored and put on a leash, can beanathema to the pursuit of adventure. Tobust out of the regular routine, I look at amap and, having highlighted the rides taken

previously, look for un-charted territoryand itseems to be working.

Now please under-stand I am not gettingdown on those that likeheaping helpings of theusual, quite the oppositeactually. I take comfort inknowing the roads, theride, and the route of thefamiliar, and take advan-tage of this familiarity byriding a bit more spiritedlythan I might in places farfrom known. If you knowthe roads you can dial itup. Do that in unfamiliar

territory and it can earn you trouble. Giveand take, ying and yangthere are no ab-solutes, just an aspiration of balance: newvs. familiar.

Adventure and anticipiation, the thrill ofpiloting our machines, seeing the sitesand visiting places both familiar and new,are what helps fuel our enthusiasm forour V-Twins. Add friends to the mix andyouve got the makings of some storiesand tales youll cherish and regale folkswith for a lifetime.

Our machines were made for travel.Get out with your friends and use em, getem dirtyand let us know what happenedwhen you did!

Heres to gearing up, getting out, andgetting lost!

Stephen [email protected]

6 IronWorks September/October 2011

A Mile a MinuteSTEPHEN BERNER

Anticipation


Story by Stephen Berner and Bryan SchimkePhotos by Stephen Berner

One of the benefits of visiting motorcy-cle shops is that you get to see thingsthat arent fully baked, that are in theprocess of design, manufacture or finaldetailing. Rather than waiting for thebuilder or shop to call and say, Come

look, after its all been said and done, Ilike to see whats going on ahead of theunveiling. I personally am fascinated byhow things come together for artists andcreative types and I indulge my whim inthis regard. When visiting my friends Isee stuff in raw form and ask, Whatsup with this?

Thats how I met Domino. It was up on

the lift in raw form, a tacked frame withan engine, a bit of a gas tank shell: notmuch. But then, there really isnt a lot to aTPJ bike; they are relatively simple affairs.Ironically for someone who likes gadgetryand flourishes, I surprise myself by beingdrawn to these machines because theyare a bit raw, simple and flawless in theirexecution and clarity of presentation. It re-

DOMINOFabrication: TPJ CustomsYear, Make & Model: 2010 Custom rigidAssembly/ built by: TPJ CustomsHow long did it take? 4 months

FORKSBuilder: GSXRType: HydraulicTriple trees: cleaned up stock mounts Extension: -3Special Features: Handmade neck cups to use original

bearings and stem.

ENGINE: Year:/ Model: 107 S&SCases: S&S EFI/ Carb: S&SAir cleaner: TPJ CustomsPipes: TPJ CustomsIgnition: electronic DYNA 2000i

TRANSMISSION: Year:/ Modifications: RevTech 6# of teeth/: 46Primary Drive: BDL / TPJ CustomsSecondary drive: Chain

Domino: A Roll of the Dice for TPJThe pressure of Eternal Combustion results in a stunner

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ally is amazing what can be done with thebarest and most necessary essentials(frame, tin, driveline) and Bryan Schimkeriffs those notes relentlessly in search ofthe cleanest, most purpose built machinespossible.Stephen Berner

Ihad the idea for this rigid frame bike inmind but didnt have the means to get itdone. About this time I got a call fromMichael Lichter. Michael was inviting meto be a part of his upcoming exhibition inSturgis at the world famous Buffalo Chip.Last year (2010,) his shows theme wasEternal Combustion.

This was to be a pairing of some of thegreatest bike builders, from legends to up-starts. I was partnered up with my greatfriend and mentor Kirk Taylor. This was agreat chance to build a new bike thatcould show what TPJ is all about. The newrigid I had been working out in my head fora while was the machine to bring to thisexhibit. I knew this was a once in a lifetimechance to show my work to a solid crowd

FRAME Year: 2009Designer/ Builder: TPJ CustomsType: RigidMaterial/ diameter: 1" DOMRake & Stretch: 28 degrees, 2"

ACCESSORIES Bars: TPJ CustomsRisers: TPJ CustomsHand Controls: TPJ CustomsFenders: TPJ CustomsHeadlight: TPJ Customs

Taillight: TPJ CustomsFoot Controls: Front Pegs, TPJ CustomsElectrics: TPJ CustomsGas Tank: TPJ CustomsOil Tank: TPJ CustomsSeat: TPJ Customs

WHEELS Front/ Size: 19x 3.5Rear/ Size: 18x5.5Tires: AVONBrakes: PM caliper and rotor

PAINTING Painter/ Bodywork/Molding: CDS, Kirk TaylorColor: Tiger EyeChroming/ Powdercoating: Precision Stripping and Coating

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of knowledgeable enthusiasts, so no half-ass projects were going to do. The pres-sure was definitely on.

I started with an in-house frame withsomewhat normal dimensions and used a200 Avon out back as the starting point. Imanufactured all of the pieces requiredfor mounting and fitting a GSXR frontend. I purchased a 107 S&S crate en-gine from a good friend and I wasoff. Everything on this machine was creat-ed in house for this specific bike. As I wasbuilding and envisioning the finished ma-chine, I saw the bike with super light andgreat looking wheels. So where else to gobut my good friend Mike at Revolution

Manufacturing for his bad ass carbonfiber five spokes? You can read the techsheet for all the little stuff but basically thebike came together exactly as plannedwith some cool tweaks along the way.

Timing, however, was a problem. Wehad two days till we had to leave. We hadto get the bikes all done plus a bunch of thelittle things, too. The plan was to leave at10 AM Wednesday morning, which turnedinto 10 PM Wednesday nightwith 25hours ahead of us. We needed to be thereat 9 AM Friday morning. At this point Idhad two hours of sleep in the last 72 hoursbut the bike was done and all the gear wasloadedwe were off to Sturgis from

Lodi. With my two good buddies in the frontlighting fireworks under my pillow at everymoment possible and me trying to sleep,we had a straight-through drive to get therein time for Friday morning delivery. Goodthing I brought my bud Marc, the drivingmachine; after a dozen 5-Hour Energydrinks and 21 hours of driving, he got usthere at 3 AM Friday morning. Great friendSatya Kraus and his crew arrived shortlybehind us with their awesome new bike.

After a quick nap and shower, we showedup good as new at the exhibit and could notactually believe we were a part of such asweet deal. I felt like I was still sleeping anddidnt want this dream to end. The weekwent by like a blur. Marc and Keith told medaily it was the best time of their lives.

Domino is a bike of many emotions: awonderful experience to be part ofMichaels show and a great loss along theway. See, my grandfather passed away asI was finishing the bike, before paint, sohe was not able to see it complete. Mygrandfather played a huge role in mygrowing up and would have been so proudto see my bike on a pedestal, there at theshow with all of the great builders of thepast and future.

Thank you Michael for the honor inbeing in your exhibit. It was a great experi-ence and I would not have changed athing. And thank you to Kirk for everythingyou have done along the way. You are theman. And to Satya for hooking it up likealways, and Marc and Keith for all you doto make TPJ what it is, good and bad. Andthanks steveb for all the great articles inthe last year. I would not be here with outall you assh*les.Bryan Schimke IW

10 IronWorks September/October 2011

*RESOURCETPJ CustomsLodi, CA 209-339-7043www.tpjcustoms.com


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IWoct11pgs SS IW0204Pgs CS - stephen bernerstephenberner.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/iw_1011-domino-a-roll... · Any bike builder will tell you: the idea in your head for the bike