Grindhouse
West Coast Choppers, builder of Grindhouse
For those of you who have lived the life of a
Zombie for the past decade, Jesse James formed
West Coast Choppers ten years ago and he, his
bikes, and the attitude that is West Coast Choppers
are without equal in the two-wheel industry, both sides
of the border. In the beginning as it were – and with just
reason to use such as phrase that one would normally find
on the first page of THAT BOOK that one would find in a
road side motel dresser drawer –, Jesse tells me that he
hand-picked a 50-man team in an 18,000-square-foot shop.
Today, from what I can gather, Jesse’s dig sprawls over
250,000-square-feet in industrial Long Beach, within a
series of art deco warehouses that, true-to-form, were simultaneously
restored and modified to house the operations.
From the moment I arrived, I could
only imagine how much work went
into building West Coast Choppers
from nothing. And more importantly,
the one thing that sits most comfortably...
Hoodlum
E’Ville Twin, builder of Hoodlum
The whole concept for this
build began about two years ago just as the
bobber craze was becoming popular and was actually a
bike design I had it in mind for several years prior to that and
was waiting for the right opportunity to build it.
The theory behind it was simple: what would a post-war
Vet likely to have built as a personal statement upon returning
home? How may he have perceived a bike that would
make a statement?What might have been available to him
in the way of parts? To that end began the birth of the bike
we called the “E’Ville Twin”, known affectionately as the
HOODLUM.
I always knew that the engine of choice would be a Knuckle
Head; the frame was an inspiration based on what I figured
a guy in the late 40s or early 50s might have considered a
cool design, with the single loop down tube and all. I wanted
to retain the old time flavour so I began
Fantasma Del Lago
Freakshow Choppers, builder of Fantasma Del Lago
In November of 2003, the birth of Freakshow Choppers
was delivered by Jay Burnham. Originally a hobby,
this new venture quickly took off. Surprised by the
popularity of his bike, Burnham was forced to hire more
manpower. Bob Best was the new help that lent his
knowledge in welding and construction. Soon after
Blair Chamberlain was hired as head constructor to
help with the still growing demand. With their success
showing no signs of slowing down, they started building
the "Aliento Del Diablo" (Devils Breath) in August
2005. This would be their first show bike and would go
on to collect 2nd place at the BC Com'sWest Coast
Custom Show in March of the following year. The
Freakshow choppers' trophy...
