Are you ready for Sturgis?
I will be posting photos from the 2011 AMD and Rat's Hole Bike Shows ASAP! Last year's Best of Show winner at the Buffalo Chip - Rat's Hole Show was "Courtesan" created by Abu Dhabi (UAE) builder, Mario Kyprianides of Chopper Kulture. 
Mario is back this year with "Just Add Violence," based on a 1965 Panhead. The bike was built before and after the Sturgis 2010 Rally for competition in the Biker-Build-Off Europe in early December 2010. J.A.V. is for sure one of the top bikes to beat at Sturgis 2011. It won the AMD Middle East Championship, Best of Show, People's Choice, Free-style, and Best Paint Job at Dubai Bike Week in February 2011. Click on images to enlarge.The bike was shipped to Daytona Beach at the end of February 2011 to compete in the World Series Showdown at The Rat's Hole Show during the 70th Daytona Bike Week. It won against bike builders from the US, Canada and Australia, on top of winning Best Bobber.The Harley panhead engine was rebuilt and customized by Billy at BB Racing. "We wanted to give the motor a more tech look," said Mario. "Billy and I medaled with the idea of making pan tops with glass so you can see the moving lifters and splashing oil." Parts include an S&S oil pump and Jims hydraulic lifters. Wiseco pistons with 9:1 compression ratio with an Andrews J grind cam give the motor a little edge. 
Rowe valves and guides were used and a mew aftermarket cam cover was sent to the engravers for some metal tattooing. The bike utilizes a Morris magneto G5 ignition and Cycle Electric generator. All the gaskets are from Cometic Gasket for a good no "spot marking" bike. With the glass tops on the heads, you can see the brass blocks below, with silver inscriptions: like FTW, FU etc. Because old Harleys have a unique thread size ¼’-24 that falls in the middle between coarse thread and fine thread, as well as bolts that have a unique and unusual taper of 82 degrees, all of the hardware was custom made from scratch in stainless steel by Jim from Diamond Engineering in Florida. For the transmission, Baker billet covers that look just like the original ones but polish really nice to give the whole unit a rich look. 
A Chopper Kulture signature frame was used with a slight variation in order to position the drive train. Instead of the usual gooseneck, Mario decided to go straight up the backbone. "This frame has slightly more rake at 32 degrees and a slightly narrower rear end to house the 180 tire. The frontend is also a custom piece, with 2 inch stretch. The big difference is that it has the dampening springs in front of each other instead of side by side. This gives the whole bike a nice sleek look," he said. Wheels and brakes are from HHI.
The inverted "Cathedral" bars were knocked up from a straight tube and a perfect match for the previously made sissy bar, said Mario. "The forward controls were another special item that took a while to work out. They are the first and the debut of a line of Chopper Kulture forward controls. And what a perfect way to showcase them!"
"I wanted to keep the top of the transmission area clean, so I decided to combine the gas tank and oil tank," said Mario. "I came up with a two-piece idea that has a Frankenstein look, but also has the unmistakable look and feel of a Custom Kulture bike."
As usual, all of the chroming was sent to California MecLec. A seat pan was also sent to California, where Duane Ballard did the custom leather and tooling.
The frame and all important sheet metal parts were sent to Connecticut to be painted by Robert Pradke. While Mario was showing "Courtesan" at the Sturgis 2010 Rally, Robert worked non-stop for six weeks (300 hours) on the candy tangerine metal-flake wrap. Custom brass units were made for all of the gas and oil fillers and sent to the engraver, along with the handle bar risers and shifter knob -- "Gas Hole" for the fuel and "Lube Hole" for the oil; and on the risers "Love" and "Hate." The brass shifter knob bears the inscription "Thug Life" ... Just Add Violence.
