Custom Vintage Motorcycles

As we close out 2011, I thought I’d go back and review the bikes and happenings of Vintage Customs!
Its been an amazing year for Vintage Customs! The bikes got lots of publicity, the craftsmanship and quality of the bikes was at it’s highest and the physical growth of the shop and the growth of the business as a whole was amazing!

Several bikes were published in magazines and blogs, including, B.S.H. magazine, The Ironhorse magazine, Renegade Magazine, Pipeburn.com, Bikermetric.com, motorivista.com, cyrilhuzeblog.com, elsolitariomc.blogspot.com, hermajestysthunder.blogspot.com &  many others!

January kicked off with an unusual project, the somewhat rare Yamaha TX750

February, I began working on The Speedster, a ‘69 Honda CB350 but put it aside to build the Los Muertos Vivientes, a rat rod style XS650, built from numerous scap parts and a couple parts bikes. The bike was built to show at the local Groundhog Gala, a local rat rod/hot rod show at the beginning of March.

March also brought about Bike Week 2011. I did a bit of riding on The Royal, an XS650 build from the end of 2010. The Willies Tropical Tattoo - Chopper Show was part of the fun as usual !

I also sold my rat rod project, a ‘49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan 2 dr coupe, to make more space in the shop.

After things settled down with Bike Week, I got back to business on The Speedster. That build took much longer than normal, but I finally got it done and what a beauty! I think I got the most publicity on this little bike.

Started as:

Finished: The Speedster

Next up was the Redline, a cafe racer hybrid of XS500 & XS650. This bike sold to my friends in Australia, who commissioned another XS later on in the year, the Desert Tracker.

Started as:

Finished: The Redline XS650

Around July, I began The Drifter XS650, a very Japanese inspired, brat / bobber custom. As usual, things got a little busy and the Desert Tracker was commissioned by my Australian friends. With only 6 weeks from start to finish, the Tracker came to life!

Started as:

Finished: The Desert Tracker -

After the Tracker project was completed,  I was off to finish The Drifter before Biketoberfest in October!

After the completion of the Tracker; it, along with it’s brother, The Speedster, left together, on their way to separate new homes.

Now October, a little bit of a break was needed and the always enjoyable trip to Alabama for the Barber Motorsports Vintage Fest was in order. I went for the second year, with my Dad, and had a great time!

After my return from Barber, I had to get crackin on finishing The Drifter for the upcoming Biketoberfest shows, here in Daytona Beach, FL.

Started as:

Finished: The Drifter XS650

Of course, The Drifter was finished just in time and made it to the Willies Tropical Tattoo show!

In November, I picked up a new customer build. Another XS650 for a friend of David, the man behind El Solitario and the Winning Loser SR250 -

And so, The Bullitt had begun to come to life..

The infamous Copper Devil XS650 had also found a new home after two years of being the Vintage Customs guinea pig and show bike..

But of course, along the way, I had to pick up something a little different. I got this great little all original ‘68 Honda CL350 and brought it back to life with a mild restore.

With The Bullitt nearly finished and many new projects lined up and a few potential customers ready for new builds, the year closes out with on a great note!

Thanks so much to those of you who keep up with this blog, ask questions and give comments and to those who support me and my endeavors to create unique, affordable, custom vintage motorcycles. I cant wait for 2012!

1. hangaround liked this
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3. lanthorn said: I think one of the things people like the most is that it’s really easy to see that you love doing the work, I’m excited to see what you do in 2012.
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11. hittingreset said: your work is beyond words. amazing stuff, man.
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