When you look at this Softail, the paint comes across a lot like the molasses-laden sweetener found in almost every baked good in America. Its dark, granular surfaces give it an uncommon texture, almost as if the bike were dusted in brown sugar. This is just what Shane Winans asked for when he went to TPJ Customs in Lodi, California.
This bike started with a general design idea and a mishmash of parts. Shane gave shop owner Bryan Schimke a tank, rear fender, and a lot of other goodies he had gathered over the years. Shane then asked Bryan to build a slammed, dependable Softail that he could ride the tar out of day in, day out.
The parts pile held some key ingredients in the recipe for a sweet ride, but it lacked some key staples, such as a motor. Bryan kicked off the festivities with an 80-inch Harley-Davidson Evo. He then added a dash of style to the motor with an S&S Super E carb, his own air cleaner, Crane ignition, and his own pipes. It was just enough spice in the power department to give the motor a little flavor. While Bryan was at it, he did some fab work to beautify the V-Twin a bit. He took the time to make smaller hidden motor mounts, as well as a cleaner-carb bracket and coil mounts for minimal distraction from the motor.
As far as the chassis goes, Bryan threw a Chrome Horse Softail frame into the mix. Its mild 34-degree rake and minimal stretch, with 2 inches up and 1 inch more out, make for the mellow riding stance Shane wanted. He also kept the tire sizes modest, with the front a 130 and the rear a 160 for ease of handling.
All along the way, Bryan did what he could to sanitize Shane's motorcycle. We already mentioned the motor mounts, but he also went through a lot of trouble to hide stuff in the skin department. For starters, Bryan made smaller tank mounts for the H-D fuel sac, but the rear fender work was much more involved. He first dropped it 2 inches, but it wasn't stiff enough for his tastes. Therefore, Bryan then fabricated additional internal supports. He also created new struts for it in order to drop the fender an additional 2 inches for the low look. When it came to the bars, the TPJ crew made a set of no-nonsense beach bars and cut down on clutter by running internal cables through them.
But what really catches your eyes on this bike (at first) is the paint. Yep, that's not powdercoat-it's paint. Shane loves the grainy look of powder, but he desired the same effect in paint. He also wanted two or three colors to show through the brown to add some funk when viewing his bike up close. To do all of that, he added a gritty substance (TPJ kept it a secret, but they said it might be sand) to several colors of paint: blue, gray, green, and, obviously, brown. He then sprayed them down in layers that were thick enough to show, but thin enough to let the color underneath come through as well. It's a neat effect that gives the bike slightly different shades of brown depending on the ambient light. Between the brown-sugar paint and Bryan's hard work, it looks as if Shane got the sweet and low Softail he wanted.
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