VANGUARD CYCLE

2011-11-29T22:12:00.001-05:00

updates coming

2011-06-30T12:05:00.000-04:00

been super super busy and have had a weird and not so good few months but there is tons of good stuff going on in the shop and i will throw up some updates next week.
got some major progress on a few full builds plus a slew of parts and smaller projects knocked out.

new shop is coming together nicely

2011-04-05T15:57:00.000-04:00

some teaser pics for now...

so moving

2011-03-18T09:48:00.001-04:00

watch these octogenarians get it going...so rad
>>>watch<<<

Evo-Done

2011-03-04T12:41:00.007-05:00

this customer turned out to be a real interesting fella to say the least, nevertheless the bike turned out great.
Brand new late model narrow glide front single disc.
Custom built 2-1 pipes
5/8" 304 stainless sissy bar made to perfectly match the back of the seat
Fender narrow/re radius and re work/fix of fender mounts
Gas tank rework, petcock bung change, filler neck swap plus body work
New tires front and back
white powder coated 'monkey' bars from Front Street Cycle
Broken exhaust stud drill out
New platforms and controls
New passenger pegs
Lots of other little bits and pieces and all the work that goes along with getting it there.
the red sporty tank is just on there for mock up while the tank liner cured up, the real tank is much nicer Vanguard style.

been busy

2011-02-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

between moving into and building out the new shop and working everyday in the old shop i have had zero time to update here.
here's a teaser as to what i have been doing the past few days.
cold rolled 304 is fun to work and machine.

moving the shop

2011-01-21T10:11:00.001-05:00

we found a bigger and much better space so we are moving the shop.
next weekend (feb 19th) and looking for whatever help we can get. hands, trucks, vans, trailers...any help is much appreciated.
we are meeting at the old shop at 8AM and hope to have everything in and done by early afternoon.
i will have drinks and food there for everyone and will owe you a huge debt of gratitude.
email me for specifics if your down to help and thanks.

2011-01-14T12:50:00.002-05:00

more tank work

2010-12-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

i just cant seem to get away from tank work lately...
changing out the pos filler neck on this wassel along with adding a 22mm petcock bung to one side and fusing in a 1/4 pipe plug to the other.
getting ready to line it then my body guy is coming sometime this morning to make it pretty then it's off to Rich Ryzart for the royal treatment.

dyno tuning a customers bike

2010-12-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

doing a frame off complete re build on this shovel and getting a proper before and after diagnosis.

some basic gas tank fab

2010-12-08T12:21:00.000-05:00

just the requisite moving of filler necks and petcocks

some good help

2010-11-30T18:38:00.000-05:00

my buddy Kris has been on it lately.
he was looking for a little extra work between brokering mortgages and decided to give fabrication a try.
yeah, thats right.

we got this fender cut down and re fit for a guy today, stoked to have someone in the shop with me helping to get shit done!

done

2010-11-29T17:42:00.002-05:00

and done...

XS tail section on an early frame

2010-11-25T14:07:00.002-05:00

so early XS650 frames are completely different than late ones, some of you may know this but i however did not. I priced this job as if it were a regular 4 hour weld on tail section job......16 hours later we are done ;)
lots of stuff needed to be made/machined and some major tweaking was undergone since someone previously did a VERY sketch job of building this guy a rigid tail section.
The thing looked like it was bent around a tree and of all things they used black plumbing pipe for tubing.

as you can see here the engine loop doesnt land anywhere near the tail section forward cross member.

so we added in this piece of 3/8 x 1 1/2 plate to catch the bottom of the loop.
i then had to machine an angled solid slug on the lathe to catch the piece of plate.

here she is all tacked up and ready to go back in the frame jig.
when it was all said and done it looked like it grew there. nice.

and the (almost) final product. just needs a few final welds and the shouldered seat bungs that i already spun on the lathe need tig'ed on.

bwahahahahahaha

2010-11-17T19:05:00.003-05:00

the swap is coming together nicely

2010-11-10T19:25:00.002-05:00

updates on the swap next month, things are really looking great. lots of good guys on board for this one, we are getting really excited to see what kind of turn out we can put together.
on the flyer tip, i seriously fucked up my back yesterday somehow in the shop so i have been nursing myself back to health all day which gave me a perfect opportunity to grab the shop laptop, open up illustrator and photoshop and have some fun with art today.
i like both of these very much

CLICK HERE FOR THE HOLY CITY SWAP

it's on!

2010-11-07T11:47:00.002-05:00

we FINALLY get a real swap here! cant fucking wait for this one

A good friend and his good luck

2010-10-15T19:50:00.003-04:00

A really good buddy of mine went down about a month ago, he was jamming home after a very hot and very long day on a roof when some asshat decided to pull an improptu left, the person in front of him slammed on brakes and he just had no time to react.
Multiple broken wrist bones, a wrecked bike and a re assessment of whats really important. He's tough as nails so he shook it off, gave his family a huge hug and decided it was time for the bike to get a complete re-working anyway.
He promptly dropped it off at the compound for the royal treatment and told me to feel free to change everything but the frame and drive line. fuck!
I'm stoked that my buddy is here safe and healthy to ride whatever it is that we proudly build for him.

Making a Wassel a little taller

2010-10-15T19:31:00.002-04:00

Adam really wanted to run a high mount Wassel on his XS build but i didnt have one on the shelf with a low tunnel.
problems create solutions...

1, make and tig weld in patch-

2, cut out and shape new tunnel-

3, tig, grind, file and done-

(and of course i forgot to take pics of the final welds and finished product.

one of these days i will grasp this documenting work as you go thing.)

new EVO build

2010-10-15T19:24:00.001-04:00

customer drove down on Sunday to take a look at the beginnings of his project and make a few decisions.
He just about fell out, loved it all!
gonna be a cool little evo.

so far...
Paughco frame, 2 out 42 degrees.
New-ish 80" evo.
Harley 5 speed.
Gme sportster tank.
Oem springer done 10 over.
Akront rims laced to mechanical hubs.
Lots of in house parts.

some Hate Factory lovin

2010-10-07T10:31:00.000-04:00

My buddy Shane from The Hate Factory in Fla. does some pretty paintings.
I did some patches for their Tar Ball run last week and he did some arts for me.
Should have some shit going soon with this logo.
Really digging it Shane, thanks again!

another evo build starts

2010-08-30T18:31:00.001-04:00

mock up begins on the new Evo build.
apologies for the shitty cell phone pic, i will get some proper ones taken this week as progress takes place.

Vanguard Cycle buttons

2010-08-29T10:12:00.000-04:00

VC buttons are on the way.
little 1" ones like the ones Craig from Front Street Cycle always has ;)
same as with stickers, send a fully postage paid and self addressed envelope to me and i will send you a couple.
enjoy!

SR tank ready to fly

2010-08-25T10:14:00.000-04:00

finished this thing up last night, just need to line it and box it up.
came out really nice but what a pain getting those little filler pieces in the back to line up right.
enjoy Zak!

New build

2010-08-23T13:32:00.004-04:00

stating a new build for a customer..
80" Evo motor pulled out of a new-ish dyna.
new oem 5 speed with kick
brandy new Paughco frame, 2.5 out, 40 degree chopper neck
OG in line springer extended in the 'glory days' with ford radius rods
repop mechanical front wheel laced to an Akront
lots of cool old bits mixed in for effect.

going to be a fun build for sure..
pics coming as parts show up

lurkers beware

2010-08-18T09:24:00.002-04:00

a much anticipated SR500 gas tank

2010-08-06T12:47:00.005-04:00

i have had a very patient customer waiting on the tank for his almost finished SR500 project.
it's the same guy that i recently did the SR frame for.
i have had mucho personal shit going on lately so had to delay the start of this one but i got the TIG and a small arsenal of metal working tools fired up this week and have put no less than a few days into this thing so far.
no wonder no one does aftermarket 'chopper' tanks to fit the SR frame, it is incredible how tedious fitting this to the back bone and seat rails was.
I started with a narrowed sporty shell from my good buddy Jay Roche aka Special79'.
I hammer formed the tunnel around some 3" schedule 120 since i have no way to roll a 3" tunnel in the shop.

started in with the cope for the tunnel in the shell and started working the bent tunnel to the oil in frame backbone...cut, shape, grind, repeat..about a hundred more times and this is what we have.

a couple of tack welds to get everything together and a few hours of shaping and coping the shell to fit the tunnel reliefs.

almost everything laid out and ready for some tig magic, just need to cut the templates out of some 16 gauge and go fill my argon bottle and it's time for some final welding/clean up.
i am super pleased with how this is coming out and i cant wait to see it on the finished bike.

one of all time favorite things to do...

2010-07-17T11:50:00.000-04:00

spend WAY too much time in front of my early southbend...

so begins the story of the 60' Pan Shovel that I am doing next....

2010-07-13T19:07:00.000-04:00

2010-06-10T17:42:00.002-04:00

just about wrapped up with this one

2010-06-04T16:41:00.013-04:00

i really dig what we did to this shovel, no super narrow trees, no dry rot vintage tires, no anderson pegs.
simply F-A-S-T, mean, fun and 110% dialed!!
93" Shovelhead
4 5/8 S&S stroker wheels
HD cases
S&S jugs and heads
dual plugged
mild cam
fully dialed super E carb
gme replica tank from Baas metal craft
tins powder coated high gloss black
ducktail pegs
heavily massaged stock rear fender
hand cut and finished 1/4" polished aluminum fender struts
cat eye tail light
hand made led tag mount with Biltwell reg. tube
shaved and polished 6" over showa forks
raked neck
12" shocks
6 spoke 21" invader up front with a speedmaster rib
stock 16" rear with a conti twin
narrow short apes
lepera seat
chrome wrap around oil tank
baffled drags
kick and e start
pretty much everything is new from the ground upand runs like a sportbike
man, i really dont want to sell this one.

1960 pan shovel

2010-05-24T11:32:00.007-04:00

let the fun begin...
60' pan with 66'-69' heads
gently molded oem wishbone frame
keihin carb
custom narrow trees
4 speed jockey top
a true 70's survivor, with an incredible story to match.
will update as progress continues.

FXE teaser

2010-05-07T10:16:00.002-04:00

not done yet, customer projects are keeping me from finishing up and getting it sold.
what we have done so far is pretty awesome though :)

reworking another SR500 frame

2010-05-07T09:51:00.003-04:00

For a customer
god i love these little thumpers.
new seat section, tabs cleaned up, new upper shock mounts.
finishing the tank and seat pan now.
customer is going all out with this build and the fact that he drove 16 hours to get me to do this frame proves it.
this thing is gonna rip!

e foot open primary

2010-04-04T00:08:00.004-04:00

trying to massage a stock inner and shitty v twin louvered outer into an open primary set up for this FXE that i'm doing.
this is sort of my motivation..
time to fire up the mill and see what happens.

DO THIS NOW

2010-04-01T16:29:00.002-04:00

stickers!

2010-03-24T18:19:00.004-04:00

small, black ink, gold foil, awesome.
slightly larger clear with black ink, also awesome.
send me an sase for a grip and some misc goodies.

new project

2010-03-22T22:03:00.005-04:00

82 FXE with a raked neck and a 6" over wide glide.
going to meet the the guy in the morning again and ride it back to the shop.
i don't get to actually ride project bikes back to the shop very often.

new swag is here

2010-03-20T13:34:00.004-04:00

printed some more swag yesterday..
hoodies, T's and some hats and stickers.
email me if you want in...

no pullback

2010-03-18T15:48:00.000-04:00

needed a set for a customer...done and done

Narrowing a sporty tank

2010-03-18T15:36:00.002-04:00

This started as a tank i was going to run on one of my projects but now it's getting finished up for a customer instead.
money talks fuckers

2010-03-15T14:08:00.002-04:00

Revenge Run is on!

2010-03-03T08:23:00.002-05:00

My good buddy Tim has been talking about and working hard on this run for a while now.
The route will follow Blackbeard's last stand across eastern NC and out to the outer islands. Camping, i'm told, will be epic and the list of sponsors tells me that this will not be something you'll want to miss.
The run itinerary is April 23rd through the 24th with a huge after party planned for the night of the 24th.
We are super amped to be taking part in and helping to sponsor this event and look forward to whatever shenanigans Tim has planned for us!
thanks for everything that you do homie...
http://revengerun.blogspot.com/

Spring has sprung...

2010-03-01T13:25:00.003-05:00

...and it's time to get choppin'!

My old knee mill

2010-02-26T15:45:00.006-05:00

My old benchmaster knee mill the day i drug it home.
Reworked the whole thing and painted it, it's a little work horse.
I do more with this little fixed quill then some of my friends with their fancy full size bridgeports :)

Renthal bars and a polished tank

2010-02-26T15:37:00.003-05:00

Customer wanted to use these old renthal bars on his chop, cool idea but i thought they needed a bit of creativity.
Cut them in half, plugged the ends, drilled and taped the top clamps and risers..i like them.
And yes that's actually a steel tank that was painstakingly polished over the course of a few weeks.

Kawi chop

2010-02-03T17:57:00.009-05:00

This thing started as a 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan, came in looking boring left pretty awesome.
Pound after pound of unnecessary shit removed, jockey shift, foot clutch, frame cut up and tweaked, slammed mono shock, Front Street fender, some old Z's , an old Paughco mustang tank, floorboards, shaved and shortened forks, disc brakes front and rear. No one ever guessed that this thing was a late model jap bike.

Who says that a late model jap cruiser cant have style.

New axle plates and tail section for a customer.

2010-02-03T17:47:00.008-05:00

This guys frame was c-r-a-z-y sketchy!!!
Another drop seat, less than 2" of ground clearance and everything was crooked, porous welds, pipe for tubing...etc.
We jigged it up on the fab table, fixed up the neck area, straightened it out, got rid of the drop seat crap, Fabbed up a new tail section with .120 wall DOM and installed some new water jet cut axle plates courtesy of Baas metal craft.
We also installed that cheap dna springer as well and made him a headlight, tank and fender mount bungs.

Wheel Building 101

2010-02-03T17:41:00.002-05:00

me and my good friend Brantley decided it was time to learn how to build wheels.
It was nerve racking at first glance but we actually breezed right through it and the final product was well within spec (.02") Not too bad for our first try.
We have another one to do for the same customer next week in fact.

80 SR500

2010-02-01T16:35:00.005-05:00

pretty stoked to finally own one of these as i have always coveted them.
I am going to have a tough time selling this one.
Got the frame all taken care of and the motor completely re built and polished/painted.
Been super slammed with customer projects so she has taken a place on the back burners for now but i will dive back in soon.

My buddy Eric

2010-02-01T16:31:00.003-05:00

The brains behind anything combustion related that takes place in the shop.
I like to throw wrenches at the wall, He likes to calmly correct problems.
I didn't know they taught patience in the Army.
i guess some of us got it and some of us don't.

Adam's XS

2010-02-01T16:17:00.006-05:00

This thing was an absolute mess when it rolled into the compound.
it was an accident waiting to happen, the frame was straight sketch, everything was fucked.
Not to mention it was really kooky looking with forward controls, apes and long fishtails and some ridiculously low sitting drop seat frame abortion.
Frame was completely re done and bike was fixed up right.

after a bit of un doing what had been done.

My good friend James's 73 sporty

2010-02-01T12:59:00.005-05:00

This guy has always been an inspiration to me. Always putting himself before everyone else around him so naturally when he said he needed a bike i was on it.
He suffered a pretty nasty hand injury at work so we had to get really creative with the controls.

82' XS650 and the second project in the new shop

2010-02-01T12:50:00.001-05:00

One of the prettiest XS's of all time,
It's proud owner, serving overseas, doesnt get the opportunity to ride it as much as he would like but still brags that 2 years later she is still 1 kick every time.
nice!

75' XS650

2010-02-01T12:45:00.002-05:00

a little XS chop that we threw together to sell.
75 XS65O, cool little around town ripper that was an absolute blast to ride.
This thing has changed hands so many times over the past few years, and last i heard had pipe wrap and ape hangers....a damn shame.