More progress on the @joepanhead1313 Sportster clone. Been working towards closing in the neck area for moulding. Bent up by hand some 3/16” round bar for the two outside edges and the center peak. Then bent up by hand some sheet metal to fill the gaps to only have a small amount of bondo take up the rest. Next is side plates but I’ll do that once the bike is stripped. Also finished up the lunch box oil tank mount. The original mount was cut. However, thanks to @24ouncepbr and some photos of his fathers original ‘69 XLCH I was able to copy the mount and cut it out of a piece of square tubing and weld it in. Up next is finishing the rear fender, seat, sissybar mount. Getting closer to paint and chrome!

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Making more progress on the @joepanhead1313 Sportster clone. Gas tank mounts are finalized, so we’re good to go on that. Next item to tackle was the rabbit ear handlebars. The ones I found were close but not right. (Calvinising here remember). After lots of careful measuring and referencing in photoshop I had a pretty good idea where to go with these. Took about 2” off the bottom, welded in new bungs, and then added another 2” to the pull back. Then added another 1.5” to the grips. The bridge was in the wrong spot so I made a new one and brought it higher like in the old photos. Getting closer!

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For Sale: 35 mm Showa single disc front end. Chrome is nice. Tubes are new. Timken bearings with neck cups. $300 plus the ride. #chopperswapper @roadsidemarty_swapshop

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@joepanhead Sportster Clone Update: Replicating motorcycles are a pain in the ass! That’s the update thanks for tuning in. Seriously though, we’re making headway. If you know me, you know how anal retentive I am and it’s affectionately known as “Calvinising”. (Thanks Ben...) I’ve been wracking my brains out the past week making these taillight brackets. Blowing up all the blurry pictures I can and studying them with a fine tooth comb and I’ve still overlooked some things. It’s almost caused me start over just like the struts... After finishing the brackets and looking at the old photos close up to verify what I have is right, it dawned on me I was using the wrong taillight, or was I?? (Yep, I lost sleep last night on that one.) Turns out both are actually right. I originally started with the larger light because it was easily identifiable in one of my dad’s photos. However, the version I’m going for is from the parking lot photos and what’s on the back of our shirts. After letting my brain settle it’s clear as day between photos the taillights are different. Fortunately I happen to have the correct smaller one on the shelf but now the holes are off! I was thinking great I have to make new brackets now, but a little squeeze of the hand on the bar the holes lineup and the light fits perfect. Thanks to @bengottheinsta59fl and Frank for press braking the brackets for me. Last item for the bar is inspect sticker plate. (The insanity continues with that story...) Stay tuned! #RetroFitCycleWorks #JoeSportsterClone #Calvinising #chopcult #69XLCH

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Hey gang! It has been quite some time since I have posted anything! Just been incredibly busy working nonstop and I’ve reached a point to make a post for the @joepanhead1313 Sportster clone! Well here it is! This bike has come a long way over the past few months and it couldn’t have happened without the help of some amazing generous people. It’s been an incredible challenge trying to locate the original odd ball parts my dad used back in 1972. The biggest needle in the hay stack was the spool hub he ran. That was generously donated from @jway_83 I cannot thank you enough for the hub man. I missed out on buying it. Long story short he ended up contacting me some weeks later and offered it up for the build. Jason I can’t thank you enough! It’s what this chopper community is all about! On the fabrication side my dad and I have been slaving away trying to reproduce his struts and sissybar he had. I actually made 2 sets of struts because the first pair I made were too short. So I made a new set at 12.5” and all of sudden everything fell into place. My dad also remade his original highway pegs. Last photo is of my dad’s grandfather, Karl, who originally co-signed for the bike in 1969 so my dad could get the bike in the first place. This photo is also what helped me confirm the seat that @marinosjunkpile had for sale and I knew it was the one. For the rest of the parts and help on the build I’ve gotta thank these characters: @24ouncepbr @magneto_sportster @jodyzero7 @cyclestopnj @hotdoggin @antisocial83 @marinosjunkpile @jway_83 @dnseats6779 @bengottheinsta59fl @chopcult We’re getting there and we’ll have the big reveal @cheapthrillsnj in the sportster show in Sept! Life long dream coming true building this with my dad. More updates to come!

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