BF7 Invited Builder Video: Kyle Edger

Here is the latest video in our BF7 Invited Builder series featuring the talented Kyle Edger. The video is presented by Street Chopper Magazine and filmed in New York by Motornation Network. Please enjoy. 

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Big Nick's BF7 Video...Sneak Preview

Our Invited Builder Sponsor Street Chopper Magazine has got a early preview of Big Nick's BF7 video. Check it out..  https://www.facebook.com/streetchopper http://www.streetchopperweb.com/


    

Born-Free 7 Invited Builders Carmine and Jason of Visionary Cycle Products

Its rare that we have "teams" as builders, but sometimes guys just work better together and Carmine and Jason of Visionary Cycle Products in New York are two such dudes. If you haven't seen all the parts that their company VCP makes by now you need to check em out! CLICK HERE for their website.

In addition to running a busy company and working jobs they also find time to build nice bikes. Here is what they say about their BF7 build:

"We are extremely excited to be building a bike for Born-Free 7 this year. We are going to put together a mix of some of our production parts that we make for Visionary Cycle Products along with some custom one off parts for the bike.

 

The base of the bike is built around an OEM early 1937 Knucklehead frame that was modified by going slightly up and out in the front of the frame and shortened and narrowed to rear section of the frame to pull everything in tight and fill a lot of the gaps.

 

The engine for the bike is going to be an early 1950's set of OEM Panhead engine cases that will be setup as an 88" engine. We are running dual front heads with dual Amal carbs which will be modified with accelerator pumps. The internals of the engine are made up of Truett and Osborne custom lightweight flywheels and rods, custom Baisley built OEM rockers modified with roller tips, lightweight cam chest gears, and a custom cam built by Leineweber. The whole engine combination should make for a fast revving powerful engine.

 

The final vision for the bike is basically a trimmed down slimmed down lightweight chopper that can handle the harsh streets of NY where we live, that is capable of weaving through the tight traffic to get where it needs to go.

 

We are really looking forward to being out at Born-Free again this year for the show, and cant wait to see some of the other Invited Builder Bikes that are being done for this years show. See you in June - Visionary Cycle Products"

Stay tuned and be sure to also follow them on Instagram HERE

BF7 Invited Builder : Paul Cox

I have said this many times but has never rang truer...one of the hardest things we do is select the builders, but it is also can be one of the most fun & rewarding. We have had some really cool & interesting guys come through this process over the years and Paul Cox is one of those guys. It's really crazy how all this works...I remember watching Paul & Larry on Biker Build-off ( yes I watched every one & love them)  and being blown away with what they were doing..... flash forward a decade or so and now I'm putting on a show & he's in it...that's nuts!  Paul's body of work is amazing and goes way beyond building motorcycles. He is a old world craftsman, an artist, a true professional and a gentleman....builds a mean chopper too. Last year Paul went above & beyond to show the Born-Free crowd what he was capable of and he definitely delivered. He's back this year and just sent in a few pictures and words on what he is up to...     

 

I’m very proud to say that I’ve been asked back to be a part of this year’s Born Free

Show #7. When I built my bike for the show last year, The Guillotine, I felt really driven

to pull out all the stops and basically re-invent and re-engineer everything involved with

the project. This tends to be my approach to most things in my world, especially

motorcycles. I see something in front of me, and have a need to change, improve or

completely make it over from scratch. I feel a painful excitement when I know what I

“want” to do, but also know that there is not enough time to truly achieve it with balance

and grace. It’s a daily struggle. There should be a 12 step program for those of us with more ideas than time.

Anyway, as I planned this year’s attack, I had already started thinking of how to make

this ’46 Knuckle crazy from top to bottom. Huge displacement, about a dozen carbs, 5

magnetos, exposed flywheels with fully engraved cases inside and out. I was planning

an even crazier girder fork than last year with a frame full of steel overlays and lugs set

off by plating, paint, leafing and stripes. Then.... A certain peace crept up from my loins

like the warmth you feel slipping under the blood stained water of a slit wrist bathtub. I

said to myself, “This time, for once, I want to keep it simple.”

 

I picked up a 1946 HD Knucklehead FL engine from my friend and artist John

Copeland. This engine was originally owned by another pal, Andy Camay who sold it to

me years ago, then I sold it to John. It sat up on a shelf behind the bar at Black Bear for

about a year before I got it back for this project. Keeping it in the family. I’ve got the

engine completely apart, down to the bare cases at this point. My approach this time

around is to build a super clean and fun machine with classic details and a few modern

twists. As much as I appreciate original iron, I’ve never been a restoration guy. I’m a

chopper guy. So, if along the way I feel the original heads need more fins or external

drains, I’ll add em. If I want to shave some fins off the original cylinders or cut the relay

block off the cases, I will. I may do a dual Linkert set-up, but beyond that, I’m just going

to build a straight forward 74” Knuckle engine.

 

Another neat piece I’m working with on the project is a 1970’s era Little John 5-speed

overdrive transmission. This predates the HD 5-speed by about 10 years and is an

overdrive instead of just a close ratio. James, from Dudley’s Basement, a decades old

and respected Long Island bike shop, turned me on to this set-up. He had most of the

parts to build two of these rare gear boxes. I’ll pick the best parts of what I got from him

and try to assemble a reliable Little John trans to run behind the ’46. The shift lid is

specific to the Little John case because it has to be longer and guides an extra shift

fork. It’s a ratchet top style, that I may convert to non-ratchet for a simpler, more direct

shift pattern. Either way, it will be hand shift.

 

For the frame, in the light of my new-found aesthetic clarity, I’m going to hard-tail an

old Shovel frame I’ve had knocking around the shop, and clean up the original casting

for light molding and paint. I even thought about going super-sanitary with a tube neck

and no castings, but I do love the organic feeling of massaged lugs and mounts. I’ll

paint the bike here at my shop, and probably have my daughter Dylan jump in to help out.

The sheet metal is still a toss-up whether I go high or low with the tank. I have a little

piece of fender that I’ll probably start with, and maybe work some rod around the edges

to set off the shape. I’m still undecided on the oil tank, but I may weld up a couple old

spun aluminum cylinder halves that I have from a spinner in Queens. Otherwise, I

always dug the woven stainless horse shoe tanks that were being made in the Bronx

years ago. I had considered doing one last year, but didn’t. Maybe this time I will.

For wheels, I have a little spool hub for the front, and an aluminum Barnes quickchange

racing hub for the rear that I had already laced to a 17” Sun rim with stainless

spokes. This hub runs 4-bolt rotor and sprocket. I have a pair of Pirelli Scorpions laying

around for rubber, but I’ve been putting dual-sport tires on choppers for about 14 years now, so I may look into some other options there.

These are my general ideas and direction at this point. So far, I’m loving the feeling of

this project, and it’s a nice contrast to all the ones that I’ve done where I felt like it had to

be crazy and over the top. I still have a long way to go no matter how you look at it, so

it’s back to work for me right now. Good luck to all the fellow builders with your projects

and I cant wait to see. P

BF7 Invited Builder : Kyle Edgar

Kyle was part of the Show Class Peoples Champ Promo for BF6 although he was not crowned the Peoples Champ winner, his killer VL framed Shovelhead took home top honors in it's class at the show. Kyle's bike was a crowd favorite and really blew us away. We knew right then we wanted him to build a bike for BF7...and few months later he said yes. This platform works and will continue to work. We don't know everyone and can't possibly know what everyone is building so getting involved in a promo like the Show Class Peoples Champ really helps us and brings out talented builders that may get overlooked. Here are a few words from Kyle....
At first I was undecided as to what motor I was going to build this bike around. I always wanted to build a Flatty, but wasn't sure I could come up with one. I had a lead on a '38 ULH motor, but it was outta my range. With some patience and good friends on the lookout, I was able to ultimately lock down a '46 Flathead UL. I plan on keeping the motor traditional... a stock 74" with upgraded cams. The frame I'm using is '49 Pan wishbone that had been through the wringer, and I wanted to give it a new life. I shortened the tail 2" and dropped the backbone and down-tubes just enough to hug the motor. I narrowed an RL springer..... and that's about where I'm at. This motor has been inspiring me to go in the direction of a track bike/'60's style show bike... it will have the stance and grit of a performance machine integrated with the nuances of a custom build. I tend to let my bikes take shape on their own, and I'm looking forward to where this one takes me!
I am truely honored to have been picked as an invited builder and to be among such an amazingly talented group of guys. Looking forward to June!

Brooklyn is Coming

Decide to doing something and do it.That is what is happening in the real motorcycle scene today.Guys are willing to ride,fly or drive across the country or the world for that matter in be involved with something they are passionate about....and that's what we have here....John Copeland is a very talented guy and he is now a part of our builder invite for Born Free 3. John is a creative person well known for his craft ( check his Blog. ).He is also doing very special things with choppers too.Last fall we went out to the Brooklyn Invitational and met up with the White Knights and got a good taste of NY.They are definitely locked in on what's cool in the east and now they are coming west! Welcome John... see you in June.