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ContentsAPRIL 2011

ON THE COVERVolume 21 • Number 3 • Our 173rd Issue

Credit for Laura Klock's jewel-like Memphis Chopper goes toeveryone who punches the clock at Mitchell, South Dakota'sKlock Werks. It was an "all hands on deck" build, finished in therace to get to Michael Lichter's Eternal Combustion Show in Stur-gis last year. The bike's graceful lines and striking paintwork ex-emplify the type of bikes Klock Werks has produced for almost adecade and a half. Turn to page 24 to go behind the scenes onits genesis.

FEATURE BIKESJules’ Shovel .................................10The Deer Slayer rides again

Memphis Chopper .........................24A bike with soul

Bad Black Bagger ..........................28When bike building gets personal

Purpose Built FXR .........................48A cool fire-breather

FEATURE STORIESQuiet Riot .....................................32It’s hip to tone down

FXRT Road Report .........................44After the upgrade

Edge Saddlebags ...........................47Let’s get packin’

IW Tried & Tested .........................51H-D Service Lift

Arai XD3 ......................................52Full-face & fantastic

IW GARAGERace Tech’s Future Shock...............40Part of a long-range plan

Engine..........................................54Camshafts, part 2

Project FLHX.................................56How to rock ‘n ride

Electric ........................................58Keep your cool

JIMS Tool Tech .............................60Born in the U.S.A.

All About ......................................62Why wear Wescos?

Metal ...........................................64E-Fab forms metal

Performance dress rehearsal..........66Rosa Cycles Road Glide

Demystifying Audio.........................68The skinny on speakers and amps

First look: Hoppe ‘shield .................69Retractable is where it’s at

DEPARTMENTSLetters...........................................................22Drop us a line

Buyer’s Guide..................................................70Bagger bonanza!

REGULARSSteve B ............................................................6Putting in the time

Sam Kanish ....................................................14Getting set to ride

Brian Klock .....................................................16Cross Bones Kustom

Marilyn Bragg .................................................18Willin’ and chillin’

Mike Tomas ....................................................20Keepin’ it simple, mate

Margie Siegal..................................................781942 Indian 841

SPOTLIGHTGermany’s Bike FarmOh give me a home, where the hogs like to roam… but this oneis across the pond! In Germany, actually, a country of craftsmenand engineers who know a thing or two about the mechanicalarts. Gerhard Remmert has taken his countrymen’s passion toheart, turning out remarkable hand-built machines over severaldecades and garnering worldwide accolades in the process.Come on and look around the Bike Farm with IW.

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Meddling Editor Paul Holdsworthand I took a road trip in Decem-ber on behalf of IronWorks. Our

agenda was partially editorial, partiallybusiness. There were people and ma-chines I wanted to get close to with cam-era and recorder, and Holdsworth wantedto do some ad sales missionary work.

Why did we travel at what is a prettymiserable time of the year, a time of theyear most sensible folk would hole up intheir nice warm crib and call it a season? Imean, this is December we are talkingabout and one never knows what one willfind once they leave the safety of theirabode. I brought the iPod for amusementduring long hours of travel time. Shufflenever let us down once, and an expan-sive/diverse music collection kept us en-tertained, amused, sane, and filled in thegaps between rants and conversation.

As is our habit, we had a packed agen-da that took us to visit a whole bunch ofpeople over the course of a cold-as-hell,snowy seven days. Memorable visits werewith Ron and Mike at Chicago Harleywhere we got a grand tour of a very wellstocked and tooled-up dealership. This is amonster facility and has some tremen-dous capability and talent within its walls.As an aside, I saw what has got to thelargest single room of stored customer H-Ds ever. Far underground, this crypt holdsan ungodly number of machines—750+and room for 500 more—all sleeping withtheir siblings until spring. It was a cool vi-sual of something you just don’t get to seethat often, if at all.

Visiting Andrews Performance in Mt.Prospect, IL, was cool. You interested inspotless automated manufacturing envi-ronments? In CNC tooling centers as bigas a shed? In a company that has em-braced innovation, technology and diversi-ty? Well if these things interest you, checkout Andrews. They have it going on. I amhopeful our visit with Mike and Gary re-sults in some good info coming our way,because these folks have some madknowledge locked up in their walls that Iam itching to tap for IronWorks.

Hoppe Industries in Kenosha was up

next. Visiting with John is a treat. What agood guy and a smart inventor. You’ll seesome of his new thinking in this issue inthe products section. We talked business,had a good meal, a few adult beverages,and then all too quickly our visit was over.John’s a good guy, a great host, a bundleof enthusiastic energy—and his productsare rock solid. It was cool to see hisplace.

Working our way up to urban Milwau-kee, we spent a full day with the crew atCook Customs where I got to do what Ilike to do best—shoot bikes, listen to sto-ries, and ask questions of smart and tal-ented people with opinions. It was great,really a wonderful visit where we got tospend some quality time with Dave Cook,JP, Colleen Swartz, and Warren Heir.What a talented, swell bunch of people.We got to know each other a bit and Icame away with a deep appreciation forthe work that Dave Cook is doing. No realsurprise there; Dave is an AMD champ. Itwas also excellent to become acquaintedwith Warren Heir of JR’s Cycle Productsto learn about the machines he builds—traditional ‘60’s and 70’s era chops—andhis products, which include slick hubs forcustoms. We needed to beat feet aftermy shoot was done, so I will have to takethis crew up on their offer of a down anddirty Milwaukee tour next summer. Itshould be…brilliant!

Fort Madison, Iowa, home of DonHotop, was next. The local HyVee serves amean breakfast special and we didn’t wantto miss it. The sticky buns are killer. Thebikes coming out of Hotop’s shop are alsokiller and you’ll see one of them in the nextissue as a result of me crawling around in

the dirt during a 25-degree morning. Thevisit was special. Here is a man with 35years in the V-twin business that couldn’tbe easier to talk to and spend time with.He’s knowledgeable but not a know it all,he’s mellow and easy going yet the bikeshe builds and the parts he designs areanything but—they are stunning showcas-es of tasteful, bold detail and exemplify theessence of the hot rodder’s art. Quiet, un-derstated muscle and purpose is a themethrough all of Don’s two-wheeled work.

Mitchell, South Dakota was a plannedstop. We spent a solid day with Brian andLaura Klock and their team of welcomingand warm associates. Both Holdsworth andI commented to ourselves as we left,“What a nice bunch of people.” That kind ofsums up our visit to Klock Werks: nice andvery productive. You are getting one of thebikes in this issue, Laura’s Memphis chop,and there’s another Klock machine on theway in a following issue. This is a businessthat has persevered through some prettychallenging times and they look to be clearlyfocused on the future—and it looks prettygood when seen through a clear and toughKlock Billboard Flare windshield!

Leaving the Klocks to head further westput us squarely in the middle of a nastyblizzard with gale force winds on I-90. Thiswas at night only to make it more interest-ing. After peeling my fingers off the steer-ing wheel, I consulted the Nuvi 660 forlodging options. GPS rules in these situa-tions and we’d located and paid for tworooms (from the car) within 10 minutes ofrealizing that there was just no way we’dmake it to Sturgis. We made it as far asWall that night and felt real fortunate tohave snagged our rooms whilst cruising at

6 IronWorks April 2011

A Mile a MinuteSTEPHEN BERNER

Investment

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an aggressive 5mph on 90 west becauseby the time we’d gotten off the road, thestate had closed it and there was a bit ofconfusion with people hunting for lodgingon this evil night. Holdsworth and I found atavern close by, ordered beverages andsome bison burgers, and felt fortunate tobe seated inside in the warm. We neededGPS to find our way back the two blocksto our motel, the whiteout was that bad.

The next day saw us slide our way Westto Sturgis on the icy highway. We had agreat lunch at the Knuckle Saloon with Tomof Drag Specialties, visited the Sturgis Mu-seum, got a good cup of joe at the SturgisCoffee Company, took some pictures ofSturgis in the off season, and worked ourway to Rapid City, where I was to fly out ofthe next day. Holdsworth would continue onfor another two days. Holdsworth droppedme off and we said our goodbyes. It hadbeen good travelling with him. We are, luck-ily, simpatico road tripping partners.

I caught up with Dan, friend and manag-er of the Prairie’s Edge in Rapid, and had afew beverages and some fine grub at theFirehouse with him. Man, what a treat tobe able to just sit and talk normally, some-thing we can never do during Bike Week. Icrashed hard at the Hotel Alex Johnson, agreat old rehabbed Rapid City landmark,and the next morning left for home, whichwas a whole ‘nother adventure.

So we’d invested seven days away fromour families, two flights, a week’s worth ofmotels and mediocre meals. We’d trav-elled many miles by car and seen manypeople. I’d shot some great bikes, grabbedsome video, and felt good about what we’daccomplished. We’d shown respect topeople by coming to visit them, to leaveour comfy chairs and see how they makeit happen. It was an excellent investmentof time, money, and effort, to be able tosee people outside the usual Cincy/Day-tona/Sturgis cycle. To be able to justhang out and talk about what makes ustick and how we can work together.

If you don’t make the investment, youdon’t get the good stuff. And life’s tooshort to settle for anything but the goodstuff, don’t you agree?

Stephen BernerSteveb@steveb.biz

8 IronWorks April 2011

A Mile a MinuteSTEPHEN BERNER

Reader Service No. 15

Reader Service No. 14

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Story and photos by Stephen Berner

Some machines demand to tell theirstories in their own way, and suchis the case with Memphis, a special

chopper built by Laura Klock and thefriends and crew of Klock Werks, a smallshop located in Mitchell, South Dakota.Perhaps you’ve heard of them.

Memphis, the machine you see here,was debuted at Michael Lichter’s EternalCombustion Show in Sturgis this pastyear. Laura and Vagabond Choppers’Athena Ransom were paired up to collabo-rate and present machines in tandem, but

circumstances of life prevented Athenafrom finishing her machine and showingher work. Laura and her Mountain Dewdrinking team busted major butt to finishup Memphis in time for the show. Everychallenge known to man but locustsplagued this team, trying (unsuccessfully)to keep them from finishing.

Not a chopper girl in the true sense,the frame came to Laura as paymentback in the day for working in the Klockshop. As far as she was concerned, ifshe was going to build herself a long bikeand embrace the chopper style, the leastit had to be was fat. An Avalon front end

from Mean Street certainly brings fat tothe front of the equation and a big 300meat out back balances the machine vi-sually. This is a big bike, a long bike, witha low seat height. It’s a new style chop inevery sense—except heart. In that re-gard it is very, very, ahem, excuse me—old school.

Very modern Contrast Cut wheels lookgreat hung on this big frame and theamazing engraving by Canadian HeatherNew of New Line Engraving sets off theoutrageous “got a whole lot going on”paint. Taking a good look at the engravinggives you the distinct impression that the

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Memphis: One Machine’s StoryA tribute to people and perseverance

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metal on this bike has been hand forged,pounded, and gouged by an old worldcraftsperson and, in many regards, it has.The elaborate primary cover is a great ex-ample of the engravers art.

A BAKER RSD, a very modern part ona bike that references so many old worldstyling cues, works great and allows theslick rear wheel to run clean. A Goodsonair cleaner gave Heather an amazingcanvas to showcase her engraving handi-work whilst displaying the name ofLaura’s machine.

Mid-mount controls make sense forsomeone who is a rider (and Laura iscertainly a rider with WFB titles to hername) and so our heroine implemented areal nice clean set. A solid mount motorwas Laura’s call as was the gas tank’sshape. Ah yes, the tank shape, the amaz-ing tank shape! Referencing a basketball,the spherical shape of the tank’s frontportion flows seamlessly and beautifullyto the seat. Looking at the tank, youwant to reach out and hug it; your handsjust want to run over the curves of it totry and really understand how cool ashape it is.

The oil tank comes from Sucker PunchSally’s, the seat leather and saddlebagcame from Joe Mielke, shop fab guruand head mechanic at Klock Werks. RobRoehl at Donnie Smith’s shop helpedconstruct the gas tank and it is a mas-terful piece of unbelievably distinctive

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metal work. Dan Cheeseman construct-ed the rear fender, seat pan, motormount, and other custom touches—allwith Laura in there as hands-on as possi-ble in the rush.

The paint by TJ of TJ Design (www.custombikepaint.com) was hit and missright up until the final coat of candy brownwas shot—the colors were off the cardand the painter was in uncharted territo-ry. But in the end it turned out brilliantly, adeep and sophisticated palette set off bysome great ‘70s style taping and use ofvariegated gold. Not one part of this build didn’t throw up a challenge.

Floods visited Mitchell, South Dakota,this past spring and in addition to makinga horrible mess of their business, theirability to make a living, and pay salariesit also got in the face of those KlockWerkers trying to get this (and oneother bike you will meet in a future issue)done on time. This flood happened rightin the middle of the build, a short timebefore Sturgis. Crowds coming through

Mitchell on their way to Sturgis helped asbest they could. It was madness. It wasamazing. It was a friggin mess. Nothingwent together easily, but everyone perse-vered.

There is so much personal heart tiedup with most every part of this machine,every bit of engraving and graphic iconog-raphy has deep meaning, as did Laura’sdecision to take every piece a step fur-ther than is common. The names of thespecial kids in her life, dedicated on thetrans top cover to Erika, Karlee, andAustin, are 10 books of life stories rightthere. The Horsepower Ranch logo en-graved on the primary cover is anotherstory I encourage you to ask Laura aboutwhen you see her. The paint and engrav-ing are great examples of what happenswhen you trust the skills of the artistsaround you.

Making her debut at The Eternal Com-bustion Show in Sturgis, placed in theback of the room, Memphis (and herbrother Kwiksilver, Brian’s FXR) seemed

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Why the nameMemphis?

Laura and Brian met some eightyears ago, made a good connection,dated for a bit, and subsequently, asoften happens when lives are compli-cated, they parted ways. Well, Lauracame back some short time later tovisit and as is often the case, therewas a crowd of customers aroundthe Klock shop so the crowd went todinner. Brian tired of introducingLaura as “Laura from Wisconsin” andbegan introducing her as Memphis,an inside joke. Well the “stage name”stuck and folks around the shop re-ferred to her as Memphis. In lookingback, the name reminds Laura asmuch of a time in her life as the spiritthat powers her forward.

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kind of shy, hanging out in the corner,acting kind of low-key, as if she were justgetting used to being out in the publiceye. The bikes being on platforms pre-sented themselves a bit awkwardly, as ifto say: “I haven’t been on the road yet,screw being on a pedestal, I want torun.” The folks that took the time to getto know Memphis at the Sturgis showwere rewarded with a rich experience;this is a bike with a deeply personalstory.

So at the end of the day, the bike gotfinished, the tins got fitted, but the ma-chine never got fired. There wasn’t timeto sort through all of the small issuesand little adjustments necessary to makea machine safe and roadworthy beforethe Sturgis show. The Klock team wasexhausted, it’d been a rush to the finishline, and they’d made it. And the wayLaura saw it, there would be plenty oftime to get to know and ride Memphisonce their shop was put back straight.Sometimes it’s about more than the ma-

chines; it’s about the things you learnabout people and the stories of their livesalong the way.

In case you were wondering, the starsappearing all over the machine are to re-mind all that meet Memphis to shine, andHeather News’ small hidden “LTWs” re-mind us to “Love the World.” Good mes-sages, good energy, good people, and akiller machine! IW

*RESOURCEKlock Werks

Mitchell, SD

605-996-3700

www.kustomcycles.com

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