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[DEAN_NELSON]

Now I know I am getting old!

Last night I found Street Chopper July 06 on a news stand, took a look, and in the back under "back in the day" is the last show bike I built.

Back in the day.......it is the 1979 book so 27 years makes for a back in the day.

If you have the book take a look at it, was a fun bike, used only for shows and not much on the street.

Dean Nelson

[RJ749]

Now I know I am getting old!
Last night I found Street Chopper July 06 on a news stand, took a look, and in the back under "back in the day" is the last show bike I built.
Back in the day.......it is the 1979 book so 27 years makes for a back in the day.
If you have the book take a look at it, was a fun bike, used only for shows and not much on the street.Dean Nelson

Some body find a scanner  [smiley=worthless.gif]

We're all older now.........

[Fired00d]

Dean,
I'll have to take a look at that I have a subscription to that magazine. [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

 [smiley=pumpkin.gif]
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 [smiley=fireman.gif]

[Fired00d]

Have the issue, found scanner, and here it is.....

 [smiley=pumpkin.gif]
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 [smiley=fireman.gif]

[RJ749]

d00d,

Thanks for your efforts, looks great.

Looks like a great bike from the era.

[DEAN_NELSON]

Dood,

Thanks for the scanner work! I do not have one......

I made that bike 10' long, 36" tall at the top of the bars, and wanted it to be "thin".

Back than when you put on a turbo ( as all the "show bikes" did) the bike got so wide their was no room for your right leg to fit. With the long and low look you always had a "big hole" from the neck to the front clyinder, so I filled that with the carb right behind the neck, than a clear maniflod to the turbo, and than the intake pipe to the heads. Left side exhaust pipe.

Fun part was when I ran it, you could watch the fuel in the clear maniflod from the carb to the turbo as it went past.

Front forks were made with 4" between the inside of the legs and still got the dual disc to fit on a cut down wheel.

It was long, low, and thin.

Dean

[spydglide]

Hey DEAN_NELSON, do you know the history of the bike since it left you?  [smiley=nixweiss.gif] Just curious?  :-? spyder

[DEAN_NELSON]

Spydglide,

After it left me..........   Thats the part I wish I never did now!

History as best as I rember...

I used it from 1979 to 1985 in shows. It cost me $30,000.00 in 78-79 to build the bike.

1979 took it to the Grand National Roster show in Olakland CA, won the Sporster Radical class.
Than went to Daytona for the Harley factory show that Harley put on, it was invite only ( not the same as today's ride in show) Ness, Smith, Us and a lot I can't think of now, about 40 bikes. we won custom that year and Ness won overall with his two motor sporster call "two bad" .

In 80 I ran the ISCA and did 25 shows, never lost, and won the overall show at the end, won a new bike and some cash. 81 ran the same ISCA deal and won.

In 80 went back to Daytona and did the Harley show one more time and won over all, Harley gave me a 1980 Sturgis for the win. also in 80 is when I changed the paint from the blue to red with about 20 colors all over it.

81-82 ran the ISCA won, and in 83 I sold it to a guy who wanted to keep it on the show deal, so he wanted it to be black, have more gold plating and lot of engraving, so I changed it "sold" it to him and off he went on the ISCA show's in 83. He had paid me $15,000 and at the end of the year he would pay me the other $15,000 and I would give him the title to it.

Half way through the show year he wants out.......so he gives me the bike back, and I keep the first $15,000

I finish the show year in 83 and win.

R J Reynolds tobacco Co wanted to lease the bike to use over in europe for two years for $10,000
I let them have it for the two years.

Bike is back in 85 from R J and it is somewhat beat up ( they did not care about it) I get the bike back and they pay me $5000.00 for the damage to it (paint chips and other small stuff)

Bike sits in the back of my shop for half a year and a guy who was on the ISCA show deal calls and wants to buy it and put it back out their. I tell him about the damage, sell it to him as is for $10,000. he repaints it yellow and off it goes back to do shows.

I have never found it after he got it.

He was John Brewer, ran a small custom shop called J.B. Custom, I think in VA or SC or NC. About 5 years ago with the internet I tried to find him by name and shop name and found nothing and gave up.

I don't know if it still might be all toghter or strip for parts or whatever, but I would buy it back just to have it back.

I should have never sold it, but after I spent $30,000 to build and got back $64,000.00 I let it go and moved on with my life.....

Any one know of a John Brewer?  J.B. custom........  I think it is a dead end...

Any how  that's the history of the bike.

Dean

[spydglide]

Man, Dean........that's quite a history on that bike.  Glad you took the time to share with us.  Good memories and 'history' in the annals of chopperdom.  [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif] har!  spyder

[reo]

Very impressive bike Dean, especially considering the time you built it.

Quite a story, thanks for taking the time to put the desciptive story together.

[DEAN_NELSON]

Reo, Spydglide,

Thanks....like I had said it was a fun bike.

I tried to build one that was way out their for the time.

Mono shock frame, at the time it had never been done on a Harley

No oil tank, we made a oil pan and it was under the motor hard to find it

gas in the rear fender, cap was under the rear seat pad

no frame under the motor, frame stoped at the front motor mounts, and the rear motor mount  so the motor was part of the frame.

Sportster bottom end, hand made 74 clyinders and heads made in mill, than take the rocker box covers and split them and weld back up so it looked like a Knuncle head top....

The whole think about "show bike's" is their are "10 footers", "5 footers", " 1 footers" and the best type is the "1 incher". at the time this bike was a 1 incher.

1 incher is you can get right up next to it at 1" away and look as hard as you can at the whole bike and find nothing wrong, nothing out of place, and after you look all over it you get up and say "how did they do that?"


Even today I still use the "footer" deal to look at bikes....o- that one is a 5 footer....but go look at this one and it is a 5 incher......

My current CVO Trike is about a 5 incher as you look at it.

I will find out for sure this year at Sturgis, I am going to do the Harley show and some other with it.
Not that the CVO is a show bike as it is not, it is a street bike and has 2500 miles on it and needs to be in street class. But in 2003 at the Harley show in Sturgis we had a V-Rod Trike we put in and got put in "Pro Class". Just wanted to be in a street class but got put in "PRO".  And it won pro.......O-well you never know.

Dean

[spydglide]

Reo, Spydglide,

I will find out for sure this year at Sturgis, I am going to do the Harley show and some other with it.
Dean

Good deal, Dean.........let us know how it goes w/ the show(s).  [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]  spyder

[Puzzled]

Thank you for sharing the history of the bike. For me it is interesting as I have been showing something since 93. I'm really impressed with the length of the run you had with it. Current bikes at best get a one year run before the next greatest and latest shows up. The competition now is all big dollar stuff. For me the bikes were going in a direction I didn't want to go (all sheet metal). I'm waiting for the turn around where they go back to simple and clean.

03 was my last year out with one exception in 04. I did extremely well on the local/ regional level. The money won covered the entire season as far as travel and expenses. I didn't venture out to the National level as I had no desire to travel. I sometimes think I should have while the bike was hot.

[DEAN_NELSON]

Spyder,
I will let you know how it goes.

Puzzled,
You are so right on the length of time for a show bike to keep going. I keep it out their as long as I could to pull as much money back out of it. After the euorpe deal it was done.

Body bikes......that got out of hand in a hurry! and in 2-3 years they were gone.

Two years ago it was old "boardway race bike's" the first one was real nice and than all the rest were just knock off's

On to "old school" for now.....

I would like to see the Sprotster make a come back as show bikes.

And after 27 years.......hung up by straps from the I beams.........just rotting away....We could build/finish the "rafter bike" as we call it.

What was the rafter bike........it is a complet 2ed one , frame, wheels, front end, swing arm, mono shock.
needs motor, body.

When we made the first one, we made a 2ed set of parts and put the frame together, hung it up in the rafters and let it be.

Dean