That's an easy one. A couple of relatively unknowns, Ben Hardy and Cliff Vaughs, were my main influences for styling.

Senior or Junior ? Very cool , wasn’t expecting that one here. But that’s what I’m after. I don’t give a dam about your personal likes or dislikes of motorcycles I’m after influencing factor that makes you want to build bikes. I want to hear from many more here. I find it interesting to learn things about yourself you never knew !

Ruttly wrote on 08/06/22 at 03:55:00:


I thought that you would have caught that one Ruttly, those guys were practically in your back yard in the 60's. Those two were the guys who built the bikes for the famous Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper movie.  

I agree with that, except for the tail light. It looks light a big cheap afterthought.

So my parents took me to a movie theater when I was 9 years old to see Easy Rider, with them (could not find a baby sitter I guess). Funny thing was I thought the bike Billy rode (Dennis Hopper) was much cooler then Captain America (Peter Fonda), so that was my original ideal.

Forward to today, I became fascinated by the builds of Bourget. That said I guess the designers at Honda did also, and hence the Fury. I set out to do mods to make my first LS Furyous. Some what for the second S40, you can never devalue old school Harley as well, so attempt was made to incorporate that, the 883 being a template.

Most of mods on the Suzuki's has been "bolt on", which requires a lot of sub fab. I did buy a Fury for the inspiration, a 2010 with the metallic blue paint, which I love, and color was only available in the early years.

To achieve with a Savage the perspective of length, is a challenge. It seems no one is really willing to weld frames anymore, at least in NJ. I have a frame and the full outline from Fast 650 to do a down tube stretch, just no one willing to take on job locally. And the old saying goes something to the effect of "only an idiot rides a frame he welded himself".
Not to say if you are a certified welder not to do it, but if you are a hack with no frame jig and limited skill ?. So, I am looking for a welder.

So to sum up, the bike Billy Rode in Easy Rider and Bourget.

I like the retro look with a single round headlight and I love the shape of the gas tank. Perfect as it is.

Alright here we go , Twas 1971 I was 11 years old and had been riding for 4 years on now my second mini bike. It was the height of the dirt biking craze. It was a Saturday afternoon and me and my buddies are going to the movies. It was a very special time growing up if you were a dirt biker it wasn’t just here it was everywhere. A worldwide craze , everyone I knew had a mini bike or a motorcycle , you were weird if you didn’t ride. So off to the old El Camino Theatre to see “On Any Sunday” and “Evel Knievel”. OAS captures the era and what everyone was doing at that time , if you haven’t seen it  , watch it. And then Evel Knievel and there it is as corny as they come , maybe not an Idle of mine like all the rest of my motorcycle heroes. But he held all the points to why I built a street tracker. #1 his Triumph and Harley all had at that time was on point flat track styling. I remember watching Wide World of Sports back then and I bet their best ratings is when EK was gonna attempt a jump , seems like time stopped when his front tire starts up the ramp. Can’t remember how many jumps I watched on WWS. I did see him jump & crash at the Cow Palace in San Francisco , CA. Made the jump then lost it before going thru the doors on the wet polished pavement. It the COOLEST thing to witness. Everytime I could get air underneath my tires I did. This is why me and the sportster love a good launch over the RR tracks. So you have it in a nutshell , Evel Knievel is a huge influence in what I build and how I ride. Corny yes but nonetheless it a obvious winner in my world. There are still at least ten others rider/racers that also influence me. But hands down , it’s Evel , RIP !