TWO EVOS
FOR JUST ABOUT ALL OF US, A GREAT DEAL OF OUR LIVES’S BEEN SPENT IN THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS – FRIENDS WHO RIDE BIKES WITH US, GO TO RALLIES WITH US, AND GET INTOXICATED AROUND A CAMP FIRE WITH US. IT’S PART OF WHAT BEING A BIKER'S ALL ABOUT.
– MONOCHROME IN COLOUR
Martin McBride and Colin Ellam’ve known each other for a long time, 20-odd years, and regard each other as proper good mates. Martin’s been riding longer than Col, and they tend to get together to attend rallies and ride-outs, sometimes just the two of them, and sometimes in bigger groups, but the long and short of it’s that they both enjoy the travelling, and enjoy a few refreshing beverages at the end of a decent day’s riding. They also both have cool custom bikes, both classic hard-tailed customs powered by H-D’s Evolution Big Twin. Martin’s is the more traditional chop, while Col’s has a bit more of a ‘bar hopper’ vibe, thanks to the less radical forks and ’bars, but let’s start with Martin’s. Initially, his 1988 FLSH (ElectraGlide Sport) was a complete restoration that he undertook for a friend in 2013, complete with bells, whistles, lights, and Breville toaster and, once finished, it was ridden faultlessly to Germany and back… and then left in the corner of the owner’s garage to collect dust for a few years.
In the meantime, Martin’d been busy collecting parts for a build, and while he had a rolling chassis to push around making vroom vroom noises, it was devoid of a powerplant. At this point the dusty ’Glide cropped up in conversation, and it’d solve the problem – the price was right, and it helped a friend gain some space at the
back of his garage. Best of all though, the history, and the engine’s performance and reliability, were already known, and so Martin could free up some cash by selling the parts that wouldn’t be needed, adding to his ‘chop fund’. Also included were the revolver grips, described as ‘supremely cheesy’ but, once they were fitted, he can’t bring himself to change them!
In his normal process of building bikes, once they’re close to being done, he fits his ten-quid fuel tank, and one of several random seats, to be able to give it a blast up the road. He did so and then booked an MoT for the next day – he only had to wire it up first. With that finished by 11pm, he filmed the first fire-up, during which the engine pumped all its oil over the floor… with the springy bit in the pump unstuck, the essential fluids were retained where they should be and, after just the MoT trip and a few laps around the block under
his belt, he and the Evo set off for the 2017 Flanders Chopper Bash (still with the ten-quid tank), feeling as though he was on a wing and a prayer. Nothing fell off though, and they got there and back with no bother!
The tank subsequently was painted by Pegleg Painter (aka Ben Priestley), with his trademark narrow flames and a gothic horror panel on the top, and the Evo ran all over the place the rest of that year and the years to follow. As testimony, Martin says: “Damn, them Evo motors’re good! It’s never missed a beat through rain or shine, up river bed nor field.” That’s jinxed it. Next time he’s out and a cloud passes overhead it’ll stop for no apparent reason…
As for Colin Ellam’s bike, well, Col didn’t build the bike himself – he bought it after hankering for a hardtailed Harley for some time, finally finding it in the showroom at Attitude Cycles in Southampton. It’d originally been put together by a chap by the name of Ben White, and Attitude’d made some further alterations. There were a few changes that he asked for before he collected it (including a single Harley headlight, and a stainless sissy-bar to aid luggage hauling), and when it was ready he flew down from Manchester to collect it. He walked into the shop, had a brew, paid the required dosh, jumped aboard, and rode it back to Warrington in one hit, only stopping for fuel! Bearing in mind this was his first time on a hardtail, he nonetheless loved it from the very start, even at the end of his first in-at-the-deep-end ride.
While much of the spec of the bike’s unknown (the transmission’s from an earlier model, being a four speeder with both kick and electric start), the initial flat-track ’bars’ve been changed for the ‘titty’ bars that Martin’d bought from Sumo at Vintage Chop a few years earlier. Otherwise Col’s left the bike pretty much as-was, instead spending his time getting the miles covered, having been over to Flanders twice, and down to the Hook Up in Wales (which Col and Martin both rate as their favourite bash of the year). Again, the Evo motor’s proven to be bulletproof, and certainly seems to be turning into the new ‘old school’ Harley to have as the really old stuff, like Pans, Shovels, and Knuckles, get priced out of the reach of most folk.
Col actually owns a TwinCam, and a Shovel too, but this one’s most definitely his favourite!