S&S PERFORMANCE CHOP – A FAST HARLEY(-ISH) CHOP FOR THE ROAD

IN THE WORLD OF CUSTOM BIKES THERE SEEM TO BE TWO KINDS OF BUILDERS, THOSE WHO BUILD TO CONFORM TO A SPECIFIC STYLISTIC GENRE (SWEDISH CHOPPER, BRITISH CAFÉ RACER, AMERICAN FLATTRACKER, ETC.), AND THOSE WHO DON’T JUST IGNORE THE RULE BOOK, BUT USE IT TO WIPE THEIR ARSE, AND THEN UNCEREMONIOUSLY FLUSH IT DOWN THE CRAPPER…

There’re several such folk on the British custom bike scene, but one chap who’s shaken up the global custom bike scene is Jeff Wright, from Van Meter in Iowa. The name might not mean anything to you, but maybe his business, Church Of Choppers, will ring some bells? COC build some of the most off-the-wall custom bikes being built, and not just with big American vee-twin engines as you may expect, but of all types – retros, endurance race replicas, flat-trackers, chops, streetfighters and café racers, with the styles inevitably mashed together in a way that, somehow, ends up in a bike that looks cohesive – not just a big mix of spare parts. When COC can make a hardtail Harley with an endurance race fairing look good, it’s clear that they know what they’re playing at!

Thirteen years ago he built an S&S Shovelheadengined rigid chopper as part of the fiftieth anniversary of the S&S brand – a bike that was surprisingly similar in looks to the one you see here. This one belongs to Matt ‘Jenksy’ Jenks in the West Midlands, although it was originally built by David Baringer in North Carolina (presumably after he’d seen, and been heavily influenced by, the Church Of Choppers bike… although given that it wears a COC sticker with pride on the oil tank, we can safely assume that some, or all, of the parts required were supplied by Jeff Wright).

While it has the same high headstock, rigid frame design as the original COC bike, this one has further bracing around the de-raked head (now at a racy 28 degrees), although the boxedon head steady is very similar.

The engine, although also being an S&S motor, is an Evolutiontype powerplant of an impressive 124” capacity (that’s a smidge over two litres!), and has a six-speed transmission in a five-speed box, meaning that it can run an electric start (handy with a motor of that capacity!). The exhaust’s a pair of neatly crossing high-level pipes, with the front cylinder running to the right-hand side, and the rear wrapping around the front pot to exit on the left, giving a wonderfully balanced look, and a full aural assault on the rider, with the burnt hydrocarbons exiting just behind each of his calves.

A pair of Harley forks are held by skinny Speed Merchant yokes, with up-to-date radial-mount calipers bolted to bespoke mounting brackets to give the very best of modern retardation to the thirteen spoke 19” mag wheel. Another pair of Tokico calipers sit on the single disc at the rear, albeit of a conventional axial mount design, while the wheel is another thirteen spoker, but rather skinny to suit the look, holding a tyre that is only 130mm in section. And skinny is the vibe – there’s no switchgear on the ’bars, allowing them to be kept as narrow as possible, ideal for navigating the tailbacks on the M42 and M6 around Jenksy’s neck of the woods.

The no-nonsense style brought by the combination of minimal chopper styling, monster motor and race-spec componentry is a compelling one, and it’s not just Jenksy that loves the mix – it’s something that we’re seeing more and more in the UK, most recently with builds by Rocket Bobs in Swindon, and it should be noted that Ian Cushing at Second City Customs played a big hand in getting Jenksy’s bike just right. How long will it be before he builds something similar?

Although Jenksy had to wait while the bike was being shipped across the Atlantic, the joy of owning and riding it since it arrived’s far outweighed any impatience he had. It’s not been without its issues since it arrived though, having required a new ignition (a Dyna S now provides the sparks), and a total rewire, and it’s been fitted with new pistons and barrels too. Jenksy also says: “I’m going to change the seat and rear section this winter but, in the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy riding the shit out of it. It’s scarily fast and I love it!”