Here’s a pic of the FREEDOM OR DEATH MACHINE as of last Friday. The tanks are still too angular and the spot where the downtube meets the bottom rails sweeps up in an unappealing manner.
Down to the wire, Jeff is working past 3AM to get the machine done and in Austin in nine days. This weekend he tweaked the frame and it looks a lot better. He took the bottom rails and met the massive and aggressively-shaped downtube in a forward-moving cattle catcher design that I wanted.
Dig those killer brass risers that Gabe from After Hours Choppers donated. Freaking slick.
Jeff cut down the tanks so their tops are a flat line. He narrowed them in the rear and cut each side to make them smaller overall. Then he changed the top frame tube so it matches the lines of the top of the tanks. The bottom of the tanks were notched a little more to fit over the motor to keep the low look we’re shooting for. He also made and mounted the rear brake lever pivot mount.
Right now the carburetors are being cleaned for the best performance. The exhaust, donated by the fine men at Biltwell, is being made into something pretty cool and raw.
Next, the skinny 21-inch wheels are getting painted and mounted with the Distanzia tires we spent a lot of money on, thanks to nobody. The headlamp is going back out front like the photo at the top, the passenger thingamajig Jeff has planned needs to come together, and the headlamp is getting a wicked little custom steel or aluminum flyscreen to cut the wind and guide the bugs away from my grinning teeth.
Speaking of grins…
Yes. I made his lips red so it looks like he’s got smudged lipstck. Pretty boy. Shoulda started the build ten weeks earlier.
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