Chopperworks® Custom Harley™

Live to Ride | Issue 246

Words by Loaf | Pics by J@t

Ever played ‘Telephone Tennis’? It’s fuckin’ frustrating and is exactly what Corey and myself played as we tried to line up this shoot. You see, we both wanted an outstanding model to pose with the bike while at the same time the bike needed to tell its own story. As luck would have it we found the lovely Laurena Lacey, a beautiful Irish lass who previously graced the pages of Playboy in the USA. Well, now she’s stepped it up a notch and modelled for Australia’s premier Biker mag!

Corey is the main man behind Chopperworks® in the ACT which specialises in custom makeovers on Harley- Davidson motorcycles. Yep that’s right they prefer to work on the real deal, secure in the knowledge that when they’ve finished their work the bike will still be roadworthy although radically different from a stock factory ride.

Take this hottie for instance. Starting life as a ’94 Springer Softail, it’s definitely a far cry from its original condition. The make-over took four weeks working day and night and was all done in-house at Chopperworks®. The Chopperworks® team worked tirelessly to get this custom the way they wanted it, which they’ll do for any customer. Besides if the customer is satisfied then the business that comes from word of mouth will keep them busy for months afterwards, a position any bike shop owner would like to be in.

This particular build called for a few modifications, what with the Chopperworks® wide rear kit that takes the back wheel from the stock 140mm to a massive 300mm. The rear struts were removed and replaced by a hand-fabricated rear guard with internal struts. They decided to leave the rake at its stock 32° but fit a set of Mean Street custom 5° offset triple trees and 2” over forks which keeps it well within the legal limits for registration. At the top of the fork stanchions is a pair of LED strip lights which are the bike’s front indicators. By using these indicators they’ve been able to keep the lines they wanted but also satisfy the ADRs keeping the bike completely street legal.

Bolted to the triple trees is a set of Aussie-made Burleigh Bars and a Tradewinds headlight. Down the back of the bike the suspension is handled by an air ride system from US firm CCCS call the Simplified Air System. This suspension system incorporates the air compressor between the two shock absorbers, which meant that Chopperworks® didn’t need to find a place to fit the air compressor. Too easy and it’s all made from billet alloy as well!

To compliment the front end and the rear suspension Corey chose wheels from the Renegade range called Venice with an 18” wheel doing duty at the rear while the front is a 21”. The front stopper is a PM item while Corey retained the stock H-D set-up which he’s more than happy with. On to the business end of things, the motor and gearbox. The stock 80 cube motor was replaced holus-bolus by an S&S 124ci motor.

These legendary motors supply great gobs of torque and horsepower that should keep any adrenalin junkie happy. Whether it’s gassing it away off the mark or lighting up the rear wheel at 120kph, the S&S 124” motor can get your bike dancing the bitumen boogie. For the rest of the driveline, Corey selected a 3” BDL primary drive and an RSD gearbox that assists with keeping that huge back wheel running true and centred. The tanks and guards were custom fabricated by Chopperworks® and each job that they undertake is done with the necessary precision and attention to detail that’s required to build a knockout custom bike. The finishing touches are courtesy of Stevo who custom mixed the colour and painted the bike while the chromework was done by the folk from Huntingdale Chrome.

Now Chopperworks® don’t just do custom work makeovers. The crew can do everything from general servicing to building a fire-breathing performance engine and are specialists in the Trask Turbo systems for Harley- Davidson motorcycles. Chopperworks® are in two Australian locations, Fyshwick ACT (02 6280 6000) and their Brisbane shop (07 3352 6107) found at Stafford Queensland. To truly appreciate what Chopperworks® can do for you then check out their website, www.chopperworks.com.au where you can see other customs they’ve built and check out just some of the parts that Chopperworks® are the Australian agents for.

If you like what you see here then contact Corey on (02) 6280 6000 and you might even be able to separate him from his bike because as we all know everything has its price (like $65,000). Don’t have that sort of money but you’ve already got a Harley? Well talk to Chopperworks® about a custom makeover, they’ll happily build you the custom you want, not the custom they want. Oh and if you would like to find out about or see more of the lovely Laurena then fire up the computer and check out her website: www.laurenalacey.com.