To help clean up the rear, Scott utilized a trans brake setup.
Chrome bars
Yellow Rigid XXL
Talk about sitting “in” the bike. The rider could lose a finger in the chain.
Scott kept things interesting by making an outer bearing support and tucking the exhaust under the frame.
360 rear tire
Leroy-Thompson Choppers (LTC) in Mentor, OH, builds bikes to the tune of leaving people scratching their heads and guessing what’s next from the shop. At the very least, the crew strives to ensure that one part or function of each bike is just off the beaten path, including the yellow rigid “XXL” seen here. Now, take a closer look at this machine, think about the bike’s name, and let the guessing begin at what’s going on here. Ah-ha, see, we have faith that most of our readers know what they’re looking at. But for the rest who are still scratching their noggins, that’s cool, we’ll let LTC’s Natalie Sweet fill in the blanks.
When it comes to trying new things like exotic foods or a new drink, most people don’t mind being a bit adventurous. Hey, how do you know you won’t like it till you’ve tried it, right? But when it comes to building motorcycles, people tend to play it a little safer. Sure, it’s fun to stray a little from the norm, to create something flashy and cool, but when it comes to rewriting the books on customization, to go far off the beaten path, it’s often easier to sit back and let someone else take a stab at it first. Fortunately, that has never been the philosophy at Leroy-Thompson. In fact, the boys of LTC just wouldn’t be comfortable if they weren’t doing things their way, with quality craftsmanship, ingenuity, design, and a great sense of humor.
So when those enormous 360s hit the streets, LTC shop owner Scott Webster knew he had to build a bike around one…and that’s exactly what he did. “With this bike we wanted to try and accomplish the unimaginable,” Scott said. “We wanted to build a super big racing XL motor and pair it up with an obnoxiously wide tire just to make everyone scratch their heads.” The XXL started out as somewhat of a science project where Scott planned to pair a giant 360 back tire with a 100ci XL Sportster motor. To date it had never been done before, and that was certainly a key part of the appeal to Scott and the rest of the boys at LTC.
“I guess the idea behind it was nobody else had built a Sportster bike with a 360 tire and I just thought it would be funny to do,” Scott remarked. “I mean I thought ‘how neat would it be to take the biggest wheel in production with the typically smallest motor.'” But coming up with the idea was only the first hurdle.
Since there is currently no one out there making tons of custom parts specifically for Sportsters, every aspect of the bike had to be custom engineered in-house at LTC. They began with getting all of the fixture points for the frame, and then connecting the dots. Then they centered the drag race-style motor on the frame, followed by attaching that monster of a rear tire. The engine’s drive components are a masterpiece, of course, CNC’ed in house-no stock drive here.
The three-month building process didn’t just produce a killer bike. It also gave way to several unique Leroy-Thompson Signature Series parts, including the Cylon wheel and the Moto-X racing-style grip. Both of these were created for the XXL and were then put into production and are now available for sale, as well as leaving the door wide open to creativity. For instance, the front brakes are the inverted brakes from a junior dragster combined with handcrafted supports coming down from the front forks. Or how about the super deluxe wide sprocket system with the trans brake? That’s not a derivative procedure; it’s completely original and innovative craftsmanship.
“I wanted to go down a road I knew no one had been down, and that’s exactly what I did,” Scott said. Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.