Up In Smoke
In the last few years, custom motorcycles have pushed the limits of what can feasibly be done with only two wheels, a motor and a lot of creativity. The lines between function and art become fused together as boundaries are continually broken, and outlandish ideas become reality. John Shope from Sinister Industries has been pushing limits and breaking boundaries in the custom V-Twin world for decades. If your jaw has ever dropped leaving you scratching your head at a bike blowin’ huge flames into the sky, there’s a good chance you were gawkin’ at one of his creations. When the idea of this bike named “Twisted” was rattling around inside his mad mind, it was the marriage of fantasy meet functionality that this bike was born.
How did you come up with the concept for Twisted?
JS: When did an orange bike with a 30 that won Baddest Bike in Sturgis and I wanted to do a Street Glide. We started with a Foose wheel and had it hand engraved. I said when I get this wheel painted, I’ll sell the bike. Sure enough when the wheel was done and I put it on Facebook, I ended up having a guy from South Africa bid on the bike. I told him what I was going to do and he was all over it. He didn’t end up with the it, but the bike was immediately sold and the work begun.
What was the next step in making this bike come to life?
JS: The bike took a year to build. We made everything. A bunch of stuff is made out of metal, but obviously the fairing and the saddle bags are fiberglass. We started off with Ness bags and then cut them and swooped the back down and made our own lids. We cut the neck off and laid it on the ground. Then we took a Street Glide outer fairing and a Road King nacelle and melted them together. The inside is a Road King and the outside is a Street Glide. Then I cut out where the headlight was and made the wheel sit all the way down where the visor of the headlight is and put a LED light inside a glass lens. The license plate comes out of the back and folds back in. The air cleaner is ridiculous too. Everything works off the key. It’s got two big air bottles, so when you hit the button it lifts up like a car four and half inches and falls just as fast so its totally rideable. Off the key you can start the bike, open and close the lids, and blow the flames. It was an incredible amount work and we left nothing untouched.
How did you decide on the colors?
JS: I didn’t want to do anything with skulls everywhere and so I went totally way outside the box. I picked the Bentley blue and cream colors. I wanted to make this bike with all the engraving and 3-D work like a piece of art. People who don’t even like motorcycles walk up and are taken back. You might hate it and it might not be for everybody but there’s nobody that has made anything compared to the bike. People will be walking by and all of a sudden the bike will start up and they’ll jump back. Then the fuel will spit out of the pipes and then it starts doing its thing.
Awe. Yes, what about those signature flames?
JS: I’ve done that system for years. We inject fuel into the pipes and with a spark box. This thing will be burn as long as you hold the button. When we were putting it together I said we needed to put heat shields on the bags. When the wind is blowing, the flames just blow right on to the bags. After it got it all together I noticed we forgot them. When we were in Sturgis I was lighting the bike and it melted the clear. At Full Throttle while doing the burnout the bags caught on fire. We got back home and repainted the bags and built the stainless heat shield. Those things get hot too.
for more on this bike visit hotbikeweb.com
Specifications
General
Owner Keith Boker
Shop John Shope’s Sinister Industries
Website sinisterindustries.com
Year/Make/Model 2010/Harley-Davidson/Street Glide
Fabrication Sinister
Build Time 1 year
Engine H-D
Year/Type/Size 2010/Twin Cam/107
Builder Trask
Heads H-D/Trask
Cams Woods
Air Cleaner Sinister
EFI Controller Thunder Max
Exhaust Sinister
Transmission
Year/Type 2010/ H-D
Clutch Primo
Primary Drive Primo
Frame
Year/Type 2010/ H-D
Rake/Stretch 40 degrees/alot
Suspension
Frontend Sinister
Length Four Over
Triple Trees HHI
Swingarm H-D/Sinister
Rear Shocks Sinister
Wheels, Tires, and Brakes
Front
Builder/Size Metal Sport/ 30-inch
Tire/Size Vee Rubber/ 30-inch
Calipers Glendyne
Rotors Glendyne/ 18-inch
Rear
Builder/Size H-D/Stock
Tire/Size H-D/16-inch
Caliper H-D
Rotor RC Components
Pulley RC Components
Finish/Paint
Manufacturer PPG
Colors Bently Light Blue/Cream
Paint/Graphics Sinthium Paint
Powdercoating Affordable Powder Coating
Accessories
Front Fender Sinister
Rear Fender Sinister
Gas Tank Sinister
Dash Sinister
Gauges H-D/ Nu Image
Handlebars Sinister
Grips Sinister
Mirrors Eddie Trotta
Hand Controls Performance Machine
Foot Controls Sinister
Floorboards Sinister
Headlight Sinister
Taillight Sinister
License Mount Sinister
Seat Sinister
Stereo Rockford
Amplifier Rockford
Speakers Rockford