Hey y’all. Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. I had some medical crap to square away. Nothing too serious, but it interfered with my writing ability/creativity. I’m getting back in the swing of things and hope to have things coming in at more of a steady pace. A few weeks ago I got to go riding with Larry from Garco. It was really just one of our Saturday lunch rides from the shop, but it was fun because Larry was riding the Loooonnnnggggg chopper he finished up and took to Born Free. He actually built this bike for the Smoke Out last year, but it had oil pump issues and was painted brown.
This year Larry finally got all the parts he needed to get the engine back together, and while he was at it he got Kendall from http://www.ourmysterymachines.blogspot.com/ to repaint the bike a beautiful shade of blue but at the same time save the mural that Shane B had painted on the bike.
Shane also did the engraving on the engine, and believe it or not it was his first real effort at engraving. That damn boy is TOO artistically talented. Anyway, Larry got the bike repainted, made a new sissy bar that fit the bike a little better, and he made a new set of pipes that really flow with the bike. The frame started as the bottom rails of a stock frame so that the mounts would be right. The rest of the frame Larry built in the shop. The bike is basically a stock motor and trans with lots of engraving, a handbuilt frame with serious amounts of rake, a set of narrow glide forks with about a mile of extension and shaved legs.
The handlebar risers are also hand built by Larry and are really unique being made with a 90-degree top to work with the dog bones. The seat was upholstered on a custom pan by Stewart’s Upholstery here in Birmingham, and if you look close from the rear you’ll see that the pipes come up straight then angle over to follow the lines of the seat and sissy bar. I almost forgot, somewhere along the line Larry found a set of real Invader mags to go on the bike.
They really help to make this bike look like a survivor from the ‘70’s. So you can see from the pics that we had a good ride and that Larry and Ashley are enjoying finally getting to just ride instead of worrying about getting it done. You can also see in the pics that we spent a little time on the side of the road. Larry ran out of gas because of a stuck float. Iran to the shop for more and we made it all the way to his front yard before it ran out again. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
It looks like Larry may even keep this bike unlike the previous bikes he put so much effort into. If you like what you see, you can contact Larry at Garage Company Customs, 205-682-0040.
