We saw the first set of images and bikes from the Shop yesterday… here’s the 2nd..
Flamed Out 1957 Pan Shovel
The flamed out 1957 Pan Shovel is my daily ride and the bike I have owned the longest. This was my first Big Twin and has gone through a number of transformations over the years. I bought this bike as a runner but quickly stripped it of all the ugly parts that the previous owner bolted on.
I pulled the rocker boxes and split them making the external oil lines. The seat is one of Xian Leathers early works and has seen a number of miles. The rear rim was drilled with speed holes. The biggest question is how does the air stay in the wheel. Magic! This bike is the work horse of the crew and has served me very well over the years. – Jason Moss/ The Shop
Flat Black 1945 WL Flathead
The flat black 1945 WL Flathead was bought as a running project. I wanted this bike for a few reasons. The first one being that it is the same year that my father was born and the second is that I wanted to try my hand at building a barn fresh looking bike. This was the fastest build totaling approx 6 months. I think it went so fast because I didn’t have to worry about paint and chrome.
I pulled off all the chopper stuff that came with the bike and bolted on some OEM parts that I had in stock. The seat and pillion pad were two different buys but look like they have been together since birth. I had a RL springer so on it went. The wheels are 18 front and rear. After the bike went together it just needed some stripes. This bike is great around town and has plenty of character. – Jason Moss/ The Shop
For as big as the NYC urban sprawl might be from nearly every measurable perspective, when it comes to the community of bike enthusiasts of the H-D variety, the world really is a pretty small place. Yes, by numbers there are a lot of motorcycles out there, but where are they? I don’t see them out on the road, I rarely spy them parked on the street. I think they are hiding.
On the other hand, there are people and machines I see at nearly every gathering of VTwin and hot rod enthusiasts, as few in numbers as these gatherings might be. In most cases, I don’t know their names, but over the years, I have come to remember and recognize these characters. I tend to associate them with their machines, like Insane Freddy who used to ride the truck tire big wheel (split rim rear wheel) with gear shifting derailleur around the city. Everybody back in the day knew Freddy and his big wheel. There are some really crafty people doing cool work, under the radar of the “regular” media, and I like connecting with these cats.
Anyway, my point in all this is these days this small community of NY enthusiasts is doing some good work, that tends not to be seen a lot. Most do the work they like to do, they ride their machines when they have time and they basically, take on whatever projects they want, on their own terms in their own small workshops. They don’t rely on the building of these machines to support large concerns, so expend the effort to do it their way without the pressure of critical deadlines and impatient walk-in customers. This is not to say this isn’t serious business and these gents don’t take it seriously, quite the contrary. I’d venture to say these machines are quite serious, by any standard and their customer’s walk away satisfied – it’s just all very personal and hand crafted, leveraging time, craft, knowledge and talent.
With an eye towards fine details and usage of as many NOS, H-D parts as is feasible and safe, Jason Moss’s machines coming out of The Shop have a fineness of detail, styling and thought to them that separate them from the pack. Nick Zazzi’s machines from Industry Customs are tougher, wider have a more aggressive chopper stance – the kind of bikes when seen in the rearview, make the cagers move over. Although these machines are all very different, there is an underlying focus on style, function and respect that ties them all together.
I met Jason (The Shop) and Nick (Industry Customs) while noodling away a day at the Rumblers 10th Annual Hot Rod Thrills and Kustom Kills car show in Brooklyn, NYC. Actually I didn’t meet these gentleman at the show, rather, I had stuffed my business cards under the seats of three bikes while at the show, trying to line up features to shoot and ironically, all of the bikes were Jason’s or Nick’s – and ironically these guys are good friends, regular collaborators and supporters of each others work. When I realized this, I knew I had hit paydirt. I asked Nick to set up a time with Jason where we three could connect and I could shoot as many bikes as we had patience and time for. Easy as pie, we set up a date and the images you see came from that early October session. – Stephen Berner
Resource:
Jason Moss
The Shop
L.I.N.Y
Theshopp@verizon.net
Images: Stephen Berner
Words: Jason Moss & Stephen Berner
