Voodoo Doll

VOODOO DOLL

American FLYERS

East Coast Old School chooppa, or the world's coolest Honda Spirit 750

ow’s THIS FOR POWER of the Press? We JftJ write that the Honda Shadow Spirit 750 is one of our favorite cruisers; tidily styled, raspy sounding and at $5999, a srceamin’ good deal. Make a great little cutdown custom, we suggest.

Some 2500 miles away, Paul Spradlin, owner of Underground Cycles (www.undergroundcycle.com ; 631/254-4507), a Long Island bike shop, reads our words and agrees. He calls up. “I’m buildin’ your bike,” he informs us, are we interested in doing a story? Well, how we gonna say no? It was our flippin’ idea!

What Spradlin comes up with is a knockout, a crowdpleasing chopper that borrows heavily from 1950s hot-rod jalopies, yet remains surprisingly stock. There is not much done here that’s beyond the reach of a talented home mechanic.

Because no self-respecting chopper runs a front fender, the Spirit’s was jettisoned, plus its mounting lugs on the stanchions were Shaved off before those made the trip to the chromer’s. During the downtime, the triple-clamps, front brake caliper and rotor inner were powdercoated black. An equal-opportunity parts-bin robber, Spradlin mounted Harley Wide Glide apehangers atop Yamaha VStar risers, machined to fit, then chromed. Handgrips, like the footpeg rubbers, are white 1940s-style Harley numbers. Because the stock control cables were now about a foot too short, Barnett and Goodrich were called upon to supply correct-length pieces, done in stainless-steel and clearvinyl coated.

Gas tank is stock right down to the speedo dash and cap (“Why mess with success,” says Paul), but the rear fender was shortened 7 or 8 inches and radiused a little (“Hey, it’s a chopper, baby!”). Both pieces were treated to a coat of DP40 flat-black primer, then entrusted to “Spritz by Fritz” Schenk-“local legend, painter, fabricator, former assistant editor at Iron Horse magazine and all-around swell guy,” says Spradlin-who laid on the Porsche “Guards Red” flames and period VonDutch pinstriping (the tiki doll on the rear fender being especially cool).

Frame is stock Honda with some mounting points (horn, radiator shroud, rear pegs, etc.) whacked off then spotpainted. The raked-out look comes courtesy special-order 10.4-inch Progressive shocks. Travel is limited, but attitude is everything.

Nothing too radical with the engine, but the top end was disassembled and fitted with 11:1 compression pistons and a high-lift cam from Designed Performance, a $600 package. Thunder Mfg. provided a carb-rejetting kit and the nifty round air-cleaner assembly that sandwiches

a K&N filter. The stock clutch was replaced with a kevlar pack and heavy-duty springs from Barnett.

Exhaust pipes started out as Cobra drags, but Spradlin kept things in the Fifties by welding on “cocktail-shaker” mufflers.

“Seat of the pants, this thing is a blast!” he says of the motor mods.

Wheels and seating accommodations round out this Little Deuce Coupe of a motorbike. The wheel assemblies were blown apart, rims going to the painter’s for more Guards Red; rear sprocket, brake backing plate, drilled-out brake arm, axles, spacers and related hardware sent off to the chrome shop. Laced back together, the rear setup got a 170mm Dunlop K555 wide whitewall, the front an Avon Venom X, also white of sidewall.

VooDoo Doll’s rider plops down on a beautiful tuckand-roll job executed in the finest black-and-white nauga by Tijuana Kustoms (on Long Island!?) for that final “oh-so-right” hot-rod touch.

Lesson of this tale? Careful what you ask for-you may get it. If you’re lucky.

-David Edwards