Here it is. The brand spankin’ new West Coast Choppers Blog. What’s it all about? And why should you care? Well, It’s a place where we can show some of the things that inspire us. What’s on our radar. In our shop. Who we meet. What makes us want to get out of bed every day. Take it out for a spin. See how you like it. Post your comments, ideas, or some of your own inspirations. We’re going to post stuff as the mood hits us. That’s about it.
The real boss of West Coast Choppers is no longer in the shop. He clocked out November 4th, 2008. Cisco was the welcoming committee every morning, tail wagging, lumbering over to say hi with his goofy grin. He was always up for a scratch on the butt, or leftovers from Cisco Burger if you had them. He figured since the place was named after him, he was entitled to a burger from time to time. He usually spent his days hanging out with his buddy Big Chris, inspecting his work, making sure the bikes got polished right. About 4pm he made his last treat round of the day before he settled in on his bed for the night. Ready to do the routine all over again the next day. There wasn’t a wall here he hadn’t christened, or a face he hadn’t licked. Cisco was the friend of all, and he will be greatly missed.
Long Beach was a lot quieter last October & November. That’s because Jesse was out of town in New York applying for a job with the Trump Organization. Tune in every Sunday night to NBC at 9pm to see Jesse go head to head with the other 14 applicants on Celebrity Apprentice. Jesse took a little LBC to the NYC. And hopefully a little hair goo to do something about The Donald’s do. We aren’t at liberty to give you the 411 on the outcome, but we can tell you that in one episode Mr. Trump takes Jesse to his tattoo guy and they both get some more ink. So set your Tivos, and mark your calendar for the live finale on May 10th.
You don’t have to be a WCC chopper stalker to appreciate the second coming of our own resident bike assembly guru, Anthony Leura. He skipped out of here for awhile to go build a hair salon for his wife. But he’s back, he’s got all that hair dye off his hands, and he’s ready to put together some more kick ass bikes. What does he have to say for himself? “I’m Glad to be back! I’ve always enjoyed working here, this place is like my second home. I’m getting adjusted to all the changes around here and looking forward to starting on some new projects. Hope to hear from all the old customers and look forward to meeting new ones.” We’re glad he’s back too. We sure missed those jazzy black glasses of his.
Bike: El Diablo II Sturgis Special Owner: Alex Vanichuk (he’s from Canada, eh)
Specs: 126” S&S Motor baker / 6 speed RSD trans. / Lawless Wheels
A West Coast Chopper Classic…while there’s nothing new and innovative about this bike, the Sturgis Special is definitely one of the best looking bikes to come out of the shop. It’s a nice, clean looking bike, and definitely one of our most popular.
So, the economy sucks, that’s not news, and every f-ing shyster on earth has been bailed out and are heating their mansions in the Hamptons by burning hundred dollar bills. You’ve got a house payment, a car payment, and your kid needs braces so bad he could eat a corn cob through a picket fence…but what’s a guy to do if he still wants a custom West Coast Chopper and the wife and the wallet say, “WTF are you smoking?” Maybe an extreme makeover will scratch the itch.
We might have your solution. Recently, we’ve had a few customers who handed over shiny new Harleys and asked us to go to work on them. Here’s a few snaps of one we’re totally changing by swapping out the stock Harley components for our house-designed parts, as well as making a custom instrument cluster that’s lower, a little more streamlined and aerodynamic looking. The hand made seat wasn’t back yet, but will take the look of the bike even further away from the straight off-the-lot look, and into the custom arena. It’s still a work in progress, but this shows how you can get a lot of bang for the buck and not totally break the bank. For more info about doing a custom Harley with us call the shop or email Anthony at anthony@westcoastchoppers.com.
