Jun 02, 2016

Featured Customer Ride: Rick MacConnell

TC Bros. Customer Rides – a series dedicated to the fabrication ingenuity and creativity of our customers and featuring their rides they've shared with us.

Sent to us from Rick MacConnell of Atlanta, GA.......

Rick converted this $2,000 Craigslist Sportster into a clean custom chopper using many TC Bros. products.

Here's an album of photos from start to finish: https://goo.gl/photos/zgfbJJuMQMFU7k6q8

In His Own Words:
I hate Winter; I mean really hate it. Especially here in Atlanta where it never really gets super cold and it doesn't snow so there aren't any good Winter activities. It just gets gray and miserable for four months. Every year, I get seasonal depression so a few years ago, I started taking up projects every Winter to give me something to look forward to.

This year I decided to try a custom chopper build. This is my first custom and I started with a 1996 Sportster donor that I bought on craigslist. I figured for $2000 the worst that would happen is that I'd make a mess of it and have to sell it as a basket case.

When I was a kid, we were broke. My mom raised me as a single parent and we never had any money. She did scrape up enough to keep me in bicycles but I always had to get the cheap ones. I remember coveting those kids in the neighborhood who rode Schwinn Stingrays. They were bad ass with a chrome sissy bar, metal flake banana seat and, most importantly, a cool gear shifter. When I thought about how I wanted my build to come out, I wanted that kind of vibe. Long front end but not too long. I wanted a beach cruiser that would stand out in a crowd.

I started by removing every fastener I could get to until, finally, there was nothing left but frame. I got some help with the hardtail from the good folks at Southern Customs here in Atlanta. They welded on the hard tail and raked the neck out to 38 degrees so that the bottom of the frame would still be parallel to the ground instead of pointed up into the sky.

From there, I took a welding clinic here in town put on by Rob Fuller. I've got a buddy who does metal art sculpture and he let me use his welders to do the rest. I fabricated a custom tank lift bracket, cut the stock ignition coil mount and rewelded it so that I could move the key switch and the coil to the side where I wanted it. Finally, I welded a bracket for the crankcase breather filter because I wanted it to sit up under the seat.

The paintwork was done by Flame Thrower Customs in Ohio. I told him I wanted a beach cruiser vibe and the colors and he took it from there.

Here's the list of TC Brothers parts I used:
Weld On Sportster Hardtail
Forward Controls
Oil Tank
Sissy Bar
Tracker Handlebar
Battery Box and Tray
Rear Fender
GMA Controls
Spring Seat Bracket

The only engineering blunder I made on the project was welding the battery tray to the top of the hardtail frame. When I was putting the rear wheel on, I went to mount the chain and thought: "Well, shit! That chain is going to touch that tray when it's running. Now what?" So I had to fabricate a bracket with a skateboard wheel to keep enough downward pressure on the chain to keep it from rubbing against the battery tray.

I couldn't have done it without you guys at TC Bros. Your deliveries were always super quick and the quality of the parts is unquestionable. Without what you guys have built, I never would have been able to complete this project.

Thanks again for everything.
-Rick

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>>> PLEASE SHARE YOUR RIDE WITH US!!!

Send us an email to sales@tcbroschoppers.com with some GREAT pics of your masterpiece. [NOTE: >>> the higher quality of the image resolution, the better your bike will look!] Thx.

Please include:

1. Your name, hometown and email address.

2. Make, model, year - technical details and specs.

3. What TC Bros. parts you used.

4. Any and all personal notes about yourself and the build that you feel will add to the enjoyment and experience. Where you grew up, who introduced you to and how you got into motos, your first bike, your inspirations, your favorite ride in your neck of the woods and why… interesting personal thoughts and feelings you experienced during the build, etc., etc. - Essentially a slice of your world. You get the idea… have fun with it!!!

Engineered for Freedom.™

Tyler and Tim Cobb | The TC Brothers