May 12, 2014

TC Bros. Featured Customer Ride - Chris Bove

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 Chris Bove of Bethlehem, PA.

In his own words:

The build was conceived a while ago when Jason Knezo had bought a new house and had some granite issues from a previous install in the kitchen. As fate would have it I showed up at the house by chance to repair the previous repair from a company no longer in business. In chatting I had seen some of the bikes in the garage and instantly began discussing them with Jason - options and paints and looks. The granite install was finished perfectly and off I went with a number and an idea.

Fast forward a year: I randomly had sent a text inquiring on bikes. Before you know it we were off and running with a build idea. The bike behind the build started life as a 1991 883 that had led a pretty hard life being a bar runner and eventually was in a pretty sad state. Trashed mag wheels, brake pads all but nonexistent, some sweet period correct pull-back drag bars from Daytona ’97 and the amazing mustang seat with the rhinestones and frill. When they got the bike it was in the corner of a friend’s shop and just begging to be redone. A deal was had for way cheap for what Brent & Jason usually pay for a 5-speed 91-03 sporty. They’ve built a ton of hardtails over the years and basically used every manufacturer’s hardtails as well as building their own.

This current build was on a tight timeline that coincided with a new-to-the-market hardtail: the TC Bros 86-03 130-150 Tire Sportster Hardtail. Fate seemed to smile again. They were in stock, ready to ship, looked amazing and seemed to be very well built. Being that they were familiar with TC Bros products from friends in the xs650 world they were more than happy to take a chance. “Boy are we glad we did!” was their comment.

The bike came apart as quick as it arrived and with a TC Bros. order placed, it showed up within the week with the battery box and hardtail kit and we were up and running. The instructions were overly detailed and awesome. The bike went together from being cut in half to a hardtail in under 2 hours.

For the bike build on a tight timeline it took 5 weeks from start to completion. The paint work was handled by the requisite shop painter Nick McCormick. I had stated “cool, small, green”. I think we nailed it with this one.

A lot of one-off little custom brackets and parts all the while retaining the OEM wiring harness and the ability to retrofit a speedo and turn signals back if the I ever desired to.

The frame sandblasting & powder-coating was handled by Cold Cut Kustoms. Full Build/Fab/Final Assembly by Brent Walker of Diavoli Enterprise of Downingtown, PA. Bars and grips by Biltwell. Oil Bag custom fabricated by Diavoli Enterprise in house to hug the seat tube and sit as far back as possible. Front end rebuild and wheels by Independents Choppers of Newark, DE. Tires by Avon & Shinko. Fender and fender mounts & struts by Diavoli Enterprise. Photography: © Soleil Photography

The TC Bros. hardtail and battery box fit perfect - the tack welding of the seat tube is a nice touch as it allows the final installer to custom mount the seat and oil bag mounts without doing a ton of work to remove existing welds.

“All in all a very easy, quick, nice build.”, say Jason and Brent.

~ Chris

On behalf of TC Bros. Nation… Thank you, Chris!!!

~ Tyler and Tim

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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 the image resolution, the better your bike will look! – ideally, 300ppi] 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 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!

“Engineered for Freedom.”™

Tyler and Tim Cobb | The TC Brothers

www.tcbros.com

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