Back Street Heros - Nov 2018
A throw back to 2018 when Moonshine made it to the press...
After spending far too long watching episode after episode of sin city motors, I decided to stop sitting, dreaming and act. It was time for Raw Steel Choppers to build its first Rat Rod bike.
And so Moonshine, or at least the plan for Moonshine, was born. The name came from spending many a drunken night with other fellow rat rod fans at The Happening, passing around their infamous drink. Saying it helped could be a little farfetched, but it certainly played a part in some of the more mad ideas that were batted about in the creation of this beast. Must've worked though — the bike won Best Work in Progress at the show three years into the build.
This build's been a real love/hate thing. It's taken the best part of four years to get the final look that I'm happy with, and has involved at least five different petrol tanks, three different front wheels, three different seat units — and a heap of blood, sweat and tears!
I started with a GSX1100F Powerscreen engine and electric& The front downtube is loosely based on a Ford Model A engine cross-member; as these seem to be as rare as rocking horse shit, I had to fabricate one from scratch using recycled steel, until it eventually 'just worked'.
Initially, the thought was to put a wide back wheel in the frame but, after chatting this over with a good friend (Tony), and deciding that the cost was just too excessive, a rather extensive hunt on eBay led to purchasing a wheel from a Jeep Cherokee which'd take a 245 tyre. It was then time to build a hub from scratch.
This is not something I'd done before, so Tony and I got to it and, in no time at all, had a finished hub that was perfectly formed!
Next on the list was a fender... sorry, sorry, rear mudguard manly enough to cover the wheel. After purchasing one and finding it was two inches too wide, it was narrowed and slots cut all the way around the circumference to bring in the radius to suit the wheel. I decided to leave the welds in, as it added to the look I was after.
Next was the seat. Initially the thought was to use an old tractor item, but, when I fitted one, it immediately became apparent that tractor seats aren't kind to my 'Farmer Giles' so, instead, I hand-beat one from steel and now had a seat with a much more pleasant seating experience. And, to add to the comfort, I added airbags under the seat, which give it the same ride/feel as a softail chop (the airbags are available from my website if you want one).
The petrol tank was next - something that, very quickly, became the bane of my life. I had no fixed plan - all I knew was that I wanted a large tank to hold enough fuel to keep the big engine going without too many stops when out on it. Each one offered up to the bike changed the entire look and feel of it, and four or five tanks later, it still wasn't working. A customer appeared with an old Harley tank that he couldn't sell and my initial thought was: "I'm not surprised, its bloody ugly" and I rested it on the bike to get it out of the way. That was when the 'eureka' moment happened - the hideous tank worked. It made it look exactly how it should, and was big enough to do the job I need it to do.
I was hoping to use girder forks on the front, but was unsure of what style to go with. A customer came to me with an idea for his own bike but, for various reasons, decided against using them. Intrigued at the style, I decided to make them for myself instead. It was a process of trial and error, but we got there in the end, and they make for an interesting ride - one that I have come to love with them getting lots of attention when I am out and about.
The wiring harness was put together from scratch by one of my closest friends and the best mechanic this side of the Dartford Bridge; Francisco Lopez. It was made minimalistic and fitted in the side pannier, so it can be accessed easily if needed.
The paint was the next challenge. With it being designed around a rat rod it needed to look 'old and rusty'. As the bike took so long to build, the frame looked perfect as it rusted away nicely over the clear years it had taken, and that just needed a coat of clear lacquer (done to the highest standard by John at CKC).
The tank was a different kettle of fish though.. First it was stripped to bare metal and rusted by myself, coloured by Justin Dunmow. This was a process that was repeated again and again until it had the look I wanted, then it too was clear-coated. It then went to Mackie Mack at Cambridge Pinstriping for the 'piece de resistance' - the artwork of the Hillbilly (based entirely on my good looks) drinking the ever-potent moonshine.
That was it, four years and she was finally ready, MOT’d and on the road. It was, of course at this point that I pulled it apart again as I never keep a bike on the road for longer than two weeks… only joking. By the time you read this, she’ll have been with me to shows around the UK to help show off the work that we can do here at Raw Steel Choppers!
