The Black Lotus

The idea of building a bike with a 23” front wheel that was made with proportions that hide the fact that the front wheel is over sized. The front end is slightly extended, longer spoke nipples, larger front brake drum, etc… I am tall and thin, so I wanted to build a bike that had a higher than normal seat height, and is narrow for this style of bike. The 1940 Harley Davidson 80” flathead engine has ported heads, large cams and is built to produce more power than stock… the cases and heads are polished, and the cylinders are nickel plated, 2” over (extended) 1930’s VL springer front end, 23” front wheel, 19” Kelsey Hayes rear wheel, 1940 HD frame, hand made narrowed/shortened HD gas tank, 1940 HD transmission, 1956 (one year only) triumph rear fender that was narrowed 1 1/2”, hand made exhaust, hand made handlebar riser set up, hand made fender struts, all mounting fixtures hand made, 1937 HD oil tank, …. Everything was custom fit and finished, designed and hand made by Ryan Cox. Paint by Walt at WW custom paint and Sonny Boy from Sonny Boy Studios. I finished building the bike 6 days ago. It won best flathead at Born Free 15 over the weekend.