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Russell Mitchell’s Exile, The Anti-Chopper Chopper

Jason — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:03:06 +0000

Past History with Russell Mitchell

By Mark Masker

Photography by Courtesy Of Exile Cycles, Howard Kelly, Ernie Lopez, Mark Masker

Not all of the famous builders got started early on. Some were in grade school (or younger) when Street Chopper first hit the stands. Russell Mitchell was one of them. He was born in Frampton on Severn, a small farming village in the west of England. They barely had color TV, let alone imported American chopper magazines back then. When he hit his teens, he was a huge skateboarder but by the time he was 16 he’d made the jump to a motor and two wheels and hasn’t looked back since. “I had a buddy of mine who was big into cars who’d occasionally come across American bike magazines like Street Chopper. I remember seeing crazy things like Arlen’s two-engine Sportster,” he reflected.

There were local custom chop rags too, though. Back Street Heroes was one of the more successful European chopper books, and Russell agreed that Street Chopper and other American biker magazines influenced it. “The whole custom bike scene in England at that time (mid-to-late ’70s) was very fledgling,” Russell told us. At the time, people went as flashy as possible, including him, believe it or not. Don’t believe us? Take a look at his first custom job: a coffin-tanked Lambretta scooter. No, you read it right. His first build was actually a chopperized scooter. “I was part of a small faction called The Scooter Scum and we did everything we could to piss off the straight mod scooter contingency by doing everything we could to make our scooters look like choppers.” Saying he did that with the Lambretta would be an exercise in understatement. In its stock form the scooter’s gas tank sat under the seat; Russell threw that out and swapped in a coffin tank atop the chassis spine. He also hand made solid hex steel forks, heated up in a forge, and twisted in a hair pin. The paint? Not exactly the flat black that’s Exile Cycle’s signature move. Try a warrior carrying off a naked chick on the back of a sabertooth tiger. “I named it Exile and it won all the shows but it was the sort of deal where you had to have chrome everything. We had a shop in Birmingham that was our go-to place. Bitchin’ chrome, but it was horribly expensive.”

Via: Streetchopperweb.com

2006 Bare Knuckle Choppers

Jason — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:22:21 +0000

Bare Knuckle Chopper’s Sweet Leaf

By Jeff G. Holt

Photography by Josh Kurpius

I want to be different, just like everyone else.” Most choppers built as of late should have this painted on, or in some cases scratched into the $200 off-the-shelf “custom” tank with a Buck knife. Jeremy “Needles” Bueschmann, the owner of this bike dubbed “Sweet Leaf,” is one of the few who shouldn’t have this statement emblazed on his ride. Just looking at his Evolution-powered rigid you can tell he and his pals at Bare Knuckle Choppers take the road less traveled on the daily. One peek at any one of of Bare Knuckle’s creations and you can see that they are not glory whores, just a bunch of guys out in the shop doing what they do. This bike is no different.

Via: Streetchopperweb

Paulzilla Custom Chopper

Jason — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:33:59 +0000

Built a new Bobzilla for my photographer friend Paul Figura. Features my entire Choppers INC Bobzilla parts line: Bobzilla frame, Bobzilla Springer Front End, Bobzilla Sissy Bar, Bobzilla Gas Tank. Choppers INC Trucker Girl Taglight and Trucker Girl Foot Controls. Choppers INC Six Gun Ball Milled Foot Pegs & Passenger Pegs. Logan Reise Seat.

Via: ChoppersInc.com