John Dodson's Gangster Choppers When Bryce Givens wanted to start building a bike he plunked down a stock 78 FLH dresser on John Dodson of Gangster Choppers and said, "Let's start with this for the drivetrain." John yanked the motor and tranny and pretty much handed the rest of the bike back to him. Bryce wanted John to build him a rigid frame chopper, so they started with a Paughco frame. John cut the front section off at the seat post and the front motor mount. He wanted to use a single downtube design, with a radius curve at the head, he stuck it in his frame jig and built an entirely new front section. Departure Bike Works in Richmond rebuilt the 80-inch shovelhead mill, as they do for many Gangster Choppers bikes. The lower end was given new bearings and a new set of Wiseco pistons, S&S E carb, Andrews cam, Crane lifters and a Crane Hi-4 ignition were used. John hand fabricated the exhaust from mandrel bent tubing supplied by Hooker Headers, before sending them out for chrome.

There are many one-off parts fabricated by Gangster Choppers for Bryce's bike. They pounded out the gas tank and fender from sheet steel. The handlebars are one of their original parts they manufacture to fit a variety of springers, both OEM and aftermarket. The hand shifter is a one-off design that incorporates two sealed bearings for strong, sure actuation. Gangster Choppers has a complete machine shop in-house, including an older Bridgeport mill and lathe, as well as newer CNC equipment they use to manufacture their line of grips, risers and pegs.

Chuck Whitlock of Metal Art Laid down the House of Kolor root beer metallic with a medium coarse flake over a black base coat. A bronze pearl stripe is barely visible, a subtle accent to a very sanitary, simple paint job. John says buckets of clear were applied for the glass smooth finish. John believes that Gangster Choppers is gaining a lot of recognition due to their attention to detail. He says that, "Everything on the bike works. The trail and steering are correct. The bike rides good, stops good, and accelerates good." Street Justice was built to be ridden aggressively, and there is, "not a single unnecessary part on the bike." The company motto at Gangster brings it into perspective, "Nothing's sacred: CHOP 'EM ALL"

Specifications: