Billy, you are by far the most easy-to-understand bike builder out of them all. You cover everything so well it's like being there in the shop with you lending a hand. You have a demeanour that's like talking with an easy-going friend having a beer at the kitchen table. Thank You for sharing your work, your projects, and your skills with us all.
I find It is so admirable of Billy to be explaining and demonstrating this level of fabrication in his videos. I am fully aware of the extreme highs of his abilities but, he is humble enough to bring it down to a level where guys with a little knowledge can follow. I respect and appreciate everything Billy does for the betterment of motorcycling but humility and compassion can't be made of billet on a CNC, sometimes it has to be forged into your heart the old fashioned way. 👍
Same thoughts Billy is definitely one of the greats in this industry and i remember when i was 20 years old and used to walk by his shop in Melbourne fl on my way to work and just be in awe by the creating of the best motorcycles id ever seen truly an epic dude
Great statement “ I’m gonna make this part fit with the tools and knowledge you have” I happy you are still at it and still teaching your craft. Thanks so much for your work!
Billy, I got some years on you. My last two bikes were rigid. Stock '57 Pan, '39 Knuckle, loved them both. Now I'm on a '99 Heritage Springer, motor is bullet proof. You are a true craftsman. I miss the good old days, it just goes by so fast. You're like a heart surgeon, on motorcycles. Very righteous.
you're right I ride 99fxst that I've modified to a heritage somewhat but as far as bulletproof for sure 85k don't leak a drop of oil still running strong changed compensator sprocket and primary chain
Billy love ur broadcast very informative wish you were doin this 30yrs ago you speak clearly and well I've been a fan since biker build off I'm sick now 65 I've lived 35 years longer than I ever thought I would I got 2 bikes sitting unfinished cause of my illnesses it's hard ta watch ya cause it makes me frustrated I can't got out & bust knuckles but THX for what ya do
A genius at work. This is pure art. Man… I’d love to meet him one day and bs with him about bikes and history. That would be insanely awesome. Billy is a legend.
Dude, I had to pause this at four minutes in, just to say that you're throwing so much truth.... No body wants to work..... Gotta make it yo self. So much respect....
I love these videos, have been a long time fan , since the early 2000’s and the “ biker build off”videos! Your knowledge and skill set is a joy to witness!!! You are the personification of “ cool” !!! Keep putting out the great content !!!!!! This industry has always been better for having you in it !!!!!
Really enjoying your content! You’re bridging that gap for me! You’re absolutely right! it is so hard sourcing parts and gaining info talking to companies now a days?! Happy I have found such great content online to reference. Custom bike world is here to stay. Thanks-
I learn a lot from watching your videos, Billy. You've saved me quite a bit of money, by showing me how I can do some things myself, and that it's plenty safe to do so, if I use common sense engineering, and learn from someone that's done it before, I really appreciate that. Thanks for helping to keep a broke rider on 2 wheels.
Great vid and addition to the bike. So far though my favorite part of your Bad Boy is what you’ve done to that front end. Appreciate your words at the end, great stuff.
Man.. in the 90s the demand for Harleys was through the roof and I remember them having a waiting list and people was selling them for thousands over retail. All I could afford was an ironhead chopper. I now have my almost dream evo heritage. Just need to find an FL springer front and my baby will be finished
I admire your skills. Anyone can bolt on parts from the catalog, but people who can make their own parts are in a league of their own. Thanks for taking the time to show us.
I'm a retired gunsmith and really enjoy watching you do all the lathe work. It takes me back to all the custom work I have done sitting at an old lathe myself
Much better than the biker build off shows. There is still allot of interest in building . Thanks for teaching and showing everything you do on a build.
Been watching yourself and some of the other guys from the biker build off days since I was knee high your a big inspiration for a lot of us you've had the ups and downs but you've always worked hard and rebuilt , The determination to do the things you love clearly hasn't left you and its fantastic to see
I’ve been watching your work for years when easyrider, monster garage etc! Never knew Boyd made parts for Harley-Davidson! This swing arm is so 90’s!! Good job Billy!
The bad boy is one of my all time favorite Harley-Davidson bikes...all of your mods and upgrades are spot on ...the 23 and 18 inch wheels are something I wanted to do on my 2009 Crossbones which I regretfully sold last year ...
I love your video content Billy, you are very intelligent when it comes to tolerances and such, anybody can bolt new parts together to build a bike (just ask Paul Jr lol) but to take something, modify it and use it for something it was never intended to be used for is the true definition of a mechanic/bike builder. 🇺🇸 🤙
I really felt that comment when you said you can’t talk to people on the phone anymore and no one wants to work. Being able to make your own parts and tools is crucial these days.
Here in Mtl. we were the only dealer to build a " low boy" back in 85 !! anyone ever heard of this awesome machine that started life as a wideglide and in 99 shifted to a deuce as the basic model!!
Billy I really enjoy watching you work on bikes I'm a fan from the 90s you do a great job explaining everything and your a very humble dude thanks for all the good motorcycle memories ML&R
305. MIA. grew up in Hollywood. Was a home on 56th back in the day in Hollywood. peoples told me, the house was Hells Angles property. The amount of hogs in the yard on any given day was of a plenty. Good memories of s. Florida back then. I’m 46. Great work Billy.
I remember seeing you way back in the day on tv. Man loving the RU-vid channel. Doing real work showing people how shit gets done. Not some RU-vid magic shit. Thank you man.
Billy,Jesse James & the Martin Bros are 3 of my favorites from the biker build off series that I still follow to this day.Joe is more into hotrods & trucks but these 3 are old school perfectionist who r all good teachers & fun to watch.
This is definitely far saner than build off bikes. Now I am not trash talking your builds, I loved them. They're just insane. Your engineering degrees really shine with this stuff, and I'm sad I'm only seeing your channel now years later
Man Billy I remember watching all the build off stuff back in the day and now you wear reading glasses to work on stuff and I wear em to watch your vids. 😂😂. Happy we lived this long 🤘
The passion you put in your work really shines through it always has. I am so glad I found you on here. I was a fan back in the day but what your putting out there now, not only your work but your energy as well… there’s something to be said about that brother and it’s inspiring to say the least. Keep the amazing videos coming 👍🏻✌🏻
I remember watching the biker build-off against Indian Larry. Super Cool he mentioned him, they made two really cool bikes. Out of all the bikes Billy has built, I was surprised to hear him talk about the bike he always wanted...... this one.
Awesome stuff! Billy it's great that you're sharing your vast knowledge with your viewers. Decades ago when I dreamed about iron head and shovel head choppers, none of which I could afford, I remember seeing you on many of the chopper magazines.
Man I get it .i loved these bikes Never had the opportunity to purchase one in early 2000 . I bought a 91 fxsts off of a vetran biker . He had it set up like a Heartige . I took everything off of it. Repainted it and put a softail fender on the bike . Took front fender off . Lowerd the rear of the bike with adjustable shocks. Put andrews cam and a slide kit in factory carb . This video reminded me of that bike . I have been watching from biker buid off days . I understand you was on a time frame and didn't have time show us what we are getting to see know. Its absolutely amazing the skills you posses and taking the time to share your videos is much appreciated. Glad to see you still on the stage
My opinion is this improved the looks greatly..I've been doing stuff like this in NC since the 70's.....Never considered myself a rocket scientist. I divided my time between hot rods and hot bikes....retired this year when I turned 70 due to health concerns. I would've chamfered the holes in the rotor.
Thanks for these great videos. You are a great teacher and good to see you are still at it after all of these years! Lots of great inspiration for my 97’ Softail Custom. Hoping to do a similar cams, piston, and head setup. Looking forward to your next video.
Awesome bike, it’s cool hearing Lil Johns name and Boyd. It crazy how those two have influenced the custom bike and car world. The HRBB podcast with Chris Coddington is cool to hear stories of when Boyd was cranking out all the cool stuff! Love all the videos!!! 🤟
Enjoyed watching this video. Been watching you for a long time. I love it when a person has a vison and has the drive and fire to make it a reality. Nice Job brother.
one of, if not the, most informative. Inspires free spirit bikers and builders to not be afraid to use our own brain and the tools and parts around us.
Man when I was watching you on tv back in the early 2000s. I never thought I’d be able to learn from you. These videos are great! I’ve been building a 90 fxr for the last 2 years. Your videos have helped a lot. It’s cool that you’re teaching people the skills you’ve spent so much time learning.
"cant talk to any body on the phone any more and nobody wants to work".. so I gotta make the parts myself!.. Love it.. sucks trying to piece together cool shit these days, cant find oem appropriate hardware for stuff any ware and the guys that have it want unreal money for it!... These videos are getting good.... Thanks for sharing the info!!
Billy you are the best builder I've ever seen. When I first really got into custom motorcycle fabrication, you were my biggest inspiration. I love your building style, and I like the fact you do a lot of great customization that's also practical. I love the attitude you put forth into building bikes. It's not about being billy-bad***, it's about building really good quality custom components to fit the look you desire, and more important the performance you're after. I am currently rebuilding a 1988 Sportster that was inspired a lot by you. I bought it very mildly modified back in 2006. I had already been riding for years, but it was my first Harley Davidson. Shortly after purchasing the bike, it got completely totaled when I was involved in a bad accident after the hitch broke on a horse trailer in the oncoming lane. The man had no chains holding the trailer, and it came straight for me hitting the bike in the rear swing arm sending me airborne into a street sign. I didn't have the heart to lose the bike, so I settled with the guy pulling the trailer right there on the side of the road. My best friend helped me rebuild the bike into what it is now. It is a bobber sitting on a Pauchgo rigid frame with 35° rake, and no stretch. The only parts left from the original bike are the front end (trees and forks), and the lower end of the engine. The engine is now a 1988 883 bottom end, with a 2004 Buell XB9 1200cc top end, with Jim's Roller Rockers, an Andrew's V6 grind cam with. 0500 lift, Andrew's 4140 chromoly adjustable push rods, an accel 35496 programmable ignition, stealth super coils, and a S&S Super E shorty carburetor with a short velocity stack for a breather. It's a lot of motor... especially for the 4 speed, but I love the bike. The rebuild with the hopped up Buell top end is the third rendition of the bike since its original rebuild. I'm still working on it right now, but I still have a lot to do. One thing I could use, is an idea of the baseline jetting to start out with to make tuning the bike easy as possible. Either way, I absolutely love your videos. Thanks for the great content!
Always like watching you work, your videos are the only ones I watch without fast forward it, I was the same way growing up couldn’t afford what I wanted and had to piece together my bikes with parts no one wanted anymore but still have my old shovel head in my shed just beats me up riding it anymore, thanks for the video
This is one sick build. I remember watching you do the biker build offs when i was a teen. Years later Ive owned 2 bikes. Rode 75,000 miles on two wheels. Had a little girl 6 yrs ago and sold my last bike. Im soo ready for another bike.
You rock. This isn't just custom bike building - it's life lessons. My first video I've watched of yours and I'll subscribe no question for this quality content. Nice work!
Here's a little tip that you may find helpful: When threading the inside of your swingarm pivot (or the ID of any tubing), if your lathe runs slow enough, you can use a live center in the tailstock to hold the tap in place, then grab the square end of the tap with a crescent wrench, allowing the handle of the wrench to rest on the lathe bed. As the tap feeds into the stock, slowly crank the tailstock to maintain slight pressure on the tap as it goes in. The trick here is to run the lathe SLOOOOOOWWW - like 30RPM.
I feel ya on sentimental part.The first Harley I ever had and have is my 02 Deuce.My mom bought it for me as a gift and I’ve never let it go.It’s black with all black parts on it except the solid billet wheel on back.some bikes are forever..
dude. You are awesome bro. I love the way you show all the little tricks of the trade that one would otherwise have to go do an apprenticeship somewhere to learn. Many of these little 'secrets' are kept really close to the chest and not shown to 'outsiders'.
Looks good, sounds great. As an old man I can say nothing has given me more pleasure for as long my FXR. Fifteen years of miles and smiles. Miss that thing way more than my dead wife. Better ride to.
The bike is getting cooler with everything you do to her, the stance is rock on. Highly enjoy every video, enjoy the hell out of watching your machine work. Thanks for the videos great work as always.
Attention to detail, knowledge, vision and flawless execution ! Wish i was this good (and had the tools/space too!) great watch ......off to work on my sporty .
I honestly hate those duck bill, duck tail, dove tail rear fenders on bikes! But this bike it absolutely looks made for that type of rear fender! I love that bike! And yes as you stated, 21/23+ with 18rear looks so much better. 16 on rear no so much in my opinion. But I remember watching you on TV all time years ago. I love how now you're big dog, you're still same guy very humble! Money and notoriety changes alot of ppl. But you always seem so down to earth n humble. One thing I've always liked bout you! Nicely done video! Ty. I love watching and learning even if it's something I've done 100x theirs always another way to do things. If I'm not altering my bikes or someone else's, I'm looking stuff up, reading, researching, or watching videos like yours, pacific Mike, and many other guys on RU-vid. Thanks again for the video, again love that bike! Stay safe in the wind.
Can honestly say I never thought you’d reply but Billy I bought my 99 fatboy because of this build I wanted another evo lol so thank you and thanks from a fan since the ol biker build off days ironically wore your chop father shirt yesterday!
The bike looks completely current to me and I appreciate your videos bro your a completely humble type of teacher whether you realize it or not. Keep the vids rolling I watch any chance I get
Awesome to see these videos and content, not a lot of craftsman out here actually explaining and demonstrating how to get it done. Thank you @BillyLane001!
Love watching you work on these Harleys... never know, when it will come in handy.... now.. come pick me up for a ride...lol... great work !!!! 👍👍👍😎😎😎🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️
Vanier Calipers and Micrometers are some of the greatest tools for machining. Awesome video as always and I love that you show what my boss Rick did when I was still working on motorcycles for a living. Don't over think it, just use common sense and constantly test fit with everything and measure to make sure it's right before you assemble the product you're making.
