SWEETIES & SCOOTERS

Addictions. We all have ‘em. And sometimes, it’s easier, and better, to give in to ‘em…especially if your addiction is a love of motorcycles.

“…You know that if you just can’t get enough, you’re gonna have to face it, you’re addicted (to love)…”—Robert Palmer, 1986.

We boldly embrace our addiction to motorcycles and love every minute of it. That’s why when we stumbled across this 2008 Custom Rigid Chopper built by Chopper Nation out of Florida, it was an easy call to pass it on to all the other motorcycle addicts out there.

Not everything cool that comes out of Santa’s workshop is new. Take, for example, this 1950 Harley-Davidson Model 125. Santa’s helper found this gem from days gone by out behind the workshop doing nothing but leaning against the wall. With a little TLC and spit polish, this little beauty rolled out ready to ride and sparkling for Christmas.

The cool part of that, is that it’s not too far of the real story.

Every so often you come across something that forces you to stop and take a second, third, and even fourth look.

For Sweeties and Scooters, we have a bike, and a little lady, that will stop you cold and make you stare. That’s a minimum of at least eight double takes just to get a good look at these two.

The bike is a one-of–a-kind creation by Hank Young of Ball Ground, Georgia—near Marietta--named Mean Low Green. The other one-of-a-kind is the little hottie Abella, of Arvada, Colorado.

All it really takes is a little creativity to give a new look to something that’s been around a while and wring out a little more life from it, too.

That’s what Ruben Guerra from Dino’s Custom Cycles in Lakewood did to give an old Sportster a new lease on life.

This 1995 Sporty 883 Hugger was collecting dust after the owner abandoned it for a different scooter. Then, in 2008 he decided he wanted something custom, so he brought the bike to Guerra to see what could be done.

Let’s face it, if you’re gonna build a motorcycle, you might as well build it the way you want it…to hell with what anyone else thinks.

When Mark Miklos from Maddog Custom Cycles started wrenching on a new bike last spring, he knew he wanted a bagger, but he wanted it to have all the balls of a hot rod, too. Not exactly the combination a lot of riders would look for. So he set to tweaking things to get the result he wanted.

A little attitude can be a good thing.

One look at Dave Weaver’s custom-built Shovelhead will tell you that. When Dave sat down with Coop from Suicide Cycles in Manchester, Maryland, to design this little scooter, it quickly became apparent it was going to make a statement. When the bike started coming together, the attitude was obvious, and coop christened the old school bobber “Bitchslap.” We’re not sure why, but this root beer brown beauty jump up and get your attention.

The American way is the only way when it comes to motorcycles in July, and John Marshall’s custom home made shovelhead is as American as they come.

This bike screams American biker, and reflects the attitude of its owner.

“I call it Kiss My American Ass,” Marshall said. “I got that from a Special Forces tattoo, and it really fits my attitude.”

John feels so strongly that he even found a decal with the saying and put it on the bike. It’s the only color other than chrome & black on this beauty.

Back when the Wild West was being settled, railroad locomotives were given the moniker “Iron Horse” by Native Americans who had no other name for the rumbling steel roaring across the prairie.

In a revision over time, “Iron Horse” became a referral to another kind of rumbling steel that roars across the prairie—the two-wheeled kind.

One day, after riding it for several years, Rocco at Chopfather’s Motorcycles on Brighton Boulevard decided that his 1999 Custom Pro-Street was in need of a revision.

Attitude is everything. Project the right attitude, and it says a lot about you.

In this case, this 2009 Pro Street built for Santos Lamori by DJ at Str8 Customs in Arvada oozes attitude. This bike just plain looks like it needs to be movin’ down the road with a devil-may-care aura all around.

It’s got the goods to back that up, too.

It’s always good to take a little break after a big accomplishment. After winning Best In Show and Best Paint at the 32nd Annual Colorado Motorcycle Show & Swap, Dan Ranney thought the beach sounded good. After all, Spring Break on the beach with his palm leaf motif radical pro street sounded like a pretty good idea.

The only problem: Spring Break in Colorado means snow, not sand & surf.

So, Dan did the next best thing. He went to the Island to show off his pride & joy in a tropical setting.