Jesse James gets a lot of flak these days. It never seems to be about the bikes any more, which is a shame, because the man knows his stuff. His customs aren’t usually to my taste, but he occasionally hits a home run. Like this Knuckle he created for Gilby Clarke (who spent three years as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N’ Roses). Gilby had been looking for a Knucklehead for a while, and West Coast Choppers had already built a ’65 Panhead motor for him. A new deal was done, and now Gilby rides this delicious ’41 Harley EL—still vintage in the overall look, but WCC in the finer details. At the front there’s a 21” rim, and at the back a 16”. WCC built the frame and springer fork to original specs, but the engine has been heavily modified: it’s boosted to 71 cubes, hooked up to a WCC exhaust system, and controlled by a custom-made jockey shift. Pretty sweet, don’t you think?
