Motor racing has traditionally been the biggest influence on DP Custom bikes: their previous builds have sported the colors of Formula 1 and NASCAR cars. But this time, the Arizona company has turned to classic movies for inspiration. “We’ve enjoyed films like Two-Lane Blacktop and American Graffiti for years,” say the Del Prado brothers. “Both those movies feature Justin’s favorite car of all time—the ’55 Chevy.”
That’s the influence for this latest DP bike, which started off as a matching-numbers 1979 Ironhead before it was stripped down and treated to a full restoration and detailing job. At the back is a 15-inch ‘steely’ hot rod wheel, just like the ones that Bob Falfa ran on his ‘double nickel’ Chevy.
“A ton of work went into this wheel,” we’re told. “The original Harley hub had to be machined, and then precision welded into the car wheel. We kept it to within 15-thousands of true, and used a sprocket/rotor combo to expose the left side of the near-chrome powdercoat.”
Using a car wheel also allowed DP to run a Hoosier tire, adding to the old school drags vibe. Other features include an aluminum Mooneyes oil tank, and a classic peanut gas tank finished in a slick jet black. The fork tubes were turned in a lathe to remove the reflector and fender mounts, and then sanded and polished by hand—along with the primary/cam/sprocket covers. The finishing touch is a signature DPC 2-into-1 exhaust … and I bet it sounds as mean as John Milner’s little yellow Deuce coupe.
Images by Jed Strahm.
