One of the smaller supporting classes at the World Championship of Custom Bike Building is the Production Manufacturer class. However, despite the small number of entries there is always a wide range of styles, and in 2013 the winning bike was the retro-style Naughty Gentleman from the UK’s Second City Customs
In the World Championship of Custom Bike Building the majority of class-winning bikes are chosen by the competitors themselves. However, there is one class where this is not the case. In the Production Manufacturer class, the winning bike – Second City Customs’ The Naughty Gentleman – was selected by Steve Iggens, President of S&S Cycle, who was considered a natural choice to judge the class given the popularity of his company’s product range among small volume production outfits.
The prize Ian Cushing of Second City took for the class win was a TÜV compliant S&S engine in recognition of Second City creating a motorcycle that was in Iggens’ view “innovative, visually arresting, and above all, rideable.” Commenting further on his choice Iggens said: “Building a great looking bike is one thing, but at S&S Cycle we make high performance parts, and they aren’t much use in a bike you can’t ride.”
Iggens’ choice of The Naughty Gentleman as the class winner was no doubt helped by the fact that the bike had been built around an S&S Cycle P-Series motor. Due to the bike being designed as a production model the engine was left stock with just a simple tear drop air cleaner and a set of fishtail exhausts dressing it up.
Backing the motor up is a BDL open primary and a five-speed transmission. However, this is one area where the bike has received extra detailing, with hand-engraving on the clutch pulley cover. There is further engraving work on the distributor, oil filler, fork nut cover and battery cover.
The design motif of the engraving echoes that of the gold leaf detailing on the paint work on the bike, which was applied by Re-born to be Wild.
With a drivetrain package in place Second City needed a frame to carry it, and in this case turned to Kraftech for one of its Softail style frames, which was then combined with a set of telescopic forks held in place by Rebuffini triple trees, modified to work with the 42mm fork legs, and carrying a set of Biltwell 12in apehanger bars on stainless steel slim line risers.
In order to get the bike rolling, a set of 80-spoke wheels were sourced and then fitted with Avon Venom tires; a 21in front and a 16in at the rear. On the front wheel a Harrison Billet four-piston caliper and matching disc are used, and the same company also supplied the sprotor and caliper at the back. As a finishing touch on the calipers, Second City’s name has been engraved onto both of them.
Completing the build are the gas tank that was narrowed to suit the build, and had its sides dished, the oil tank that also carries the battery and the custom trimmed rear fender carried on stainless steel struts. While the bike is shown with a hand-tooled leather tool roll behind the seat, this can be swapped out and replaced with a pillion seat when needed. Finishing off the rider contact points are the forward controls from JayBrake, which match the pillion pegs, and the hand-tooled leather seat mounted on a Biltwell hinge kit.
At the World Championship S&S Cycle’s Steve Iggens was not the only person to be impressed by The Naughty Gentleman as the bike has now been sold, paving the way for Second City to produce more production versions, something that will be easier with the motor the shop won at the Championship.
SECOND CITY CUSTOMS
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1527 576996
info@secondcitycustoms.co.uk
www.secondcitycustoms.co.uk