Custom Chrome International Series. North American Champion.

As I reported last week while on location at the Custom Chrome International Series held during the CCI Dealer Show in Santa Clara, CA, Kirk Taylor from Custom Design Studios was voted by his peers the North American Champion. Kirk’s personal preferences lean towards retro style choppers and bobbers but like many of us his first experience with motorcycles was riding dirt bikes, hence the desire to build a bike reminiscent of his youth, of his 70’s endure influences. He explained to me that “The Dirty Boot” was a slow burn project that he started on a few years back, time & money permitting…His original thought was: what would he run at the Sacramento mile in 1955 if it was not a KR Sporty or Triumph?” His answer: probably a 4-speed Panhead cradled in a wishbone frame.

After doing a raw finish mockup of his project, priming it to not rust, Kirk Taylor took it on the show tour, displaying it next to its completed bikes. And surprise, everywhere he went, his raw project attracted more attention and provoked more questions than most of his finished custom motorcycles…Kirk knew he was on something, probably because a lot of new and older riders have also, like him, a dirt bike experience while teenagers, hence a special emotional relation to this type of design. When money to complete this project became available, Kirk’s wife Lisa told him that “The Dirty Boot” small size and easy handling made it the perfect riding bike for her. So, she is now the official owner and I witnessed her taking care of it during the 2-day championship. And if only Kirk can be seen on stage receiving his trophy from the hands of CCI President and CEO Holger Mohr, it’s because the championship rewards only the builder. But you can bet that from time totem Kirk will dirt his boots spinning it. Custom Design Studios. (photography copyright Jerry Southworth, courtesy to Cyril Huze)

The tech sheet is as follows. Motor: 88″ RevTech Pandemonium with Cycle Engineering Pan Covers and Custom Design Studios velocity stack. Tansmission: Stock 4-speed FL Harley-Davidson. Oil tank: one-off Custom Design Studios. Frame: Santee rigid wishbone with stock dimensions. Wheels: HD  9 spoke with a black pearl p.v.d. (pressured vacuum dispersion) coating. Tires: Bridgestone Trail Wings 80/20 street & dirt. Forks: HD 35mm tubes & legs with billet trees and risers by Ryan Boyd. Brakes, rotors & sprocket : Performance Machine. Handlebars: Pro taper. Grips: 1/4 throttle race inspired by Eric “the ice man”. Controls: ISR. Cables: Motion Pro. Hydraulic lines: Goodridge. Primary drive: BDL 2″ open with FXR mid controls & bear trap foot pegs adapted by C.D.S. Chain: RK gold series. Seat: pan & shocks by Chopper Shox. Leather work by Duane Ballard. Rear fender: West Eagle aluminum british style. Struts: Kirk@ C.D.S.  front fender: swap meet special adapted by C.D.S./ gas tank: indian enduro early 70’s vintage adapted by C.D.S. with a bill dodge gas cap. Exhaust pipe: C.D.S. lake pipe. Headlight: Headwinds carbon fiber with off road rock guard. Taillight: modified RSD vintage. Paint: Kirk Taylor & Courtney @ C.D.S. Color: PPG vibrance. Powder coat: RS performance coatings/anodizing: 2 dye 4

19 Responses to “Custom Chrome International Series. North American Champion.”


  1. 1 jatinder pal Mar 28th, 2011 at 8:05 am

    Nice looking bike,love the details and paint.Reminds me of my old dirt bike.

  2. 2 zyon Mar 28th, 2011 at 8:56 am

    Not a fan of this bikes color scheme. seat sits out like a sore thumb on this one.

  3. 3 leston Mar 28th, 2011 at 9:02 am

    Just not a fan of this one at all. The colors and the “steam punk” decoration of each part doesn’t allow for any flow at all.

  4. 4 Ridethebeast Mar 28th, 2011 at 9:28 am

    Kirk puts alot of heart and sole into every bike he builds. Love the stance, the retro look and the individual styling that set his details aparts from other builders. Good Stuff!! Great builder!!

  5. 5 Chief Waldo Mar 28th, 2011 at 9:29 am

    He should’ve gone with Triumph.

  6. 6 Warrior Poet Mar 28th, 2011 at 9:35 am

    I like it. I don’t think have to “flow” all of the time to look good. The “This is what I need and this is where it needs to go” look works for me, if done well. BTW, I’m a huge fan of Steampunk, and I’m really not getting that vibe off of this one. If you want to see Steampunk, look at Rafiq’s RK Racer from RK Concepts, or Werner’s 1400cc monstrosity built on Model A wheels with wooden forks. No “flow” there either, but badass nonetheless.

    This bike is cool in it’s own right. I’d like to know what’s going on with the rear pipe – can’t really tell from the photos.

    Oh, that’s funny. Not hearong too much from the “Those throttle cables should be outlawed” crowd on this one…

  7. 7 aft customs Mar 28th, 2011 at 11:55 am

    Nice job Kirk. Too bad they didn’t have a picture of you sitting in the King & Queens chairs at the party. Thanks to Holger & Company for putting on a nice event. Congrats to Satya,Cole & Chris for their awards as well.

  8. 8 George Chaos Cycle Mar 28th, 2011 at 12:40 pm

    love it perfect combo of colors textures and mechanicalism (not sure if thats a word but it fits). As always thinking outside the box . Congrats Kirk

  9. 9 Jaxon 5 WCC Mar 28th, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    Kirk, great job ! ! Congratulations again !! Kick ass bike !

  10. 10 Lon Nordbye Mar 28th, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    A well-deserved accomplishment by one of the true good guys in the motorcycle industry. Congrats Kirk and Lisa on a job well done!

  11. 11 RUB Mar 28th, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    a 70′s endure hardtail with no air box ? love the “dirt” in the tread look . detail and finish is fantastic just don’t understand the “enduro” theme . at least there isn’t a 32″ front wheel on it .

  12. 12 Eric Maurer Mar 28th, 2011 at 8:29 pm

    I am a huge fan of Kirk’s work and was lucky enough to have my bike picked by Kirk at the Horse Show in Sturgis 08 as a winner. He is a good guy, extremely talented and glad to see his bike win.

  13. 13 ray c wheeler Mar 29th, 2011 at 12:01 am

    Great build from one helleva nice guy!

  14. 14 Blue Mar 29th, 2011 at 5:11 am

    Tell you what, ‘zyon’ and ‘leston’ – you show us something you’ve built (let alone achieved this sort of success) before leaping in with negative comments. While I accept everyone’s entitled to an opinion, I’m just a bit fed up with instant criticism. Kirk Taylor is not only one of the nicest and most talented builders around, he’s also a great ambassador for custom building and generous with his time and help for up-and-coming builders.

  15. 15 Mad Eric Mar 29th, 2011 at 5:28 am

    Blue why don’t you show something you built! Can’t wait.

  16. 16 Blue Mar 29th, 2011 at 5:34 am

    I don’t have a point to prove.

  17. 17 Hotrod Mar 29th, 2011 at 1:45 pm

    I usually like Kirk’s work but I don’t get this one at all.

  18. 18 Brenda Fox Apr 1st, 2011 at 9:26 am

    Congratulations Kirk ~ you deserve it!

  1. 1 Custom Chrome Dealer Show 2011 | Cartoon Thunder Pingback on Mar 28th, 2011 at 8:39 am
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Cyril Huze