In his southwest of St Louis, MO Rods & Rides shop, Thomas Denver Ward (call him TD) and crew build, re-build and customize very cool classic cars, trucks, hot rods and motorcycles. For bikes, they have a special affection for Board Track Racers and Bobbers, almost all using drop seat frames provided under their design by a friend named Mike Simms from another Missouri company called MMW. I noticed the Ol’ 37 bike featured here while strolling the different Daytona Biketoberfest bike shows and was satisfied to learn later that this bike, for its simplicity and purity, received quite a few trophies from the judges.
If I feature this bike it’s because it doesn’t only look simple, but is also a quite easy bike to build, something that TD Ward acknowledges, his objective with this project being to demonstrate that you can build a show winner beating in bike shows the huge budget over-tricked custom bikes, and at the same time ride every day for a lot of fun, all this delivered to you by TD for a price under $20,000, and of course much lower if you do it yourself. With an old school styling wrapping new technology, Ol’ 37 has the particularity of pleasing both the new generation of young riders looking for a sporty attitude and the grey beards who fall for its nostalgic lines, something I could observe while in Daytona checking out the bike and those showing great interest for it.
TD told me that Ol’ No. 37 is what he considers his standard bike offering both vintage look and power. A Kiwi Leaf Spring Style, no front brake, a pair of black wheels, 2″ open primary, sober pinstripping for the retro/racer look. appearance. Ultima 127″ motor (too much for this type of bike?), Ultima 6-speed tarnny, sprotor rear setup for visual simplicity (brake pinches on the disc running the chain) for every day performance and reliability. A cutsom Fat Katz gas tank and 21″ front fender adapted to be used to cover the rear are easy to get parts to complete such project in a relatively short time. TD Ward told me that test riding it for the 1st time in Daytona he got the feel of riding a dirt bike with a massive amount of horsepower and torque. A last piece of info: if you wonder why the number 37 was chosen, it’s because it’s TD Ward 37th bike built this year and the number 37 looks good in lettering… Those interested by this type of bike can contact TD at: (314)-423-1812 or get the parts list from the tech sheet below. Rods And Rides.
Model: Ol’ No. 37. Time: 8 Weeks. Chroming: St. Louis Plating Co. Engine: Year/make: 2012 Ultima. Displacement: 127”. Carb: Mikuni 48mm. Air Cleaner: Ultima. Pipes: RODS & RIDES. Transmission: Year/make: 2012 Ultima 6 Speed. Shifting: Foot. Frame: Year/make: 2012 MMW, Rake: 34, Stretch: 2”. Bars: Flanders. Fender: Custom Chrome. Headlight: Bates. Taillight: Ford Model A. Gas Tank: Fat Katz. Oil Tank: RODS & RIDES. Front End: KIWI. Wheels: Size: 21” Font & 21” Rear (MMW) Tires: Avon Cobra 120-70 V21 Front & Rear. Brakes: DNA. Grips: AVON. Painter: Chris Kalbfleisch (Quality Collision) Pinstriping: Jason Sprengel.
Cyril. can’t wait to receive your news on monday morning. Always a very cool bike. This one looks simple enough to be my inspiration for my current project.
Cyril, more of this kind of bikes we can build.
Very typical of custom building style of the 1st decade of this century.
Old inspires new and the result is great.
nothing wrong with that bike ,i give it a 10 .Outstanding build ,and goes to show you never need to break the bank to make something striking .
Great looking bike,
Steve Carr
LRM did a couple of bikes of this style back in 08-09 with great success
Steve Carr
I really like the style of the bike, but imho, I’d love to see these built with a little bit wider rear tire… absolutely nothing bigger than a 200 series, but that’s just me. Cool bike Rods and Rides, keep up the good work.
NIce Air Cleaner, is that hand made too.
Wow, what a Clean looking, understated Design. This looks like a great achievement in Building a line of Motorcycles for Retail Sale. And to be able to Retail this Bike for $20,000 WELL DONE !
hey “biker” the air cleaner is hand made ,some guy at ultima programed that long ago .ha
did you want him to make the cases and tranny from hand forged aluminum as well ? That ought to keep it under 20 grand huh ?
I work with ID Transport a Motorcycle only shipping company and we have shipped a dozen or more of TD’s bikes from Rods and rides. We always look forward in seeing the awesome bikes he builds.
Saw this bike in Daytona. Very cool. Did remind me of a bike I got from Steve Carr @LRM. Great build..
Interesting frame design. peace
Gorgeous. Very nice.
Great work. Those wheels are tough.
This bike is currently listed for sale on eBay….
Great looking bike, what a deal at $20,000.00
So cool it’s ridiculous. Hats off.
I love the perfect blend of old and new with the vintage style tank, seat, lines, etc yet new style wheels and motor. Its blends perfectly.