During the Sturgis Rally, the latest one from T.D. Ward got a lot of attention and quite a few trophies in the bike shows to which it participated. A custom bike that I will put in the category of a crossover from the Hot Rod world. Ward’s car genes were acquired a long time ago and his Missouri shop Rods And Rides continues to alternate between building and restoring pickups, rods and creating from the ground up some very cool and rad 2 and even 3-wheelers.
For those who have followed his last years’ creations (you should because I published them…), this board tracker gets the best of the elements – and some more – found on his previous acclaimed rolling pieces of motorcycle art. Named “The Oz”, this bike attempts to renew and refresh the board tracker style. First by using a pair of 26” wheel without compromising the race stance, but instead exaggerating it by keeping the frame very low. Second, by opting for a brand new 74 cubic inch S&S Panhead engine with points for reliability coupled with a new Ultima carburetor.
On this type of bike, it would be logical to install a Jockey shift but T.D. Ward built it without a client and consequently knew very well that when completed it would have been a handicap to sell it, restricting buyers to the minority who knows to ride a Jockey shift… Instead, Ward chose a 6-speed hydraulic tranny from Ultima, a brand he favors because he never had any previous issues with it and because the company is a close-by neighbor in St Louis. Just in case… Ward decided to use a centrifugal clutch made by EFM in conjunction with an Ultima 2” primary. With this choice the bike can stand still in gear with no clutch and with a simple twist of the throttle, the bike can propel like a rocket.
To be noticed on “The Oz” are, first the hand-made awesome looking and baby skin smooth gas tank, then the very nice also hand-made leaf spring front end, the exhaust system built from stainless steel, the bad ass flappers that required 4 successive fabrication attempts to look and work right, the custom oil tank that has a clear glass window and a taillight that most people think is a breather. The crazy 26” wheels were designed and cut by a buddy named Mike Simms at Malibu Motorcycle Works who also fabricated a custom front hub because the bike is not running a front brake.
Another friend named “Arkansas” was commissioned to polish most of the parts, anodizing others and chrome plating the one-off gas tank. An “impossible task” requiring to cover the welding low spots with lead, then to copper plate, then to spend a couple of days polishing and smoothing out the copper base, then applying the final nickel and chrome coats of plating. Painter “Todd The Rod” got off easy on this deal with only having to paint the frame and rear fender. The frame has a lot of small fabricated details, drop-out rear axle blocks, leaf spring seat, built-in keyed ignition, holes in the single down tube and so much more. Seat pan was in-house shaped, then leather tooling and stitching was trusted to the very talented Rich Phillips, another St. Louis native. Stay tuned for more New Old School Styled creations coming from Rods And Rides in the very next months.
Beautiful piece! Can’t beat a Pan, new or old, for style. Great work. Later Jay
Beautiful piece.
The bike looks a little bit too long for my taste, but it’s great custom work.
Looking like no other and details are great.
Superb mix of old and new.
Amazing bike , i love all the detail . looking forward to seeing his next bike
WOW!
Over & Out,
Jeff
First time I like a pair of 26″ on a custom bike.
Beautiful build. Love the stance, the wheels, everything.
Nice original bike lots of great ideas. Great to see ideas and bikes from non traditional bike builders.
thanks for the detailed post. the bike stood out in one of your sturgis 2014 photo album posts and i asked for more detail on it. you came through. thanks. the art of this bike is truly original.
The way the tank sits over the pans is certainly a very cool design feature……..
-nicker-
Must be seriously loud with what looks like only 8 inches of exhaust off each head
Absolutely stunning mix of old and new. So much silver shimmer too!
NICE WORK…BUT IM WONDERING WHERE THE DUMP PIPE EXHAUST HITS YOUR LEG ON THE FOWARD CONTROL…WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMEONE ACTUALLY SITTING ON IT…BUT VERY COOL BIKE OTHER THAN EXHAUST
It is a work of art. Who would ride it?
yeah, let’s see someone sit on it and ride it so everyone can see what the rider looks like with those big wheels.
great looking motor
What a waste of a beautiful Panhead motor.
I would ride it ,it’s beautiful……
Very nice !!!!
Awesome……….sexy too!!!
Interesting….
quite innovative , but I can’t handle the headlight seceding from the union.
I wouldnt ride it without an asbestos suit as your legs will be trying to catch fire…just sayin…
Clean and graceful but hate the front headlight location.