iM Feature: Steve Plewes’ Numbskull Chopper
|OWNER: Steve Plewes
|VEHICLE: Custom Numbskull Chopper
About a week ago, we received an email from Steve Plewe wondering if we’d be interested in doing a feature on his chopper. First thought that came to my mind was “Of course!” although it may not be a a R35 GTR, Ducatti, or RWB Porsche – it is definitely different and we love nothing more than something a project that is completely unique.
Steve went on to say that it’s never been done before, gave the details of his bike and that it has not been exposed to public. At all. A couple things came to mind after reading this though
1 – What HASN’T been done that this guy has managed to accomplish?
2 – OK so it hasn’t been shown since last year, what could possibly be different this year?
and 3 – I hope he isn’t just pulling our legs.
Well shit, was I ever wrong. The attached pictures he let us see blew my socks off. I hit myself for doubting Steve so I immediately emailed Steve back and said “Let’s do this ASAP”. Lo and behold, I met Steve today and holy Chuck Norris was this thing wicked. Let’s get started…
With the restriction of the road conditions and weather, Steve was kind enough to even let me shoot the bike. The bike had been in the shop for almost a year and just recently got dropped off at his house and parked until I got there. He had never took it out before that, so it was a real pleasure to be there for the first time.
Performance Machine 6 piston brake
At first, I thought nothing of it but a simple detail. However, after delving into more details about the bike, this is a chrome crown gas cap home to a one-off gas tank holding 3.5 gallons of fuel. This isn’t a bike just for show, Steve plans on riding this thing hard.
The power plant that Numbskull holds is an Ultima 113 cubic inch motor putting out a crazy 120 hp and 120 lbs of torque. Steve plans on doing a dyno run once Spring time rolls around. The Sinful custom exhaust is hand made with two-tone materials. Black powder coated from the heads with a chrome heatshield and chrome tips to finish off the bling factor. An apocalypse air cleaner was made to accent the exhaust and accentuate the bikes overall “sinister” theme. There is a 2″ BDL primary that distributes the power to the rear while not over-crowding the left bank of the frame.
The beautiful custom airbrushed paint comes from House of Kolor and has a Pagan gold base and gold flake mixed into vibrant Tangelo orange to obtain the brightest sparkling yellows under the sun and the richest deep orange hues in the shade.
When Steve went to bring the bike out, I witnessed the air suspension in action which is just as cool as seeing it on a car. Steve’s air suspension, however consists of the frame housing all the supplied air to raise and lower the frame with the push of a button on the handles, ultimately getting rid of a kickstand.
Lowered
Raised
The rims are made by Pickard USA, fitting 21×3.25″ in the front and a massive 300mm 18×10.5″ in the rear. The custom sheet metal work has been handmade to ensure elongated continuous flow throughout the frame.
Coles notes:
Frame: 8 Ball Manufacturing
Builders: Koolkustomz (Union City, Michigan), Precision Frameworx (Calgary, AB)
Wheels: Metzler
Rims: Pickard USA, 300mm rear, 21″ front
Motor: Ultima 113 cubic inch (1845cc)
Paint: house of Colors
Painter: MOB Airbrush (Nobleford, AB)
Exhaust: Frankie Serrano Designs (FSD)
Aircleaner: stainless Steel Creations
Primary: BDL
Speedo: Motogadget
Front Brake: Performance Machine 6 piston
Rear Brake: Hubless 360
Again, huge thanks to Steve for bringing a custom project like this forward, even before exposing it to an even bigger scene. We are super glad to be able to have it on illmotion, and as always, it shows that with the dedication, passion and of course, money, you can do amazing things. Steve is the perfect example.