Born Free Seven...

I have been lagging horribly in posting progress of my Born Free bike for this years show. Might as well start with a pic of the first time I threw all the basic components of this build into one harmonious pile. To be honest, I haven't had a real direction as to which way to go with it. I think most of the bikes I've had a hand in over the past years have had a pretty simple vibe to them, nothing that really jumps out at you and grabs you by the throat. The level that most dudes operating at nowadays, especially among the fellow invited builders is so high as far as creativity and ability that its truly humbling and makes you rethink what you think you know. That being said, I know where my strengths lie and that has kind of steered the direction I think this bike is going. 

As long as I can remember, even being a child not knowing anything, trying to envision a bike had always churned up the basic design of the Panhead. I love Knuckles, Shovels and everything else, but the ultimate "Chopper" when I close my eyes has always had a Panhead in it. Its simple, boxy design just lends itself to following the triangular lines of a frame. It just made sense to me. Now I'm in no way going to attempt to build the "ultimate" chopper because I'm not sure that's possible from a publicly shared viewpoint, I'm just going to pick one of the few dancing in my head that suits and reflects my taste and ability...I think that's as ultimate as it gets.