Wednesday, December 9, 2009

RETRO BIKE HAULER


Mike Kane (the cliff diver! See my earlier post), who is no stranger to building up iconoclastic retro motorcycles, turned his attention to building long-distance transport for his beloved Indians.
Here's his explanation:
"This truck is something that has been in my brain since I was a teenager. The chassis is a 1988 1 ton Chevy, 350ci, autobox, power steering, air conditioning, dually rear end. The cab is a 1948 Diamond T Peterbilt sleeper which has been chopped 3 1/2" and narrowed 6".

The bed and rear fenders are custom made; the bed is 6 ft wide on the inside and 8 1/2 ft long. I left the inside dual wheels off for bed space. I have Peterbilt air bags (air suspension) on the rear. When I dump the air, the bed drops to 22" off the ground. The tail gate is made from a moving van ramp and when removed it works as a ramp. I built this to take bikes to swap meets and shows. It is almost done, a few bugs to work out before the interior goes in. I'm glad its almost done, I haven't got much bike work done"
I can imagine - looks like a lot of work, but nobody will miss Mike when he shows up!