I'll just be honest with something here... I'm not a book fan. Don't get me wrong, reading a book it's an old dying habit these days. Sad but true, we all know it. But if the sheets that are in front of me don't hook me up and get all my attention right away it's possible that I won't be pickin' them up again pretty soon. My ADD doesn't help either I guess.
Rarely I get high on a book and when that happens... day or night I'm all in. And there are bike books... and chopper books. I may not remember where I left my wallet or phone on a daily basis, but I sure as hell remember where & at what page the Webber Twin throat carbs are in the 2009 Custom Chrome Catalog (as an example hahaha... it's page 146 btw).
Bike books are great, Books about old bikes, err ''vintage'' bikes, new bikes, as long as it's bikes bikes bikes it's all good. The era of the ''cookie cutter'' choppers ment a massive boom of custom bikes on the market. And when I say cookie cutters don't get me wrong, I'm just talking about the big flashy bikes that never got ridden (ha!) . Between them we could also see some pretty badass bikes from the legends of the field. Also, some special ones from some pretty rad artists. Some of them got featured in special books, like Tom Zimberoff's ''Art of the Chopper'' books.
This time I'm talking about another amazing creation of Alan Lee's, the Glasster. The bike was built in 2009 and even now, it's a very good reason for me to reopen the Art of the Chopper II.
The Belgium-born self-taught custom fabricator really hit it out of the park with Glasster in a sea of ''square'' flashy choppers. Ever since I saw his creations I had tons of respect for the man. Now, I'm happy to call him a friend.
And I'll just let the photos do the talking for a moment...
Glasster is a mix of old and new to my liking... Superb curvy leafer in the front but transparent gas tank and rocker covers on the vintage Panhead; modern RevTech 98ci engine in fact. Baker tranny, BDL 2inch belt drive primary. Alan made almost everything by hand.
Handtooled seat by Bulldog Leathers but wide rear tire and again, transparent oil tank. Must say, the peacock beak-like oil tank is my favourite part !
''The real heart of this machine is the glass (no pun intended) tanks, painstakingly created by Kildee Scientific from Pyrex glass. The fuel tank required three iterations (the first two broke), and since cutting a tunnel in the glass would likely have resulted in a third shattered tank, a redesign of the frame was also required. The finished unit is now mated to a rubber-layered cradle and capped with a vintage wheel knockoff. The oil tank is also Pyrex and is judiciously mated to the tail section with raw metal. Furthering the dichotomy of a glass motorcycle, the suicide shifter is made from a ball-peen hammer.
Nonexistent manifolds required the crew to create their own, and, to keep things interesting, they added a 10-degree forward tilt to each dual-throat carb. Additional details include a headlight that served as a police car's searchlight during the '50s and LEDs in all of the glass, transforming the bike into a rolling lava lamp at night.''
The Glasster used to rest at the Petersen Automotive Museum In Los Angeles, now it sits in Alan's shop. It's featured in Tom's book at page 150 :)
Photo cred : Tom Zimberoff / Hot Bike Magazine (quotes including).
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