Greg's Custom Cycle Works

Dawn's Payback

Growing up in New Jersey, Greg Rice got an early start on bike building when his father George plunked down a crate of what was once a mini bike and said, "go at it."  It was a matter of simple economics at the time.  If he wanted to ride, he'd have to build it.  Greg and his father worked side by side rebuilding the motor and refurbishing the various parts, and soon Greg was up and running through the neighborhood on his first set of wheels at age 10.

    As business picked up and his customer base grew, Greg moved nearby to a larger shop, then at the end of 1998 opened Greg's Custom Cycle Works.

    Dawn's bike started with an '81 FXE frame Greg had in the shop.  He originally planned to use the motormount assemblies, pop the frame up in the jig, rake it, put a fat tire on it, and there you go. But the more he got into the project, the more radical it became, to the point where all that was left from the frame was the motormounts and half the transmission mount assembly.

    "We decided it would look better if the chassis had bigger tubing, but when we tried to apply the motormounts, it wouldn't line up correctly so the only thing we ended up using from the FXE was the gooseneck."

    The bikes unusual  U-shaped swingarm design is a unique feature conjured up by Greg.

    "I wanted something different. I also added a Tricky Air Ride so it could dump down and also mounted the fender onto the swingarm assembly."

    At the moment, Greg is in the process of patenting the swingarm design, intending to put it into production.  The chassis itself is unique because several components are hidden out of the way under the gas tank, including the battery, the nitrous, and the coil.  Hand-Fabricated from steel, the 7-gallon gas tank was reduced to 5-gallons after greg added the hidden compartments, but still a respectable capacity for a chopper.

    Greg also engineered the way-radical frontend.

    " I love springer frontends and had planned to incorporate Paughco springs on both sides of the lower ends with a stabilizing link between them.  I thought it would be really cool to have it air-adjustable to increase the tension if you're really aggressive in stopping so that it rebounds well and isn't so mushy.  Or, if you're on a long ride and want a baby-carriage ride, you can decrease the air pressure, and it still rides correctly.  I went to Smooth Ride for  air ride shocks." 

    Meanwhile, the air pump for the rear suspension is hidden in the center of the primary.  Greg fabbed a cover to give it that outer bearing support look, but it's really a cosmetic cover that conceals the clutch as well as the big air pump plumbed-in with the ignition switch.

    "I was trying to make it as old-school stripped-down clean as possible, but also feature all the new bells and whistles like the Dakota Digital gauge in the left-top fork tube."

    The motor was transplanted from a '91 Springer Softail 1340cc Evo, to which was added a big bore kit, the cases milled out to a 3-3/4-inch bore while keeping the stock stroke.

    "It revs up a lot faster, like a NASCAR motor as opposed to a big block."

    Bumped up to 93.4ci, the motor also benefits from oversized valves, ported heads as well as Pan rocker boxes and a cam cover.  Greg also engineered a trick oil cooler reservoir that looks like a big generator from a Pan/Shovel.  It holds about a quart and a half of oil while the rest, another 3 quarts, is carried up front in the air dam.  The more you delve into the bike, the more engineering coolness you see.

    Says Greg, "A lot of people don't understand the bike until I explain it to them.  They may like the looks right off, but they really get fired up when I explain all the stuff they don't see. 

    Dimension-wise, the bike looks formidable, measuring 10 feet long. But the person who rides it, Dawn Rice, is only 5-foot, 1 inch.

    "She's like a tiny pea on the bike," says Greg.  "But everything fits her.  She's not leaning forward and sits up perfectly straight.  She touches the ground easily with her knees bent so she's not struggling with the bike.l  And she can dump the air suspension at any time so its even more comfortable, everything adjustable through the handlebars.  She can hit the button just by moving a thumb.

    Dawn's "payback" bike is on display in the showroom where it garners all kinds of customer attention.  And when Greg's father, George comes down to Florida for a visit, he gets to ride his choice of Greg's rental Harley's. Call it payback with dividends.

Spec Sheet

General

OWNER     DAWN RICE

NAME      GREG'S CUSTOM CYCLE WORKS INC.

PHONE    (727)461-4840

WEBSITE   www.gregscycles.com

YEAR/MAKE/MODEL        SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION

FABRICATION     GREG'S

ASSEMBLY        GREG'S

BUILD TIME       SIX MONTHS

ENGINE

YEAR/TYPE/SIZE     '91/93.4-INCH

BUILDER         GREGS

CASES          H-D/GREG'S

FLYWHEELS    H-D

RODS          H-D

PISTONS    WISECO  10.5:1

CYLINDERS       H-D

HEADS            H-D/GREG'S MODIFIED

VALVES     MANLEY

ROCKERS  S&S ROLLER

ROCKER BOXES       ZODIAC CYCLES

PUSHRODS           CRANE

PUSHROD TUBES    H-D

CAMS           GREG'S SPECIAL GRIND

LIFTERS        S&S

CARBURETOR    S&S SUPER E

AIR CLEANER     CCI

IGNITION         DAYTONA TWIN TECH

EXHAUST       GREG'S

TRANSMISSION

YEAR/TYPE     '05 REVTECH SIX-SPEED

CASE            REVTECH

GEARS          REVTECH

CLUTCH         H-D/GREG'S

PRIMARY DRIVE      PRIMO W/CUSTOM COVER

FRAME

YEAR/TYPE    '04 GREG'S

RAKE              45 DEGREES

STRETCH          8 INCHES OVER

SUSPENSION

FRONT     GREG'S

TRIPLE TREES     GREG'S

REAR

SWINGARM     GREG'S

SHOCKS          TRICKY AIR RIDE

WHEELS,TIRES,AND BRAKES

FRONT

BUILDER/SIZE                  MODIFIED PM/21-INCH

TIRE/SIZE                        METZLER/21-INCH

CALIPERS                      REVTECH

ROTORS                           REVTECH

REAR

BUILDER/SIZE                   PM/18-INCH

TIRE/SIZE                           METZELER/280

CALIPER                             REVTECH

ROTOR                                REVTECH

FINISH/PAINT

COLORS                        VIVID BLACK BASE

PAINTER                                  GREG'S/JASON

GRAPHICS                                 JASON

MOLDING                                GREG'S

PAINTING/POLISHING             CLASSIC CHROME/GREGS

POWDERCOATING                  N/A

ACCESSORIES

FRONT FENDER                      N/A

REAR FENDER                    GREG'S

FENDER STRUTS                 INTERNAL

GAS TANK/CAPS                GREGS/CCI

OIL TANK                             GREG'S CUSTOM

DASH                               GREG'S

GAUGES                            DAKOTA DIGITAL

HANDLEBARS                      GREG'S

RISERS                                INTEGRAL

MIRRORS                             CATEYE

HAND CONTROLS                    PM  MODIFIED

FOOT CONTROLS                 ACCUTRONIX

FOOTPEGS                          ACCUTRONIX/H-D

HEADLIGHT                              GREG'S

TAILIGHT                                    GREG'S LED

TURN SIGNALS                          GREG'S

LICENSE MOUNT                       GREG'S

SEAT                                          GREG'S/LOUIS UPHOLSTERY

ELECTRICAL                      GREG'S