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Indian Larry Tribute Bike
Avast ye, Indian Larry's on Deck, Arrr!!
Photography Jonathan Bielaski, Light Imaging
For
as long as John Cosentini has known who Indian Larry was, he has had
the utmost respect for the bike-building legend. His first hand-made
piece in memory of Indian Larry by was the famous question mark logo.
John had purchased a new Plasma cutter for his shop, Motorcycle
Enhancements, shortly after Indian Larry's death in 2004, and he
reproduced the question mark while practicing his cutting skills. A
small but important tribute piece that still, and always will, hang on
the wall in John's shop.
John had an idea for another, much bigger tribute project but one thing
was missing before he could begin. His respect was so deep for Indian
Larry, his shop and those he left behind, that John felt he needed
permission to bring that bigger project to fruition. While on a trip to
New York city, John went out of his way to stop at Gasoline Alley,
Indian Larry's shop, to pay his respects and in doing so, spoke to Paul
Cox. "At the time, those guys were inundated with people stopping by
but Paul found time to speak with me. I told him what I wanted to do
and he gave me the OK to go ahead. I didn't want to step on their toes
by going ahead and building a tribute bike, I felt I owed them that,"
John said in a calm laid-back tone.
As with any noted artist, Indian Larry was renowned for his own style
which was Old School. Throughout his years, he never wavered from that
thought process. John's new project would do Indian Larry justice in
timeless Old School artistry. John began the build right away and many
of the pieces of the bike were built in the exact fashion the master
himself would have built them. The only difference; John would use a
Yamaha Roadstar driveline.
John began with the frame, namely the twisted downtube, in true,
classic Gasoline Alley style. With the help of Lorrenzo, they welded
the solid square stock to a workbench, made a T-handle for twisting,
and began heating the downtube cherry red. They twisted the pliable
metal 180o and then they let it cool. They then moved along six inches
and began the process again, only this time they twisted 180o in the
opposite direction. The process was repeated until the whole downtube
was complete. Red and Kate then took the twisted stock and finished the
rest of the frame around that special piece that stands proud out front.
From the beginning, this bike was to take on design elements from a
number of Indian Larry bikes. The springer front fork takes its cue
from the 'Chain of Mystery' bike. John enlisted the help of Peter for
welding the chain accurate and straight. "These welds weren't even
cleaned up, I just sent them for chroming right after welding. Just
like Indian Larry would have done", John said. The finale to the
springer was the custom-made decorative linkage piece which ties it all
together.
The bike didn't start out with a theme but, because of the battery box,
the theme just kind of happened. John said, "I was wondering what to do
with this ugly rectangular battery box and one of my crew said, 'Arrr,
why don't you round the top so it looks like a treasure chest?' We then
started thinking about paint and the wood grain idea was tossed around,
it just went from there." The idea rolled into a pirate ship theme
complete with cork gas cap, or bung, anchor kickstand so she wouldn't
drift away in a wind, nautical wheel coil cover and a nautical bell
that acts as the fog horn.
Another of Indian Larry's signature styles is having the oil filter on
the aft port side of the frame. That's the left rear for all you
Landlubbers. John wouldn't have it any other way, but went one step
further and made an oil filter cover in the shape of a grog barrel,
arrr.
Jay, at Airheadz, finished the paint detail after spending a
painstaking 120 hours with an airbrush in hand to create the
one-of-a-kind wood grain pirate ship theme.
Other than the Yamaha Roadstar 1600 cc engine and the fuel tank,
everything else is made specifically for this bike, or manufactured by
Motorcycle Enhancements and for sale on the retail portion of their
website. One of the bigger jobs with this build was converting the
original, left hand belt drive to a right hand chain drive, a job that
was done in-house.
After three months, the build was finally completed, a week ahead of
schedule, and it was unveiled at the 2006 International Supershow in
Toronto. The tribute bike drew lots of attention from the masses, and
rightly so, as there is so much detail to take in.
In the summer of 2006, John once again went to New York but this time
for a different reason. This time was the big test, to show off his
tribute bike and see if it really would pass inspection as an Indian
Larry bike by none other than the crew at Indian Larry Legacy. The
important showing won the hearts of those in attendance at the 3rd
Annual Indian Larry Grease Monkey Block Party. "It was really well
accepted, even with all the Harley guys there", John stated proudly.
'The icing on the cake' came when the crew at Indian Larry Legacy,
including Paul Cox and Keino, accepted the bike as a true tribute and
signed the tank. An act that was repeated by Larry's mother and his
sister. "It was a pretty emotional afternoon for everyone", John said.
As soon as John returned home, the tank came off and went straight to
Jay to do his magic and re-apply the clear coat to seal in the
signatures forever.
John rides the bike regularly, sailing the highways and byways of
southern Ontario. He tells me one of his first big rides this year will
once again be The BAD Ride on May 27. Arrr, it's good to be BAD.
Shiver me timbers. More Grog Matey!
Check out www.motorcycleenhancements.com for more pictures of the 3rd Annual Indian Larry Grease Monkey Block Party and other bikes from Motorcycle Enhancements.
Owner: John Cosentini
Make & Model: Yamaha Custom Roadstar
Builder: Motorcycle Enhancements
Time to Build: 3 months
Name of Bike: Indian Larry Tribute Bike (The Pirate Bike)
Painting: Airheadz Custom Airbrush/Extreme Measures body work
Chroming: Motorcycle Enhancements
Engine
Year: 2000
Builder: Yamaha
Displacement: 1602 cc / 98 Cu.In.
Cases: Stock
Heads: Stock
Lower End: Stock
Carburetor: Genesis PSI 48mm
Air Cleaner: S&S
Ignition: Stock
Exhaust: Bub Stubbies with Pipe Wrap
Transmission
Year: 2000
Builder: Yamaha
Type: Stock
Cases: Stock
Clutch: Auto Clutch
Primary Drive: Stock
Frame
Year: 2005
Builder: Motorcycle Enhancements
Type: Custom Rigid 3" up, 2" out
Rake: 34 degrees
Modifications: Twisted Downtube
Front End
Year: 2005
Builder: Motorcycle Enhancements
Type: Springer
Triple Trees: Custom
Modifications: Welded Chain Link forks
Wheels
Front Size: 21" x 2.15 60 Spoke
Builder/Manufacturer: DNA
Tire Make and size: Avon 90/90-21"
Rear Size: 16"x 5.5" 60 Spoke
Builder/Manufacturer: DNA
Tire Make and size: Avon 200/60-16"
Essentials
Gas Tank: Modified Roadstar by Motorcycle Enhancements
Oil Tank: Fabricated by Motorcycle Enhancements covered by Tundra Leather
Fenders: West Coast Chopper modified for Right side drive
Seat: Fabricated by Motorcycle Enhancements covered by Tundra Leather
Handlebars: 12" Mini Apes
Headlight: 4.5" Old school
Taillight: Nautical Tail light
Extras
Nautical Theme includes the Anchor Kick Stand, nautical wheel coil
cover. Nautical bell for the horn, Barrel oil filter cover, Chain link
accessories and Treasure chest.
A big thanks to my team at Motorcycle Enhancements, Frank, Tom, and my son Santino.
Special thanks go to Red & Kate for the frame, Peter for the
Welding, Dan and Tino for Machining, Tomek the mechanic, Lorrenzo for
helping with the twisted down tube. Joe & Laz with assembly work
& Santino with some design work and Ideas.
Click to view photos in high-resolution.
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