XLCH Ironhead -- Making the rare the ultra-rare

by Ken Sprague
(Tucson, AZ USA)

Hey there! Name's Ken, and I got a real sweetie for all of you.

I traded some tattoo hours to a buddy for his 1966 XLCH Ironhead, and there it begins. Mind you, only 3900 of these were ever produced. Took a '72 sporty frame, and whacked it into a 3.75" dropseat rigid capable of fitment with a 180mm rear wheel/tire setup. Also stretched the goose neck position out 4 inches. The downtubes have no stretch, and all is factory rake. Makes for a real bitchin' low, long frame.

Using a '74 AMF mini-bike tank (been frisco'ed and grafted an early style filler neck into it for that bayonet cap), and octagon oil bag (with a custom channel fabbed in to allow chain clearance) and an old narrow-glide front end. 6 inch dogbone risers and some narrowed baby-apes round out the front. Headlight is garden variety.

Front wheel is a 21" and rear is a 16", both 40 spoke and wrapped in Avons. The seat is a straight steel pan, one of a kind. Who needs cushion, anyway? Naturally, This puppy is foot clutched and jockey-shift. This is a hoot, as the shift and drive sections are on the RIGHT side of the motor, and the brake is on the left! (think Brit-bike) What's a front brake? The rear fender is also rather common, and the sissy bar and controls are all hand-twisted steel. Here's the best part...all of this was done by me and a couple buddies in my garage. Special thanks to Lumpy-butt Sammy, Andy Devine, Tic Toc, Danny Boy, and Jaranoid. See what you can do when yer bored?

Name of the bike is Devine Intervention (after Andy, who was my wizard for the hardest parts). Come check it out at the Smokeout West in '09. There also will be my '06 Softail chop "The Hate-Plow" and many other really slick customs made by me and the boys. Find us at the Fastlane Customs booth and join us for a beer or six. You'll be glad you did.

By the way, pics will be up soon. Gotta get 'em developed. I'm lazy.
Tattoo Ken