1. Sicko Custom Harley-Davidson Motorbike
Everyone reckons Billy has some sort of sickness because he can't leave anything alone, but it’s more a ‘passion’ he has for customising cars and bikes.
I HAVE a HQ full show car which is one of the best in the country but I just wanted to do something different. I wanted a Harley-Davidson. It wasn’t meant to be a show bike; it was meant to be an everyday rider, which it is, but not as good looking, that’s for sure.
My mate Andrew helped me build the bike. He had Harleys and was always going riding with his mates, and I was sitting at home having only my car and I was really fanging to get out there so I found a cheap bike for about $20,000 and rode it around for about two years until I could afford to strip it.
Everything has changed from the original bike; the only thing that’s left is the frame, clutch and gearbox. It sort of went a little out of control. We ended up making the fuel tank, oil tank, the seat base and the seat, and it just kept going. It wasn’t purposely built — like I would have done a few things differently it was going to be a purposely built show bike — but it’s a clean, tidy, street bike.
Andrew did all the tin work. To make the oil tank, he got a bit of cardboard and moulded it around, and then got a bit of tin and rolled it to the right shape. He did the same with the guards and stretched the fuel tank.
The frame is original but we cut the front down tubes and the backbone and raked it 43 degrees; the forks are four-inches-over in length. We ended up putting the bigger arse-end on it too.
It’s an 88 cube motor with S&S carby and manifold; Keith Black pistons. It’s had a fair bit of work done on it.
Andrew and Little Mick have a pretty good relationship. I went to get a tattoo from Little Mick one day and was talking about my bike. I told him I wanted to get a paint job and he said he was more than happy to do it. I wanted the bike painted like a Les Vegas Casino — have a gangster theme on one side; money and a casino on the other. Little Mick was ideal for the job because I wanted it to look like a full tattoo.
Pretty much most of the air brushing is reproduced in the car. The car’s name is Sicko and the bike is 1 Sicko, so I thought it would be a good idea to put the Vegas theme into the stripes on the car to match them together for the shows.
I took the bike to the Brisbane Hotrod Show and it won Best Paint.
It’s 100 percent street ridden; it doesn’t sit at home. I have done about 60 hours riding up down the coast and around my local roads; I really enjoy it. It does really good skids, actually.
The seat was stiched up by John Moorhouse at Ergo seats. Haggis is responsible for the custom wiring.
I really want to mention Andrew at Fireball Custom; I wouldn’t have the bike if it wasn’t for him and all the stuff he has done on it. I had a lot to do with building the bike myself too, but it was mostly helping Andrew make things the best I could. It’s been a big learning curve and I can’t wait to build another one because now I know what to look for.
You’ll see more of Billy’s Sicko custom Harley-Davidson motorbike at Sabrina and the Sicko Harley.
Pics by Walter Wall; words by Billy.
