Billy’s Bike Replica from Easy Rider the Movie

This is a replica of Billy’s bike ridden by Dennis Hopper in the movie Easy Rider.

I GOT ONTO this bike like a blind chicken finding a worm — pure accident. I was photographing another custom motorbike, a black Trumpy custom that I really liked, and I asked the owner who did all his really flash custom work. The answer was Pulford Race Engines in Canberra. Before long I was heading towards Canberra to meet Peter, the owner of Pulford Race Engines and creator of the most beautiful bikes in the ACT. It was bloody cold down there but I didn’t mind as I was welcomed with plenty of bikes to photograph and the Billy’s Bike Replica was one of them.

We were looking for a suitable location to shoot the bike when we passed an old house which looked perfect. I sent one of the guys to knock on the door for permission to enter. He came back reporting that no-one was home. Not to miss a perfect opportunity, we rolled the bike into the front yard and started shootings.

Shock! Horror! We were in the middle of the shoot when a bewildered owner appeared. He was young guy, and after a short discussion, he was happy to leave us to continue shooting.

I’m not going to divert your attention from the bike so let’s jump straight into the technical details.

Billy’s Bike Replica was built by Pulford Race Engines. It took them two years to complete using the best custom parts and a lot of in-house fabrication. It started life with a Paughco 180-series frame, standard rake with 9-inch risers and 26-inch drag-bars. The rolling department was supplied by 40-spoke wheels; 21 x 2.15 front; 16 x 5.5 rear.

engine in motorcycle from Easy Rider the Movie

After the basic bike was built, the in-house manufacturing took over. Front and rear guards were added. Pulford Racing Engines manufactured the complete exhaust system. They made the oil lines, tail-light mount, sissy bar and head-lamp mount.

The 113 S&S engine is fitted with Exotic Pan rocker-boxes, Genny Shovel nose-cone, 11:1 pistons, Crane single-fire ignition, and Weber cams. Heads and intake were done in Sydney by Ultra Torque.

The S&S, five-gear, close-ratio gearbox is fitted with a kick-start and Barnett clutch.

The Billy’s Bike Replica rides as good as it looks and Pulford Racing Engines should be congratulated for achieving such perfection re-creating the bike that became iconic in the biker industry.

I have to thank the unknown owner of the house for the perfect shooting scene. I’m sure it will give him a thrill to see his home on the Ozbike website.