Bat Bike Out Of Hell & Chloe

I USED TO have Japanese bikes and hated Harley-Davidsons. But when my mate offered me a spin around the block on his Fat Boy, I loved it—so the next day I went and bought one for myself! I didn’t want to spend that much on a bike but I got such a rush out of it, I thought, I might as well—and the Japs bikes went out the door; in came the Harleys.

I started with a Fat Boy, a stock bike. But then I started seeing choppers riding around. One in particular had a 250 rear tyre and I got excited—it was time to build my first chopper.

I bought a frame, a 300 rear, all the parts, bits and pieces. A friend of mine at Cobra Craft fabricated a tank and exhaust; he did most of the fabrication on the bike. It was my ideas with his hands.

Queen Street Smash Repairs painted the chopper silver and purple and I started entering shows with it—I won all these shows.

Eventually I decided I wanted something even better, that’s when I started to build this one with the 330 rear.

Most of the fabrication was done by a good friend of mine in the States, at place called The Chopp Shop.

I got it back to Australia and assembled it at Cobra Craft. Queen Street again handled the paint.

I designed it as a rough sketch but it developed into something else—you’ve one thing in your mind, and as you’re going along, you start developing new ideas. We had three different engines in the bike. First was a 127 ci El Bruto but it looked too plain; we changed it to 113 TP but it had too much chrome; we finally settled on the 107 S&S motor with the diamond cut and black finish.

There’s lots of very sharp points on the chopper to give it a spacey look. Different people see different things in the bike. Some see the claws of a beetle, some say a scorpion, some people call it the Bat Bike—I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Building choppers started out as a very expensive hobby—you build a bike and enjoy it, you sell it and get your money back; hopefully, you make a bit of profit.

photos by Wall 2 Wall; words by Jamal

Chloe

I’VE BEEN dancing for almost three years. I was at dance class since I was very young. I went to a performing arts high school, amongst other high schools, and when I turned 18 and I could legally take my clothes off for money—actually, it’s not about the money—I’ve always loved to perform; I love dressing up, acting out some character—and the money’s good too.

I’ve had a bit to do with bikes. I’ve danced at all the major bike shows. When I was doing a photos shoot for People and Picture magazines, I got to ride pillion on one of the most expensive road bikes at a race track. I can’t remember the speed we got up to but it was fantastic.

I’m truly a bike girl. I love Harleys and choppers. I appreciate Jamal’s bike so much. It’s really hard core.