Green Gringo Chopper

JAMIE RINGO Richards wanted to build a bike that could be used every day so he started to collect the parts and stored them in the garage under the house next to his ’97 Silverado Extra Cab. Then SHIT HAPPENS! He was at the pub when the house caught fire and he lost the lot. The toys in the garage were not insured.

Now Ringo works in the type of bricks that are used in large industrial furnaces, and his work takes him all over the country. It was while he was building his house from Sydney that he started on the bike project again— and the Green Gringo was born.

The frame is a right-side-drive Mid West. Its theme was to be pointy so it was drawn on paper first looking like waves at sea. Some metal was fashioned to fill in the front of the frame just behind the Mean Streets Warlord front-end; the triple trees are Accutronix.

The bars are LA Choppers; the hand controls coming from Accutronix with internal clutch and throttle cables. The switch blocks and hand grips are BDL. The mirrors are Raptors and match the flowing design.

The RAD 2 rocker covers help keep a calm look on the 124 ci, diamond cut, TP Pro series motor. This is hooked up to a six-speed Road Max box via a 4 inch, Kenny Boyce, Pro Street open primary. The chain drive is for the old style look and helps give this chopper its heritage. The pipes are Skirt Lifters by Martin Brothers.

The rear guard received the pointy treatment but this did give it some flex so a rod was formed into the design to add the extra strength; the front guard received the same treatment. 

The rear tyre is a 300/35 R 18 Avon Venom while the front is a 80/90 R 21 Avon Venom, both on RC Components Gladiators rims which took six weeks to arrive from time of order. The motor took 10 weeks to arrive. Some things just want to piss you off.

The stopping power, at the front, comes from the Arlen Ness four-spots; the rear is from Exile with the caliper working on the sprocket.

The Dakota digital speedo lets Ringo know how slow he is going. The fuel tank is an Independent and was skillfully stretched by Natlis. The seat was designed by Ringo which he said was very comfortable. The airbrushing was done by Adrian with the green colour applied by Natlis.

For Ringo, the project was awesome! The best thing is the looks he gets riding on the roads as most people get whiplash from turning their heads too quickly. 

Ringo built it to be ridden daily, not trailered to shows and never started, and the best trophies for this are the stone chips it receives on the highway.

words & pics by Wayne Burrows