Lucifer: Renegade Turbo-Charged Monster Chopper

I HAD RIDDEN bikes for years and got involved with modifying or building bikes to take big motors; it progressed from there.

Right from the start we used a bottom-end that was designed and built by John Trease Race Engines in Melbourne, and initially we used another company in the States to do our barrels and heads. There were a couple of Americans involved with the designing back at that stage; these days we do everything here in Australia.

We recently changed to a more heavier style of barrels and hemi-style heads. The motor is 30 mm taller than a stock Evo; we thickened up the fins, changed the rocker boxes cosmetically; basically, we are trying to improve it.

Instead of having cast iron sleeves inside aluminium barrels like other motors, we machine our barrels to the desired size and then have them coated with a hard ceramic called Nikasil. We now use a Melbourne company to do our coatings and they are the best in the world; their coating has an inbuilt lubricant which also helps the heat distribution. Because there are no cast iron cylinders, the heat transfers out a lot quicker. Our motors run a good eight to ten degrees cooler than a standard Harley.

Steve Folkes in Sydney has been drag-racing one of our 113 cubic inch motors for the last five years. He is extremely competitive against other brands and he has never stripped it down.

We supply the Renegade motor with a 48 mm Mikuni carby and a Dyna 2000 I ignition system. We are working on a fuel injection system at the moment and it will be available in the future.

However, although it’s ready to run, it’s not going to go straight into a Softail. You have to make a small modification to allow clearance for a rear rocker cover bolt. You can either cut a wedge out of the frame and plate it, or cut your upright bar off, raise the frame half-an-inch and then re-plate. Most good custom bike shops should be able to get the work done professionally and have it certified.

All your original gear—transmission, clutch, etc—will work with the Renegade motor.

Our first motors were 124 cubic inches but when we sent them to the States, we had many requests for a bigger size. These days our motors are 147 cubic inches (2410 cc) which is pretty much bigger than anything else on the market.

You can expect 140—145 horsepower and 173 ft/pounds of torque out of the box. We have a guy in Melbourne who’s been playing with his motor and he’s getting 155 hp.

This is the fifth bike we have actually built—the others were bikes that you get out and ride. We went a little bit further with this one, to show what you can do with a Renegade motor if you are into the show circuit.

The frame was made by 8 Ball in the States. Apparently they had made it for a customer who pulled out of the deal. They offered it to us at the right price so we grabbed it.

We used one of our 147 cubic inch, dual-cam motors with diamond-cut fins. It runs into a five-inch Hi Tech belt drive primary with Blade cover.

We used an American Suspension, 16-inch-over front-end; and Cheyenne-style Renegade wheels with the latest Avon Cobra tyres taking the ‘blade’ theme all the way through the bike.

It sat around the workshop as a rolling chassis for a while. I even contacted a few bike shops to see if they would take on the project but they were busy at the time. Eventually, we did a deal with Mike Stafford at MGS Custom Bikes in the States who basically did the job at cost price.

We built the bike until it was about 75 percent finished, then shipped it across to the States.

Mike finished off the manufacturing of the tank. One side is an oil tank; the other a fuel tank. The cover conceals all the filler holes, feeder holes and oil lines. MGS also made the handlebars and all the oil lines and wiring are hidden from view. The rear suspension is mono-shock controlled by a hidden compressor.

American Turbo fitted the turbo charger making sure that it fitted underneath the fuel//oil tank and it all ran smoothly into one.

Once it was finished, it was stripped down and painted by Josh of JE Illusions. Josh is one of the most sort-after painters in the States so it was a privilege to have him put his skills to the test on this project.

Finally it was bolted back together and shipped back to us to do the final touches before the Gold Coast Bike Week where we picked up Best Engineered.

We will build custom bikes for people but only if they use one of our motors. We want to sell motors, and if we have to build bikes to get the motors out there for people to see, that’s what we’ll do.

My own bike, which I ride six to seven days a week, has plenty of grunt but is totally rideable and reliable. We basically build a drag motor for street use. If you want to take your bike out and wring its neck occasionally, you know your Renegade motor can take it.

pics by Walter Wall; words by Shane

Harmony

I HAVE done some other magazine work before—People, Picture, Mayfair, and Playboy—so I guess modelling is my forte at the moment. I’m actually studying business at uni but I definitely enjoy doing modelling so I do it every time I get the opportunity.

I don’t have many hobbies—except sunbaking and shopping with friends. Sure, I love shopping for shoes like every other girl, but I actually love buying underwear. I would buy underwear over shoes any day. It makes you feel good if you have a pretty pair of underpants on.