The Bodybuilder, Alexis & the Blue Chopper
Paul didn’t want to go over the top with his bike-build. He wanted a traditional chopper that he could ride everyday.
THE BLUE CHOPPER rides really nice now compared to what it used to. I had to muck around to get the right rake because it was really hard to ride with the front-end that I had set up originally. I went with the Climax controls option so everything runs internally. The front-end is American Suspension. It’s a two-spot brake on the front.
I’ve tried to keep the bike street legal so I don’t get hassled by the cops too much. I’ve spent a bit of time getting all the lights and indicators right on it. With the chain guard, I’ve left one of the brackets on so I can run the chain guard if I need to.
Shane at Speed Demon Cycles did all the fabrication work. He put a lot of time and effort into the detail. A couple of other people that I’ve been to over the years just couldn’t get what I wanted in their end result. Shane’s really good to deal with and we’re on the same page. Between Shane and the painter, I was very happy with the outcome.
I didn’t want to go over the top with it. It’s nice and clean and that’s how I wanted to build it. I’ve built a bike that I can ride as an everyday bike if I decide to go that way. I’ll put it in a few shows to start with and I’ll ride it quite a bit later.
photos by Wall 2 Wall; words by Paul R
Alexis the Model
I HAVEN’T been modelling long. I only started at the end of last year. My first job modelling was for Picture and People magazines so it was a big step up, but I’ve become used to it since then. I started getting jobs firstly through an advert on the internet that was looking for models of all shapes and sizes. A company contacted me and helped me set up a folio on the internet because I am a freelance model. They took some photos, submitted them to Picture and People, and I won Beaut Bum. I was like ‘wow’. I’ve had a lot of modelling work since then just not magazine work.
This is my first time doing a job with motorbikes. It makes me want one but they look too perfect to ride, too clean and chromy. I used to ride a Pee Wee 50 when I was younger, maybe 10 years ago.
I’m studying psychology at university but I want to keep modelling as a hobby while I can because it’s a lot of fun, like today it was great.
