FEATURE – Moon custom Sportster chopper

When you think of custom choppers, first thoughts are likely to be of the USA. Sweden doesn’t immediately spring to mind, does it? But the Nordic region does have a pretty active custom scene, as evidenced by the Sportster-based custom shown here.
It’s the work of Peter Strom, a Stockholm native who’s got a few builds under his belt already, but this creation, completed earlier this year, would have to be his finest yet.

Northern Moon
Along with Norway and Finland, Sweden is sometimes referred to as ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’ – but in this case, maybe that should be the ‘Midnight Moon’ as this build is heavily branded with the logo of the iconic hot rod and speed equipment company.
If you’re not up on Moon history, the company was started by Dean Moon in 1950, selling things like aluminium fuel and oil tanks, wheel covers and other performance parts to hot rodders and drag racers, along with more quirky accessories, like a foot-shaped accelerator pedal. However, it’s the bright yellow drag cars they ran back in the day and the iconic “Mooneyes” logo that helped spread the influence of the Moon brand well beyond the American rod and drag scene.
Today, Moon is known around the world, with the brand’s ongoing presence due largely to Shige Suganuma, a Japanese Moon dealer who revived the company following Dean Moon’s passing in 1987. Under Suganuma’s tenure, there’s now ‘Mooneyes Japan’ and ‘Mooneyes USA’, with the Asian operation a major player in that country’s custom scene, as well as hosts of an annual hot rod and custom show in Yokohama that’s a must-do event for enthusiasts of custom cars and bikes.
But back to Sweden. Like most countries with a healthy custom scene, Moon has a presence there, so when Peter was looking to create a custom with drag racing-inspired touches, Moon was his first choice.
“Let’s face it, what’s more associated with drag racing and hot rods than MOON?” Peter said.
“The whole bike is built around the legendary aluminium oil tank from Moon. And because I wanted a drag racing/hot rod style with this build, it was obvious to ask Hakan at Moon Sweden for help with parts.”
 
Start with a Sportster
Peter’s past builds have included a Sportster chopper for himself and a Sportster bobber for his daughter, so it seemed natural to go with Harley’s compact 883 v-twin for this build, too.
The base unit was a 2003-model Sportster, but not a whole lot of that bike would make it all the way through to the finished article. The engine, brakes and suspension were all either modified or replaced to suit the long, low, drag-style look that Peter was aiming for. The frame, however, got the most radical surgery.
“Instead of following everyone else and make it rigid in the back, I wanted to keep the shocks to have the old school look,” Peter explained. 
“The whole front of the frame was cut away, the back was shortened two inches and the middle modified with some custom sections so the Moon oil tank would fit in. “
A new front frame section was built from the engine mounts forward to make the extended rake work, and while you can see some elements have been retained, like along the top backbone and near the seat mount, there’s not a hell of a lot of the original frame left!
Peter says the bike now measures at 3 inches up with a 39 degree rake, while the forks are now 10 inches over. There’s also a 5 degree tilt in the triple tree. 
The front brake set-up is from a 2006-model Sportster, which required repositioning the brackets to work with the fork, while the actual brake disc is from DNA.
The wheels are original 19-inch and 16-inch Harley spoked mags from the ’80s, Peter says. He painted the centres in satin black, then ground the edges to get that brushed look, which is enhanced with an aluminium sprocket in the back, while the brake disc centres have been picked out in black. 

Hammer of Thor
The same ’03 Sportster that donated the frame to the Moon project also supplied the engine. Well, at least part of it! Like the frame, the engine has been heavily modified. 
On the factory bottom end, Peter’s added cams and 1250cc cylinder barrels from Hammer Performance, as well as hi-comp pistons. The heads are from the aforementioned ’06 Sportster and have been modified to allow the engine to breathe easier.  
“The clutch is an EMF auto clutch with kevlar plates - this makes the shifting really fast!!” Peter enthused. 
“You only need to get off the throttle a little to shift. You don’t really need to use the clutch lever at all. You just shift, then full throttle again!”
The gearbox is a 5 speed – fed by a chain to the rear sprocket instead of a belt – while the engine breathes through a 2-into-1 Screaming Eagle performance exhaust. 

Moon Style
Given Moon’s signature bright yellow colour scheme, which adorned many of their sponsored drag racers back in the day, the temptation would have been to apply the same to this project, but Peter chose a different path: “I wanted the same effect as the oil tank – brushed aluminium. So that started the hunt for aluminium parts.” 
The fuel tank is a stretched Sportster aluminium unit from Easy Rider in Japan, the rear fender is a ‘Tsunami’ from Lowbrow Customs in the US, with the front fender from Hippie Killer Garage, an offshoot of Lowbrows.  Peter said that the front fender needed a lot of grinding and finishing because of the bad quality of the casting. After that, all the tinware was wet-sanded to get the ‘brushed’ look. 
“The idea for the paint came from the box that some of the Moon parts came in,” Peter laughed. Mooneyes logo masking tape from that box was replicated in a stripe running the length of the bike; even over the headlight fairing.
“To get the racing style stronger and put some ‘M-yellow’ on, I decided to add yellow stripes, framing the Mooneyes logos. The rest is brushed aluminium with clear coat.”
Also helping Peter out with this build was “Otto” from Biltwell inc. USA. The saddle, handlebar, bar risers, footpegs and a few other detail parts all came from Biltwell. 
The brake and clutch levers are from the ’06 Sportster, but the switchgear has been replaced with LC-fabrication “switch housing delete” blocks for a cleaner look. 
 “All the parts that aren’t brushed aluminium or yellow are powder coated in satin black. I think that there is not a piece on the bike that is chromed!”
The fuel cap, primary cover and cap for the brake master cylinder are some of the many items on the bike to carry Moon branding – there’s no mistaking it’s a ‘Moon machine’!

Ready to Roll
Given there were a couple of significant stakeholders in this project, in the form of Moon and Biltwell, Peter says everything he did on this bike was undertaken with extremely high quality and style in mind.
That said, this bike won’t be just a showpiece. All the engine mods point to the Moon chopper being put to the test in the dragstrip. Peter estimates the drivetrain now makes a little over 100hp on the back wheel and he’s keen to prove that! 
“Soon I will try it on a strip in the class of ‘bracket’ to see how good it is. Fingers crossed it’ll be amazing!”

Words: Mike Ryan and Peter Strom
Photos: Peter Strom

Get to MOONEYES HRCS with Gearheadz

Japan’s annual MOONEYES Hot Rod and Custom Show (HRCS) is at the top of most people’s bucket list of custom shows to attend as it features some of the best custom motorcycles and cars in the world. Shige Suganuma (owner of MOONEYES USA) and his crew work all year to ensure you will not be disappointed.
Held at the Pacifico Exhibition Centre in Yokohama on the first Sunday in December each year, MOONEYES HRCS presents around 800 two- and four-wheel customs, with the bikes covering everything from bobbers and sports customs to old school choppers, all with one thing in common - a standard of craftsmanship and attention to detail that’ll make your eyes water.
This year’s 26th MOONEYES HRCS will feature Traditional Choppers as one of the themes, but the event isn’t just about cars and bikes. There are some killer bands and an incredible lineup of lowbrow artists and artisans from across the globe, while stripers like Ken the Flat Top will be pulling lines on everything from helmets to cameras – and even some ‘live’ subjects.
You will see scores of vendor stands, too, selling everything from clothing, custom parts and leather work to a brand new knucklehead engine!
If you have ever wanted to catch up with some of the elder statesmen of the custom scene (Gene Winfield, John d’Agostino, Chopper Dave, Pete Chapouris, Indian Larry, Kutty Noteboom and Cole Foster are among past attendees), MOONEYES is the place to do it. 
As a wise man once said, “Do yourself a favour”. Don't just dream about it, take the plunge and get along to MOONEYES HRCS this year. 
Gearheadz Travel are hosting two different MOONEYES tours to Japan this year. Choose between the usual Ten Day Tour for $4,500 (incl. airfares, accommodation, airport transfers, MOONEYES event entry and 4/5-day coach tour), or a Five Day Tour for $2,500 (incl. airfares, accommodation, airport transfers and MOONEYES event entry).
Contact Gearheadz Travel on: [email protected] for booking and further details.