Someone asked what was happening in the shop. I’ll tell you, goddammit. I took the Hugh “Chopper” King Discovery bike out of the museum and decided I needed to ride it.

I jammed up Boulder Canyon out of Sturgis and discovered a handful of issues. The front brake caliper leaked. The oil bag leaned against the rear exhaust. The exhaust burnt my leg. Loud as fuck, it didn’t give the killer S&S big-inch engine any back pressure. The rear, right side drive chain guard sprayed my back with shitty chain oil. The list grew and we went to work.

With the help of Paughco, I made a new two-into-one exhaust system. We removed the engine and discovered an issue with the frame. I yanked the cool, 4.5 quart oil bag out and Dorian from Jerry Greer’s in Deadwood modified it, while I cut and modified the seat post.

We ended up tearing out some of the wiring and replacing the bad ignition switch with a cool Cycle Visions unit with the starter relay built-in. The stretched puppy didn’t have an oil filter or an oil pressure gauge. I remedied those issues and ran new oil lines.

I reached out to S&S for some help with wiring. As soon as this puppy is up and ready, I will shift to Bonneville trike projects. We may be headed back to Bonneville in 2026.

I’ll hit you with another Chopper King Report in the next couple of weeks.

--Bandit