American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 170 September 2013 | Page 21

is designed to accept as many stock part as possible but at the same time giving the end user the option of using a stock, 23in, 26in or 30in wheel configuration at the front, or a wider rear tire. The options do not stop there either, as Rolling Thunder offers its Bagger frames with choices such as a single down tubes, or radiused down tubes, all of which allows riders to build bikes that look different. aggers are not the only trend that Sam has noticed developing. “The sports bike craze, which is big in Europe, is coming to America, and we’re getting a lot of requests for FXR frames, as the FXR is the original American sport bike. It is the best handling frame Harley ever put out and our version of the frame will accept either a Shovel motor or a Twin Cam making it very adaptable.” It is not just traditional air-cooled V-twin power plants that Rolling Thunder are developing frames for, as Sam explains when he talks about a bike Fred was working on as a possible entry for the World Championship of Custom Bike Building. “For our latest prototype frame we have taken a bunch of components from a Kawasaki ZX14 and incorporated them into a European sport bike-like chassis that holds a V-Rod powertrain. So, basically, this is a V-Rod frame but with Japanese sport bike parts on it. Because of that we decided it would be a good choice to bring to Big Bike Europe. It’s been a cool design project and it’s been getting a lot of attention here. It also brings people to look at our other more conventional frames,” says Sam. e continued talking about the new prototype saying: “Rat wanted to build this for his entry into the World Championship, but we didn’t have time to finish it. Instead we stripped it down and just brought the bare roller over instead. While it is looks to have the potential to be a big seller in Europe, it is also looking like it will be a definite cross-over success with the North American market.” That prototype frame, like all the other frames that Rolling Thunder had on display at Big Bike Europe, had been left in its raw state. This was a deliberate move by Fred and Sam to allow potential customers to closely examine the quality of the work done on it. Fred says this is done to: “Let people see what we do and how we do it, they can see our welds, nothing is hidden under paint, and we don’t grind our welds. We stand behind our product and we want to show people that. I want people to look at the frames and to ask questions. It is important that the end user is knowledgeable about what he is using.”

Today Rolling Thunder has expanded from frames sales to offering rollers and comprehensive build packages

B

H

espite the number of frames being produced by the company, the operation still remains very traditional with none of the production processes being automated, rather it is all hand made. When each frame is complete the quality control process begins with the install of a dummy motor, transmission, primary and also the swingarm. This is all done to ensure that everything will line up correctly for the end user. It also allows suspension movement and clearance to be checked. While these parts are being installed to check alignment and clearance, the threads on the frame are cleaned with a tap at the same time. “It is partly because of the time we spend inspecting our frames before we let them go that they are so expensive,” explains Sam. “It takes longer to do the quality control than to build the frame itself.” That quality control is not just left to any one who happens to be available as Sam points out:

D

“The good thing about working with Fred is that he’s very much a ‘hands-on’ type of guy. He’s not the sort of owner that simply sits back, he’ll come in evenings and work on projects and builds to the point where if there’s a design aspect he’s not sure of he’ll test it himself. It is nice to work with someone like that, someone who has an in-depth understanding of the business and the product. He takes his work very seriously, be it bike building or frame building, he’s really hands on. It is fun to work with someone like that rather than a boss who simply orders you around.” nother change that has come about with Fred’s ownership of the business is the range of work and parts the company is now able to offer to its customers. In the past Rolling Thunder only offered frames, but today it is happy to build rollers; adding front ends, wheels and other parts to the frames it retails. Sam and the team at Rolling Thunder already knew key players in the industry >>>

A

Singl K\?YY??[??\?\?\?HH?[\??[??H??[Y\?X[?Y?X?\?Y?H??[??[?\?????SQ?[\[??\???B???[H?Y??\???[Y\?\?H?\?H]X?[?[X[??]\??[\H??Z[?Y][?[???????\???[Y\?]??[??[?\???SQT?P?S?S???P?HPST?H?TSP?T??L???B??