The Resurrection of Captain America

  

 

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  The bike shop where I work is an old school, independent shop. On any given day, we might be boring cylinders for an old panhead or maybe a 1970's-era Yamaha DT-250. The next day we might be bringing an '84 Gold Wing back from the dead.  We fix the machines that nobody else around can fix or will fix, since most of the franchised dealers don't want to work on anything more than ten years old.  Most of what I lay hands on in a given week are run-of-the-mill older motorcycles and not terribly exciting, but the flip side to that story is that occasionally some really cool things pass my way.  
    Awhile back, a local guy by the name of Chuck Kennedy comes into our shop, and starts talking about this chopper he wants to build. Now it's been my experience that most people who wander into our shop talking about building a bike are never going to take it past the talking stage, and the ones that do are more likely to build a monstrosity than a desirable machine. That's just human nature I guess. We're all better at dreaming and thinking than we are at creating, which is why so many projects go unfinished, but Chuck was different. He wanted to build a motorcycle, and not just any motorcycle.

See, Chuck saw a movie back in 1970 at the old (and now long gone) Corral Drive-In in Lake Worth Texas called "Easy Rider", starring a few unknown actors like Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson. Maybe you've seen it. The movie also starred a couple of motorcycles - Fonda's "Captain America" bike and Hopper's "Billy" bike. Chuck saw the movie about 15 times, and he decided that he had to have a "Captain America" bike. Yeah, and when I was 15,  I was going to have a Ferrari Daytona with Raquel Welch in the passenger seat. Kids think like that.  Chuck grew up and lived in the real world of jobs and bills like everyone else, but unlike a lot of folks, he didn't let the dream go.

 

 

 
  He was still going to have that bike someday. He had motorcycles around all along, but not THE motorcycle.  Then one day he looked up and  discovered that he was 50 years old, and the little voices said "Chuck, time to do it if you're ever going to do it.", and Chuck listened. He realized that he was finally in a position where he could devote the necessary time and finances to the project,  and that now it really just came down to: How badly did he really want it? Bad enough apparently, because Chuck got busy.  

Step one was gathering information and specs, which were not easy to come by. The original "Captain America" bike wasn't available, because nobody knows where it went. The story (and yeah there are several versions out there), but the most credible story is that the bikes (there were two of them) were stolen and stripped, and when found a few hours later there were only some parts left. Those parts supposedly made their way onto a part original/part replica machine that now lives in a small private museum somewhere in Texas.  I'm following up with a few sources I know as this goes to press trying to

 

Dave Dommert, Chuck Kennedy, Adam Kennedy

 

  

 

 
  find THAT machine, but I'm not holding my breath because the lore behind the original Captain America bike is kinda like the lore behind the Lost Dutchman's Mine. Everyone can relate something they've heard about it but nobody seems to truly know anything. 

 Chuck spent about a year hunting specifications and cultivating sources of information.  He also spent countless hours pouring over all the information and photos he could find on the bike, and watching the DVD of Easy Rider until he pretty much wore it out, just figuring out all the details. A big part of the process was rounding up talent and know-how, and the key component fell into place when Chuck was talking with his brother David Kennedy about the project, and David suggested that Chuck should look up a guy by the name of Ronnie Spikes and see if Ronnie was interested in getting involved in the project.  Chuck did just that, and Ronnie was soon onboard and lending his considerable talent and knowledge to the project. Chuck says that was the turning point at which he started to believe that he was actually going to be able to make this happen.

 
 

Finally, all the information was at hand, the sources lined up, the parts and components had arrived, all the trial fitting was done and the chrome pieces were chrome and the painted pieces were painted and it was time for Chuck, Ronnie, along with Chuck's son Adam, to build a motorcycle. Assembly took two full weekends of intensive effort, but all the homework paid off, because it all went together just like they'd planned. If you know anything about how a custom project like this usually goes, you know that a bike that goes together without a hitch speaks very highly of the knowledge, planning and organization skills of the builders. 

Chuck asked me to acknowledge the following people for their contributions to the project, and I'm happy to do it because people who can make cool things happen are rare and somehow they often go undiscovered unless they manage to wind up with a TV show.

   
  Richard Hains of Classic Choppers Inc.,  in Milton, Ontario, Canada,  for being so generous with his time, knowledge, and information. Richard was also an invaluable source of parts machined  out of "unobtanium"...he supplied parts that were otherwise unavailable.

Reggie Horvath of Sacramento V-Twin in Sacramento, California - Reggie was  an invaluable source for those impossible to find parts.

Scott Glasgow of American Cycles in Fort Worth, Texas for his help with finding both parts and information.

Mike Patterson and Ryan Ross of Totally Graphics Designs in Weatherford, Texas for the paintwork.

Dave and Ruth Dommert of DRD Machine in Weatherford, Texas for their help in researching and procuring the right frame and engine.

Adam Kennedy, Chuck's son, who was onboard all along and who was elbow deep in the building blitz.

Chuck would also like to extend a special thank-you to his good friend Ronnie Spikes of Weatherford, Texas, without whose help this project would have never seen the light of day.

  

 
       
  I asked Chuck how he felt about his bike now that it's done and he said "I wanted this bike for 36 years. When you want something for so long - you want to make it happen but you don't know if you can actually do it - and then one day you've done it, and there it is. You step back and look at it...and the feeling is indescribable...it's just overwhelming.

Then I asked the obvious final question...."Chuck, where do you go from here?" Chuck and I are the same age, and I've been around long enough to know that a guy like this isn't going to just sit back and polish his bike, and I was right. The answer was, "We're going to sell this bike, and we're going to build another one. And I'm going to build a "Billy" bike so I have a set. If there's people out there who want them, we're going to build a few of those sets, and in the middle of all of that we're working on plans for some niche choppers that won't require an unlimited budget to own.".

  
 

Sounds good to me, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Spikes render next!  Readers can contact Chuck at CDK54U@hotmail.com, and more photos are online at www.videobiker.com.                                                                             

 
   
 


Until next time,

Joe - The VideoBiker

jthevideobiker@yahoo.com

www.videobiker.com

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