News — Chopper
Leigh - Josh Ehren's Hardtail Sportster
As a boy growing up in rural Wisconsin, Josh Ehren only knew two things: the Green Bay Packers and Harley-Davidson. The latter was only emphasized by his natural fascination with motorcycles and solidified by his experiences with his dad’s bike, which was his ride home after the bus stop every day.
The Ski Team
The Congregation Show, our collaboration with Dice Magazine, was postponed, then most recently canceled as we continue to react to the reality that is 2020. Rest assured, we didn’t take the decision lightly and it stung more than most. And, even though we stand by it, we didn’t want that to be the final nail in our summer’s coffin.
Aerial Reel - Fun
Crazy doesn’t begin to explain the times we’re all living in right now. But, there’s one thing we’re pretty sure of. In addition to all of our humanistic needs, we all just want to enjoy life and have fun. Fun looks like a lot of different things for a lot of different people. For us (and probably for you if you’re reading this), fun looks like riding motorcycles with friends.
Meet the Team: Mitch “Theo” Johnson
His focus in high school was on cars, but 12 years ago when he moved to North Carolina, he bought an old Honda motorcycle basket case. New to the city, he spent his time building the bike back to its former glory… in his apartment.
Behind The Scenes - 1949 Survivor Panhead Shoot
I got to shoot a Harley-Davidson this past weekend in the Ford building at Camp North End (CNE). I’m nervous about this photo set because it’s a pretty far departure from my usual style of shooting.
Let's Go
We love motorcycles and everything that comes with them. Along the way, we’ve pulled inspiration from others and pushed to forge a unique path of our own.
In our latest effort to do this while bringing in the new year, we’ve teamed up with Remedy, a production company based in our home state of North Carolina to make a video intended to be a love letter to our industry and culture.
Let's Go.
2019 Blue Ridge Stakeout
The inaugural Blue Ridge Stakeout took place a week ago. After a weekend of riding, swimming, music and camping, everyone in our crew is already itching to do it again.
Greg’s 1975 Shovelhead
This bike was built for one of our good friends Greg. Greg really trusted us with overstyle and basically said “build what you like.” We wanted to build something timeless & traditional so this is what we came up with!
From the very beginning, we knew we wanted 18/21 wheel combo with stock panhead frame dimensions, springer front end, forward controls and tall bars (Greg is 6’7”!) Aside from those things we weren't worried about the rest of the individual parts. We knew if we had those components, everything else would come together just the way we wanted...and it sure enough did.
We started building the bike in June of 2018. We made the entire frame excluding the neck. We wanted to use the original neck because it contained the VIN but of course we rarely leave anything factory, so we decided we had to modify it by “windowed” it.
We retrofit the stock style axle plates to fit a juice drum. Once the frame was complete, we began working on the stance. The 18/21 wheel combo with high shoulder aluminum rims partnered with the chrome 4+ front end really helped the overall stance. We then figure out bars and riser height. We made the risers using Flanders style clamps. The riser are actually brazed onto the springer top clamp and then chromed so it has a nice 1-piece finish. The risers were then fitted with our 10” hurricane bars.
About the time the roller & stance were figured out, the engine was completed by @prism_derek. We then mounted the lowbrow customs Tanks and fender, the chrome oil tank, river seat and p-pad. We also made the hard oil lines in house using 36-37 style knucklehead banjo fittings. From here we decided on the exhaust with which Greg had some really great input on. We chose the overall style of the exhaust together and then when we thought we were finished we decided it would be nice to add the “trumpet” flares at the very tips.
The very last thing we did was add some miscellaneous rod to certain parts of the frame, fender, and tank that would eventually be bondo’d and molded to give it the last little touch of “custom.” Some people may not even notice the molding but if you look close enough, we think you’ll appreciate it!
Our brother @calebhindes painted it from a color we chose with Greg. It's a ‘69 Camaro color called Dusk Blue. The bike was completed in December of 2018.
Prism production parts on the build:
- 10” hurricane bars
- Prism Chopper Tail light
- Prism chopper Tail light bracket
- Vintage Cloth Covered Wire
- Vintage Spark Plug Wires
- Kicker Pedal
- Ignition Cover
- License Plate Jewels
- ¼” NPT Stainless Petcock & Fuel Line
- Grip Collars
- Key Switch
- Key Switch Bracket
Prism Custom Parts on the build:
- Frame
- Sissy Bar
- Exhaust
- Choke knob
- Risers / top clamp combo
- Foot Pegs
- 36-37 knucklehead style oil lines
Special thanks: Greg Mitchell (owner), Prism Crew - Mitch, Zach, Rob, Derek, Alistair, Jake, Bens V-twin (Transmission), Matt Best (Photos), Drew from Freakshow fab for keeping up with the maintenance.
New Apparel! Crewnecks, Beanies and More.
Just in time for the new season, we've hooked up with Daniel Sheridan to design us some fresh designs for our latest apparel line up.
Prism Heads West - 2018 Born Free Motorcycle Show
This year, instead of building a bike for the show, we were asked to build a giveaway bike for one of the lucky attendees to win. We were given 100% creative freedom for the Born Free crew. They only thing they said they wanted is a “chopper.”
"Ramble on, Brother"
In “Ramble on, Brother,” Prism Supply's third short film with Rob Russell, a self-reflective old timer reminisces on his past of riding motorcycles with his closest friends and how those simple times are the ones he remembers most. This is a story of adventure and friendship. Kick up your boots, have a watch and go live your story.