You get Awesome, I double the Win.

Out of the 52 YOTC bikes, 34 have been sold...raising a total of $2900 that's been split between Home Fur-Ever and LifeBuilders Detroit. Thank YOU so much for the help in supporting causes I believe in!

But now, for the 18 remaining pieces, let's up the ante. Whichever YOTC piece you buy, I will match the money....effectively doubling the donation.

Buy Maestro for $130, and $260 will go to charity.



Let's see how much money we can raise in the next 2 weeks.

All 18 bikes are listed in the "Choppers for Charity" section of the BDW online store.

A few of the pieces available:

The Final Chop

52 weeks. 52 sculptures for charity. Over.

"Revelations" is the final Motorcycle Sculpture in the Year of the Chopper Project. So far half of the pieces have sold, and we've raised over two thousand dollars that has been split between Home Fur-Ever and LifeBuilders Detroit. That means that once all 52 bikes have sold we will have surpassed our goal of $4k! You can purchase one of the remaining pieces in the Choppers for Charity section of my online Etsy store. Feel free to spread the word!

So here is Revelations. Admire it carefully....or suffer the fate of my buddy Joe:

Epic way to finish! A skull, engraved flames, and a flippin' COFFIN GAS TANK!!! Too much win!

*head explodes*

-click on the pics for larger sizes and more pictures-









Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support over the last year, I truly appreciate it!

A Trifecta, the end is near.

Life has been a little hectic of late, so I've been behind updating the project blog. The project itself, however, never stopped...and there is only ONE week left!

So here are the last couple of pieces....

Week 49 and 50 are available on Etsy:

"Undertow"





"Full Metal Jacket"





And bike 51 is up for auction now: "MotoHawk"

West coast dreaming...

This is how I imagine a West Coast cruiser, rolling down the PCH from Orange County to San Diego.

Bike #152, the 47th Year of the Chopper piece, is called "The Pacific" and it's available in the Brown Dog Welding Etsy store right now.

Year of the Chopper #46 is up for bidding for a couple of more days! It's an Ironhead powered Sportster bobber with some cool crossed exhaust pipes. Get on it here!

Hello Maestro

I was a bit under the weather last week when the idea for this bike struck me. I wanted kind of a "full body" look, from the full fenders in the back up through gas tank and the sweeping fender in the front. So I got out to the shop and made it happen, and this is the result.

It's bike #147, and I call it Maestro. It's the 42nd bike I've built for the Year of the Chopper project. I used expanded metal in some of the pics to give them kind of a "spy shot" feel.

Check the links on the right side of this page for info on purchasing this piece.

Dirty Harry

As one friend told me, I finally did a "real" bike. I've got a lot of buddies that are into dirt bikes, so I figured it was time I tried my hand at building a sculpture of one.

It's loosely based on a Kawasaki KX 250. This is the 40th YOTC, and the 145th bike overall that I've made. You can get your bidding on HERE, or if it makes it through the week without selling you will find it in my Choppers for Charity section on Etsy.

The Story Behind the 2011 Mustang GT Sculpture

It was pretty cool how this project came about. My buddy Joe was deployed in the Middle East last year. Joe's a cool dude...he's in a band, rides a Ducati, and carries a machine gun. He was also the first person to purchase one of my motorcycle sculptures, WAAAAY back in 2008. He owns bikes #5, #13, and bike #125 was modeled after his old bike. I did that for him when he returned to the states.

Another friend of ours, Shaun, is just an all around good guy. He also has a deep respect for those who have defended our country in the military. He's one of those people that makes sure to say thanks whenever he comes across a veteran or an active soldier. Here's a quote from Shaun:

When I found out that Joe was going to be deployed I started to stockpile car magazines (and a few playboys). When he got over there I asked him if he needed or wanted anything specific, and there were two things he wanted: Gel to reduced Razor bumps when shaving your head and dark choc Reese cups. So I got them both (the gel was a pain to find lol).

I ended up sending 35lbs of magazines and Reeses to Joe for him and his unit to share.

To Shaun, this was just the right thing to do. But to Joe it meant a lot, getting a bit of home sent to him when he was many thousands of miles away, and when he got back he wanted to show him his appreciation.

Shaun's a Ford guy through and through, and even before the new 5.0 powered 2011 Mustang GT became available he signed his name on the dotted line. Sometime between when Shaun ordered the car and the expected delivery date, Joe decided that the best way to thank Shaun was to commission me to build him a sculpture of the Mustang GT. I was obviously excited to do so!

Another mutual friend is Matt, and he's a photographer, so we arranged to meet Shaun to do a photo shoot of the Grabber Blue GT on Belle Isle in Detroit. We let Joe know, and he met us there with the sculpture to surprise Shaun. I'm pretty sure he dug it(thanks to Matt for these pics)!






Here are a couple of pics of the sculpture. You can check out more here:2011 Mustang GT Sculpture





And the photo shoot was pretty successful too.



Matt got some really spectacular captures. Check them out here!

And some more details Shaun gave me on the car itself(he's planning on driving the hell out of it!). Rumor has it that there may be more to come :secret:

2011 Mustang GT 5.0 Premium
Grabber Blue
6spd manual
Brembo brake pack
3.73 L/S Axle
HID headlights
Security package
Navigation/10gb hard drive
Upgraded interior


Mods:
FRPP 1.5" drop springs
FRPP Adjustable dampers
Steeda adjustable front sway bar
Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plate
Steeda Bump steer kit
Reahagen Racing Brake ducts
Steeda adjustable panhard bar
Reahagen Racing Chrome Moly rear lower control arms
Motol RBF 600 Brake fluid
Roush 427R bumper custom painted, with splitter
Mustang GT/CS rear spoiler
Mustang RTR 19x9.5 wheels -Street
Goodyear Eagle F1-D3 275/40-19- Street
Roush Trak Pak forged wheel 18x10 - Track
Hoosier A6 275/35-18 -Track
It's prepped for NASA TT-A
(NASA= National Auto Sport Association)

I was stoked to be able to have a small part in this story. A huge thanks to Joe for thinking of me when he decided to repay Shaun for his good deed, and thanks to Matt for the pics!

Thumper the Pavement Pounder

I tried a few new tricks on YOTC #38. I exaggerated the features height wise just slightly, as opposed to lengthwise like on the last piece.

Get in on the bidding here to help Home Fur-Ever and Lifebuilders Detroit.

More from my mind...

Like last week's bike, YOTC #37 isn't modeled after any particular motorcycle. I had an idea in my mind for a smooth, curved, and flowing design, and put the metal together accordingly. The result is a piece that looks to be in motion even as it's still, all by using the natural shape of a few allen wrenches and doing a little tweaking to some tubing, nails, and tig rod.

"Salvador" can be bid on here!

A Lowdown and Dirty Shame

Here she is, Bike #140 and the thirty-sixth YOTC, "Lowdown and Dirty Shame." It's a ground hugging, v-twin powered chop that is as mean as it looks.

Bid on this piece HERE!

Click on the pics to get a bigger view and check out the details.

Metal Sculpture "White Noise"

I gotta a little behind this week and was out of town for a few days...and totally blew posting this week's Year of the Chopper. There's only 3 hours left on the auction for White Noise, but if you miss it there, look for it in the Choppers for Charity section of my Etsy store.

Shapeshifter Triumph

The 33rd Year of the Chopper bike is a Triumph, not modeled after a specific bike, just a look I dig. Low, raked out, bobbed, short pipes....nice and clean.

On this bike, my 135th motorcycle sculpture overall, I used fuel lines for the exhaust and allen wrenches for the front forks and handlebars. The engine is made from an old piece of threaded rod with a cleaned up nut making the head.

Bid on this bike here: Tig welded Triumph for Charity

The progression of a Harley

Last week I made a sculpture of 1991 Harley Custom Softail. I snapped some pics of it with my Palm Pre as I went.

not much yet..



the Evo is in the frame, the tank is on, and the forks are attached..



the rear wheel is on as well as the rest of the frame...



rear fender and seats are in place...



next is the exhaust...



front fender, headlight, handlebars, ballgame.



The finished product: