Brock Bridges Tribute To The 70's

like many, Brock Bridges started riding dirt bikes when he was young at around 8 years old. Bridges inherited his love for two wheels from his Grandfather and his Dad. At an early age, Brock learned about Hot Rods, fabrication, and motorcycles. Brock told me that his entire family was into drag racing and hot rods. He actually started out with a love for those cars. He fondly recalls working on them with his Dad in their twocar garage at home. At just twelve years old, he learned to weld in that home shop. He quickly realized that motorcycles were smaller and took up less room in the shop, so he built his first street bike, an old BSA, at the age of 16. He modified the frame by building the entire back half, made new sheet metal, and painted the bike himself. Within the next year or so, he was building his first Harley, and he was definitely hooked. Of course, Brock is now a Union Ironworker and builds bikes on the side. ridges said he always loved the 70s style Chopper and knew he needed to build one. After building several smaller bobber and lane splitter style bikes, he decided it was time to tackle his dream and push his limits.

The first pieces of the puzzle were

the handmade wheels. Brock said that this was the most challenging part of the build. He had to hand-build a jig and be careful to be sure the wheels were true. The rest of the bike was formed around the wheels, with a vision that Brock had in his head. As he was building the frame to hold the beautiful 1977 Shovelhead engine, he knew right away there would be a gap at the front and immediately knew how he would fill it with the exhaust. The exhaust is one of the most beautiful features of the bike. It was definitely one of the first things I noticed. Brock

knew he had to make sure that the exhaust flowed perfectly with the 55-degree raked and 9 inches stretched frame and did a spectacular job executing it.

Bridges did everything on the bike, the fabrication, the leatherwork, the engine, and the paint. The only thing he sent out was the chrome. He hand-built the bars, hand and foot controls, headlight, taillight, fuel and oil tanks, and the rear fender. And the best part… yes, it is rideable!

The first time I saw the bike sitting in the Horse Barn at the BC Moto Invitational in Tennessee, it stopped me in my tracks! And man did it turn heads as he was riding it around the campground at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch during the 2019 TMMR.

The name, yeah, was named Crotch Rot, but not for reasons you’d ever guess… it was a play on the term “Crotch Rocket” since it is completely opposite of that type of bike! Brock literally thought of everything! And of course, I asked how he came up with that crazy custom color, “Crotch Rot Green” his response was… “It’s considered bad ju-ju to paint a race car or a motorcycle green, so I knew right off the bat I wanted a nasty-looking green, plus it fits with the name.”

Not only is Brock a talented

Owner: Brock Bridges City/State: Nilwood, Il Builder: Brock Bridges Year: 1977 Model: POS Value: Priceless Time: Too Much

Engine Year: 1977 Model: Shovelhead Builder: Brock Bridges Ignition: Morris Displacement: 1200 Pistons: Harely-Davidson Heads: Harely-Davidson Carb: Harely-Davidson Cam: Harely-Davidson Air Cleaner: Sucks Exhaust: Brock Bridges Primary: Brock Bridges

Transmission Year: 1970 Make: Harely-Davidson Shifting: Jockey

Frame Year: 2019 Model: Brock Bridges Rake: 55 Degrees Stretch: 9

Forks Builder:Brock Bridges Type: Springer Triple Trees: Extension: 30”

Wheels Front Wheel: Brock Bridges Size: 21” Tire: Firestone Front Brake: Sucks Rear Wheel: Brock Bridges Size: 18” Tire: Firestone Rear Brake: Willwood

Paint Painter: Brock Bridges Color: Crotch Rot Green Type: In House Graphics: Brock Bridges Chroming: STL

Accessories Bars: Brock Bridges Risers: N/A Hand Controls: Brock Bridges Foot Controls: Brock Bridges Gas Tank(S):Brock Bridges Oil Tank: Brock Bridges Front Fender: Sucks Rear Fender: Brock Bridges Seat: Brock Bridges Headlight: Brock Bridges Tail Light: Brock Bridges Speedo: Sucks builder, but spending time with him, his fiance’ and his friends at TMMR, it was clear that he is also a great guy. I personally am looking forward to seeing what else he brings to the table in the coming years. You can follow Brock and his builds on Instagram @madfab514