LA TRAPPOLA SHOVEL 1200
ITALY’S CHOP WORKS BUILDS A FRISCO-STYLE TRAP CHOPPER WORDS: FRANKINO CHOP WORKS PHOTOS: ANDREA MAZZON MODEL: HEXE MEATGRINDER (CHIARA DE FINIS)
I
n Italian biker jargon, a “trap” is a motorbike that is somewhat dangerous to ride, due to its complexity in being ridden. Only crazy bikers dare ride these monsters! One day my customer asked me, “How can I make a trap bike with his FX Shovelhead?” My answer was, “Remember when sex was safe and choppers were dangerous? When cruising on an outlaw motorbike was a way to escape reality?” This spirit lives on in the Chop Works garage, where we continue to try and escape the future. With this 1976 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead, we took ourselves back to
California in the late ’60s. We’re not in San Francisco here, but Turin, yet we wanted to have the look of super-narrow pullback bars but still be super strong. Next, I had to figure out how I was going to use the Edlund framework with an FX 4-inch-over front end. I fabricated a sissy bar with three brake lights built in from an old Italian car, added a king and queen seat, both of which were perfect pieces needed for creating and riding a Friscostyle chopper. Once it all came together, I stood back and admired the work. I think I totally nailed my client’s request! After two kicks to the kick-only starter, the fun began. Surprisingly, it rode pretty
easily. I cracked open the throttle on the frontage road to Turin and took off over the bridge that leads into town where I found the closest scenery I could to the Bay Area. As I approached, I passed some cars, stomped on the suicide clutch, shifted gears, and was now riding this trap chopper like it was child’s play. Waiting at a traffic light, I realized the endless line of caged drivers were staring at me as if I were some ultraintricate contraption from hell. I looked behind to see how many cars I had overtaken and thought to myself, “Yep! This is definitely a trap, but I’m happy to feel free on this trap!” HB NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 / 31
