1971 Long Beach Dave Custom Chopper Motorcycle - 2-Page Vintage Article

Description

1971 Long Beach Dave Custom Chopper Motorcycle - 2-Page Vintage Article
Original, vintage magazine article.
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)
Condition: Good
An Unusual Beginning
Leads To An Unusual End.
by Bob Wagner
In Long Beach, California, lives a
truck driver known to the local cycle
buffs as Long Beach Dave. Dave got
his start with bikes at the tender age
of fourteen when he got his first paper
route. He decided he could make
more dough in less time if he could
cover his route faster, so he saved his
money and bought his first motorcy-
cle, a real junk heap. But a little extra
money and a lot of work brought it
around, and soon Dave was delivering
the news in style, although without
a driver's license. Since then, he has
owned and customized a number of
bikes, but his favorite is his latest, an
Ariel Square Four.
The engine is a stock 1950 Ariel
Mark II with 1,000cc displacement
Dave went through the engine with
loving care, but he left the specifi-
cations stock He explained that the
Ariel is a tough one to punch up. It
can be done but it shortens the engine
life. If it's hopped up enough, it can
actually RPM itself to death. There
are other ways to improve perform-
ance with fine tuning and Dave
learned and practices them all. The
best results are gained by the addition
of an Amal side-mounted carburetor.
These are hard to find, and if you
locate one it will usually cost from
.00 up, but the improvement in
performance is well worth the price.
Other than that, a touch of the chrome
plater's art is all the engine needs.
The 1950 Ariel frame has been
chopped, filled and molded. The forks
are extended, raising the front of the
frame about ten inches. Springs front
and rear compensate nicely for the
bumps in the road. The rear fender
was left stock because it is almost
completely covered by the custom
seat. The Wassel tank was pains-
takingly customized with flames
formed by hand from molten lead.
This is a tricky job because the lead
can only be worked at a certain tem-
perature, but Dave and his brother
Bruce figured it out.
The tank, fender and frame are...
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