Coast 2 Coast Choppers shop foreman, Jimi Hell, enlightened us about the Orlando-based company after we spotted his attention-grabbing creations at Daytona Bike Week earlier this year.
It goes without saying that at Daytona Bike Week you get a chance to see a fair amount bikes. So when you get a chance to feast your eyes on some amazing choppers that exhibit top-end parts and precision craftsmanship that really stand out in the crowd, you take special notice. Coast 2 Coast Choppers certainly grabbed our attention with their bold designs, and shop foreman Jimi Hell was kind enough to answer to our questions.
Besides possessing one of the cooler names in the recorded history of mankind, Jimi Hell knows his way around the garage and started his learning early on. "Born and raised in all this," said Hell. "My old man was a dirt tracker and I've been around hot rods ever since. I didn't have much of a choice but to be a mechanic I guess!"
Now Hell puts that lifetime of experience to work as he tends shop for the Orlando, Florida-based bike company. Coast 2 Coast features in-house fabrication on everything, with only the finest quality of components installed.
Coast 2 Coast Choppers was created with the company motto of "More for Less" firmly in mind. It is a philosophy that extends beyond the stripped down designs of their choppers to the customer's pocketbook. Coast 2 Coast's goal is to deliver the highest quality bikes without heart-attack inducing sticker prices.
"Overall response from the public has been really good - we try to stay competitive with our prices and that's the thing most people like," said Hell. "Our middle of the road prices are around 32-36 (thousand), and that's with molded seat pockets, high-dollar wire running through the frame and all the good stuff like that."
Yes, we know, $32,000 isn't cheap, but when compared to other premier custom bikes it is at least a little more reasonable.
One of the Coast 2 Coast creations that really caught our eye at Bike Week was the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl rests on a modified War Eagle Chassis, with any unnecessary molding chopped off. Everything about it screams for your attention, but probably most striking is the enormous 300-series rear tire which anchors the entire back end. Power is fed to the tire from a RoadMax 5-speed-belt turned by a 121 cubic-inch engine V-Twin from
TP Engineering, which Coast 2 Coast features exclusively on all their choppers. Fuel is fed by a Mikuni carburetor and a Grumpy's Kingpins exhaust takes care of the leftovers. Internal wiring and hydraulics keep the outside clean and sleek, while the sick paint job was provided by Orlando neighbor
Isaac's Custom Paint.
Jimi Hell was steered on a path toward the garage at an early age, "My old man was a dirt tracker and I've been around hot rods ever since. I didn't have much of a choice but to be a mechanic I guess!"
Sure, you're probably saying, it looks good but how does it run? Well according to Hell it can pull 1-2 foot wheelies. As for the $49,000 price tag, it's definitely not cheap, but good luck trying to find a comparable bike for less.
The Black Pearl took about two-and-a-half months to construct with eight days assembly. "Normally we try to get a bike turned around and built in about 10 weeks," said Hell. And his favorite part of the building process? "When they finally come down off the lift and you see them completely finished - then riding them."
With America's recent frenzy for all things chopper, the future looks promising for Coast 2 Coast. Consistently building good-looking quality bikes that stick out in a crowd yet remain relatively affordable is Coast 2 Coast's mission.
Hell sums it all up nicely, "We're the typical bike manufacturer - we're just having fun building bikes."
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