The McBike has a 114-cubic-inch Mid-USA Hi-Performance engine nestled in a tubular steel frame. It produces an incredible 150 horsepower and 160 pounds of torque.
After you've spent years in the Air Force, earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, piloted for United Airlines, and built a custom motorcycle shop from scratch, the next logical step in life is to simply put a smile on a child's face. Well, at least that's what Jeff Nicklus, CEO and master builder of Desperado Motorcycles, is doing.
Nicklus has been building motorcycles since he was 15 years old, but none have meant more to him than the custom he completed in April of this year.
"This is probably the coolest thing I've ever done," Nicklus explains. "I've got to tell you, it sounds hokey but it really is the coolest."
In December, the custom builder was having dinner with his wife when he realized how fortunate he has been. At that moment, he decided that he had to give something back to the community. Nicklus has always given donations to the Ronald McDonald House, but now he was determined to do more, something bigger. He wanted to supply them with more than just pocket change and t-shirts to sell.
With better intentions and more sincerity than an ABC After School Special, Nicklus decided he would build a custom chopper and donate it to the Ronald McDonald House Charities to be auctioned off.
"We decided that it would really suck to have your kids sick and be in the hospital," Nicklus describes. "But it would really suck if your kid was sick and in the hospital in a place other than where you live, and you couldn't afford to be there. So the Ronald McDonald House was a natural choice for the thing."
McDonalds thought it was a great idea and told Nicklus to run with it. Of course, like in any good heart-warming tale, there has to be obstacles to overcome before true success and enlightenment can be reached. The McDonald's board gave Nicklus a deadline of April 19 to complete the bike, merely three weeks away.
Knowing the size and importance of the task, the former engineer dropped everything and began the daunting process of making a complete one-off custom in under a month. A determined Nicklus completed the creation in time, and it was unveiled at McDonald's Worldwide Owner/Operator Convention in Orlando, Fla. After receiving such a positive response, Desperado Motorcycles decided to travel across the U.S. with the bike visiting Ronald McDonald Houses until they reach Chicago in November. There, the bike will either be auctioned or raffled off with 100% of the proceeds going to the RMHC.
"We're really pushing for a raffle on this thing," Nicklus says. "They're not even telling me, but they're going to announce at Sturgis what the exact program is going to be."
This 560-pound custom chopper comes with a Desperado close ratio six-speed transmission, and Martin Brothers Triple Chrome Plated two into one exhaust pipes with a turn out collector.
Nicklus, who originally would have been happy to raise a half a million dollars for the charity, is now realizing the magnitude of this venture.
"We had one of the owner/operators in Australia offer $600,000 for it right then," he points out. "So a world-wide raffle should generate millions of dollars. I expect this motorcycle to be the most expensive motorcycle ever sold."
Of course, Nicklus' donation wouldn't be creating this much interest if his bikes weren't such a hot commodity. Desperado Motorcycles, which has only been around for nine years, has been selling their production limit of bikes every year since they opened their doors. They fabricate their own frames and wheels; they build their own transmissions; and they spec their motors out through TP Engineering Hi-Performance Engines.
In an effort to become a manufacturer of the some of the world's best motorcycles, Nicklus consciously limits his production to 300 bikes per year. Desperado builds six different models as regular items, all of which are individually constructed by one person. And like Burger King, you can hold the pickles or the lettuce because special orders don't upset these guys. They don't build a bike until it's sold, which means you can have it your way. So even though the customer is purchasing a production-style motorcycle, they can customize it however they want.
"If the customer wants to paint their bike to match their car, as long as we have the paint code we can make it happen," the former pilot mentions. "If they want a shorter fender or a longer fender we can make it happen. We individually build that bike… It's a production custom."
Nicklus has no intentions on increasing production either. He's too fond of the idea that he can call every one of his customers and see how they like their new ride. Desperado also prides itself in having virtually no warranty recalls. With a mere half of 1% warranty rate, Nicklus doesn't want to risk developing a problem by increasing his production, which epitomizes the phrase 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
"If you watch some of these other folks in the industry that have to build 3,000 bikes a year, they don't feel comfortable," Desperado's master builder says. "Then they've got recalls on frames, or fenders split, or gas tanks leak. From what I understand in the American industry, 12 to 20 percent is a normal warranty rate, and most people are pretty happy with that. We would shut our production down and stop everything if we had anything that even approached that number."
Jeff Nicklus Signature Series
It's this type of reputation that has kept the orders piling in to Desperado's shop. Since their first bike was published in
Easy Rider magazine they've sold out of their current model year choppers. They have also accomplished something that's very hard to do in the custom world; they sell the majority of their motorcycles to repeat buyers. Last year, 58.8% of their sales went to existing customers.
Desperado maintains its customer base through ingenuity. Nicklus uses his engineering background to continually improve every aspect of his bikes. Recently, they converted all of their final drives from belts over to chains, because their ardent horsepower was snapping the belts. They designed a sprocket and a dual-action, four-piston brake set-up, as well.
"I look at our bikes today versus seven, eight, nine years ago, and you can't really recognize them," the Texan explains. "Before it's all said and done with, we will have developed an entirely new motorcycle. Over the last 10 years, this industry has gone nuts. It will continue to do that for the next 10 years."
In conjunction with his production bikes, Nicklus also creates four one-off customs a year, which are known as Jeff Nicklus "Signature" Bikes. Nicklus personally designs and builds these bikes for select customers. The Ronald McDonald House chopper is the second bike in his series this year.
The first is a burnt orange power house he created a couple months earlier. The orange chopper has a single sided swingarm frame complete with heli-arc welds. A 116 cubic-inch TP Engineering Hi-Performance Engine is the power plant for this one-off creation. It produces 125hp and 125 pounds of torque, which gives it the ability to own the road. Nicklus boasts that all of his one-off choppers have a greater power-to-weight ratio then the Ferrari F50.
His bikes are lathered in chrome components and stainless steel hardware. Combine that with 40 coats of paint, 250 hours of build time, and a Desperado alligator leather seat, and you've got yourself a one of a kind custom worth $78,000. And even though Desperado is a licensed manufacturer and listed in Kelly Blue Book and N.A.D.A., it's hard to confirm their resale value because most people aren't willing to sell their custom. In fact, the select few used Desperado bikes Nicklus has heard of getting sold went for almost $4,000 more then they paid for them new, which is impressive considering his bikes range from $26,000 to $80,000.
Gun Runner II
"I've modeled this (his design and production) after the Enzo Ferrari Theory," Nicklus reiterates. "I'm only going to build so many of each model, but I'm going to build the best ones I can. People appreciate that. People are willing to pay more to get a better product."
Most of Desperado's motorcycles are sold through dealers across the U.S., but customers can also deal directly with Nicklus if they prefer. Unfortunately, if you live in the great state of California, it may be more difficult find one of Nicklus' customs due to the fact that their emission standards are too strict for his horsepower-producing machines.
And if you were hoping to get in on the action and buy a 2004 Desperado, you may be out of luck because they are already sold out. However, he is already taking orders for his '05s.
For more information on Desperado Motorcycles and the Ronald McDonald House Charity Bike visit
www.desperadomotorcycles.com.
