Title: American Iron Magazine, July 2005 Source: ©2005 American Iron Magazine - Wayne Scraba Skull Bike Jerry Graves' latest personal ride There's an old proverb most of us know well: "The shoemakers children go barefoot." That seems to be the ideal way to describe the personal bikes built by West Palm Beech's Jerry Graves of Graves Custom Cycles. Jerry's shop builds 16 to 20 customs every year, roughly half of which are as trick as our feature bike, but every time Jerry builds one for himself, someone wants it-- badly. So badly that Jerry usually parts with his personal ride and joy shortly after building it. In fact, the new owner of the bike you see in front of you- Mike Dufour of Wellington, Florida- has pretty much given Jerry a standing offer to buy any of the bikes he builds for himself in the future. So much for having his own "pair of shoes," and it definitely looks like Jerry will be barefoot (bikeless) for the foreseeable future! What makes Jerry's bikes such hot commodities? You only have to look at the skull-encrusted red chopper in front of you to get the picture. But let's back up a bit: Jerry planned this bike from the beginning with a kick-butt engine combination, and then he built the bike around it. Isn't that a bit off base? Not really. It's no use creating a monster of a motor package, then wrapping it with an evil-handling, limp-wristed chassis that incorporates a hinge in the middle. And in Jerry's case that was an excellent plan. You see, Jerry is a wee bit of a horsepower junky. He grew up around bikes of all sorts (he's a third generation biker), and to unwind after a hectic week of building oh-so-trick choppers and custom bikes, he drag races a seven-second Top Gas bike. Hmmm. That little 170 or so mile per hour rest and relaxation scheme should give you an idea of where he's coming from. But we digress. The engine in the skull chopper is a combination effort between Patrick Racing and Graves Custom Cycles. Basically, Patrick Racing built the gorgeous CNC-machined bits and Jerry messaged and assembled them. The engine displaces 113", and, according to Jerry, it pumps out 135 or so horse-power. Part and parcel of building big power is using good parts. And, in this case, Jerry used what he felt was the best of the best. Names brands such as S&S, Crane, Zipper's Redshift, JIMS, and so on are used with frequency in a Graves custom engine build. And, of course, careful assembly plays a very big role in producing hefty horesepower numbers coupled with considerable, and sustainable, reliability. The accompanying spec sheet lays out the various bits and pieces used in the engine, and once you check it out, you'll see for yourself that Jerry doesn't cheap out when it comes to the hardware. Backing up the Patrick-Graves bullet is a BDL Top Fuel belt drive arrangement mated to a BAKER right-side drive six-speed. In keeping with his racing background, Jerry's choice of a BDL Top Fuel Street drive fits the bill perfectly. This setup is based around a monster 14mm x 85mm (3-3/8") wide belt, which is the same package that sees duty on over 600 horsepower Top Fuel dragbikes. Included in the mix is an adjustable Kevlar clutch and hardware machines from 7075 aluminum, which in turn, is hard anodized for additional strength. And, of course, Bert Baker's six-speed gearbox packages are no slouches in the performance and strength departments either. When it came time to wrap the drivetrain with a frame, Jerry didn't have to search very hard or venture very far. He selected one of his own proprietary drop-seat softail-style chassis. Now, if there's a signature of sorts to Jerry's work (aside from the honking power we've previously looked at or the artwork that masquerades as paint-- something we'll address shortly), it's the low seat height. It doesn't seem to matter what type of bike Jerry builds (-- Softail, rigid, chopper, Pro-Street, etc.), there is one common thread: The bikes are low, and the seat height is lower. According to Jerry, the only right way to get these bikes down to earth is to build the bits himself and that's why almost everything from the tubing to the sheet metal is fabbed in house by Graves Custom Cycles. In the case of the skull bike, the gas tank was fabricated from aluminum, while the oil bag, fenders, and body components were skillfully formed from sheet metal. Molding of the various bits was done in house by Graves Customs' own Seth Paton. Seth sprayed the skull bike with a base coat of silver, and then applied four coats of Candy Red. But, as you can see, there's a bit more to the paint scheme than that. What Jerry wanted was something that looked as through a big box of skulls had been dumped over the bike. To get this effect, he teamed up with graphic artist extraoridinaire, Sonny DePalma. What Sonny created is an amazingly detailed scheme that interwines more than 300 skulls of all sorts into the flames. But that's not all-- the paint layout also features a well-endowed young lady brandishing a pitchfork along with other niceties. The truth is, one has to study this bike in detail to absorb all of the art. And, it might take more than one sitting to grasp most of it. FYI, Jerry claims that the paint schemes created by DePalma have other bike builders far and wide scrambling to get work by the artist. But DePalma really does not want to work with anyone except Jerry. Bottom line here is, if you want DePalma artwork on a custom bike, you pretty much have to get it from Jerry, which, judging by the photos, isn't such a bad option. Rolling stock for the skull cycle has gone through a couple of iterations-- the first included a set of black anodized wheels, and, most recently a set of chromed Performance Machine Casinos. Chalk it up to owner preference, but one thing you'll find on Jerry's bikes is the use of anodizing, courtesy of Anolaze Corporation of Riviera Beech, Florida. Anodizing aluminum gives it additional texture and detail-- and it's no secret that details fit perfectly within Jerry's construction scheme. How does it work? Very well, thank you. The mix of prodigious power, extraordinary paint, and well-thought-out details not only makes for a showstopper (as you can imagine, this bike attracts gold wherever it goes), it also makes for an interesting and fast with a capital 'F' ride. Graves' bikes are definitely built to ride, and the last we heard, new skull bike owner Mike Dufour was simply running the wheels off it. So what's next for Jerry in a personal bike? Who knows? Three things are for certain: It'll be low, it'll be fast, and he won't be able to keep it for long! Editors note: Jerry won the top honors at last year's American Iron custom bike show in Sturgis. This year's show will be held on Friday, August 12, at the Thunder-Dome, which is across from the Full Throttle Salon. Tech Sheet Owner: Mike Dufour Home: Wellington, FL Builder: Jerry Graves, Graves Custom Cycles Year/model: 2004 Graves Custom Cycles Softail Time to build: Atlantic Plating, For Lauderdale, FL Polisher: Atlantic Plating, For Lauderdale, FL Painter: Seth Paton, Graves Custom Cycles Colors: House of Kolor Candy Red, silver Graphics: Sonny DePalma Engine / Transmission Year/model: 2004 Patrick Racing Builder: Graves Custom Cycles Displacement: 113" Cases: Patrick Racing Flywheels: S&S 4-1/2" Connecting rods: Patrick Racing Cylinders: Patrick Racing 4" Pistons: JE 10.25:1 Heads: Patrick Racing Cam: Zipper's Redshift ,600" lift Rockers: JIMS Lifters: JIMS Pushrods: Rivera Taperlite Carb: Mikuni 45mm Air cleaner: Velocity Stack Exhaust: Graves Custom Cycles Ignition: Crane HI-4 Oil pump: S&S Cam cover: JIMS Primary cover: BDL Top Fuel Drive Transmission, year/model: 2004 Baker RSD Case: BAKER Gears: BAKER Clutch: BDL Primary drive: BDL Top Fuel Drive Chassis Frame: Graves Drop-Seat Softail Rake: 45 degrees Stretch: 7" up and 6" out Front forks: Sun Myth Swingarm: Graves Custom Cycles Front wheel: Performance Machine Casino 2.125-21" Rear wheel: Performance Machine Casino 8.50-18" Front brake: Performance Machine six-piston caliper Rear brake: Performace Machine four-piston caliper Front tire: Metzeler 80/90-21" Rear tire: Metzeler 240/40-18" Front fender: Graves Custom Cycles Rear fender: Graves Custom Cycles Accessories Headlight: Headwinds Taillight: Invisible LED in the swingarm Fuel tank: Graves Custom Cycles Oil tank: Graves Custom Cycles Handlebars: Graves Custom Cycles Seat: Jeffrey Phipps, sharkskin/stingray Pegs: Thundercycle hourglass License bracket: Donnie Smith Hand controls: Performance Machine Contour Foot controls: Performace Machine Contour w/2" ext