It happened because he was a regular customer over at Coyote Customs (www.coyotecustoms.com).  Coyote Customs’ owner, Jason Conley had recognized that Honda’s 750 Shadow was a very popular bike and decided to produce a custom frame for it on which 80% of the stock components could be utilized including the tank and triple trees.  He even maintained the distance between the front and rear-drive sprockets so the stock chain could be used.  Jason built this particular frame as a prototype, and Brian immediately had to have it.

          “Brian wanted a rough, hard-core look so the bike is all powdercoated; no paint,” Jason said.  The tank, rear fender and other touches are coated with (you’d better sit down for this) Rhino Linings truck bed liner.  To clean up the styling, Jason set the radiator between the frame rails rather than hanging it out front and then hid the overflow tank underneath.  He also hid the motor mounts.  Brian wanted some custom touches including the unique exposed tank mounts, which are intended to take up space on the frame.  The battery box was made from stainless by a friend of Jason’s and given a rough finish.  Coyote Customs sells the frame for $1,695 and a bobber version is coming soon.  They also have custom frames for the Yamaha Road Star.

          Jason says that he spent 6 months road testing the frame and that he decided upon mid controls as he didn’t want the bike to be too radical.  “If you’re over 5-8 you’ll enjoy it,” he said.  “For shorter riders, it’s a bit of a reach to the bars.”

          In the past, it has been tough for owners of metric bikes to make them into full-blown customs as the parts simply weren’t available.  Thanks to guys like Jason, it’s getting much easier.                                --Bill Stermer