Franklin Church Choppers Pieces Together a Beauty ’81 FX

By Adam Pockross - June 23, 2015

1981 FCC Chopper

Franklin Church Choppers (FCC) has been in the bike building biz now for 13-years, and they plan to be around for a lot longer. Judging from their latest creation, I’d say they have plenty of staying power.

What we have here is FCC’s custom 1981 Harley-Davidson FX. And she’s come a long way since FCC owner Tom Keefer spent $600 on the 1981 frame — with a bent downtube and no papers — at the Harrisburg Super Swap. At the same show, Keefer also saw an old Panhead frame. Though it was mostly useless, Keefer could see the Panhead’s hardtail fitting perfectly with the FX, so he dropped another $200 on that frame as well.

And then the project really got underway. Keefer sourced a Harley I beam, a 1979 Honda XL 500 23-inch front wheel and drum brake, and an 18-inch rear wheel. But when it came time to find the proper power supply, Keefer ran into trouble.

“I had been looking for a Knucklehead engine for a long time but just wasn’t able to find one that was acceptable. I then decided to get a new S&S KN 93,” Keefer tells Hot Bike in a recent profile about the chopper.

After selling off some other stuff to pay for the engine, Keefer tracked down a 2010/Baker 6-into-4, hydraulic clutch, N-1 shift drum and a BDL, hydraulic foot clutch/hand shift. Finally, all the major components had been gathered. But of course, that’s only half the battle when putting together a bike with so many nice touches as this one. Head on over to Hot Bike‘s profile to get all the greasy details about the eight month build. But fair warning, she’s not for sale.

“This bike is a staple to my shop and will continue to stay—unless of course a whole lot of money is exchanged.” Well, everything has a price, so feel free to head over to Franklin Church Choppers and start haggling.