"What would Johnny have done... were the words I kept hearing when I was building this bike," says Kirk Taylor speaking from his Custom Design Studios shop in Novato, California. That would be Johnny "Chop" Vasko, a longtime, close friend of Kirk's and a legend among custom bike builders. His sudden passing in March 2006 from a heart ailment was a sad blow to his many friends. Now Kirk himself is an industry A-lister, building ground-up customs and painting show winners since 1988. His many achievements including taking top honors at the recent Inaugural CCI North American Championship with his off-road-inspired creation "The Dirty Boot." Kirk calls the Johnny Chop tribute bike seen here "Sacred," a moniker that echoes deeply on several levels. It has to do with heart, commemorating the spirit of Johnny Chop, the illness that claimed him, and even the shape of the gas tank built around one of the last tanks Johnny was working on for a customer.

The "heart'' aspect also includes the contributions from many people in the industry who gave Kirk pieces that Johnny made and that he included in this project. The frame was a prototype Johnny had fabbed, as are the handcuff handlebars. Bert Baker, also a friend of Johnny's, sent in the 6-in-4 tranny, while Steve Broyles sent in the rocker boxes. Little touches such as the grips wrapped with hockey tape are the kind of details Johnny would have added to the bike. Tay Herrera contributed his showingwinning engraving talents to etch indelible images into the bike, including the roses gracing the rocker boxes. "If you're trying to picture a theme, Johnny's work was a mix of East L.A. lowrider meets punk rock with a little 1970s band craze thrown in," Kirk tells us. "We tried to keep all that in mind as we put the bike together." That includes all the western gunscroll work and roses you see on the bike and the artwork on the saddle by Rick Jantz. Kirk asked Rick to add a heart design to the seat, but Rick also added a surprise.

It seems Johnny had three roses tattooed on his shoulder and Rick, who had saved the stencil for the roses for years, incorporated the design under the back of the saddle-subtle but significant. Since Johnny was all about shovelheads, Kirk found a 1980 shovel motor through a friend, picking up an entire basketcase just for the 80-inch motor. "It already had good bones on it: an S&S E carb, a Crane Fireball cam and Dyna ignition," Kirk says. "We took apart and sent the cases out to be polished." The bike's paint scheme is similar to a chopper called True Blue that Kirk had painted for Johnny, but for Sacred he added a lot of green to make it more the color of the ocean since Johnny was also into surfing.

Sacred has been seen and enjoyed all over the country, from its appearance in Michael Lichter's Museum Show in Sturgis, the Sacramento Easyriders Bike Show, as well as at the Artistry and Iron Show and the Custom Chrome North American Championship event. Kirk says that now Sacred could be available to a new home. ''A lot of people say keep it forever, but you know what Johnny would have said, 'Fuck it. . . sell it! Let someone else enjoy it.' Like I tell other people who made one-off pieces for Johnny, 'Hey, make more of them. . .that way you help keep Johnny's name remembered and staying alive in peoples' thoughts. As for this bike, people say they can see Johnny all over it. That's good, because then I know I completed my mission." -Paul Garson

Owner: Kirk Taylor
City: Novato, California

GENERAL
Fabrication: Kirk Taylor
Year/make: 2010 Custom Design Studios (CDS)
Model: Johnny Chop Special
Assembly: Kirk, Mike
Time: pretty quickly
Chroming: Meclec/Pilgrim

ENGINE
Year/make: 1980 Harley-Davidson shovelhead
Displacement: 80 cubic inches
Cam: Crane
Ignition: Dyna
Heads: polished
Lifters: Crane
Carbs: S&S E
Air Cleaner: Goodson
Pipes: CDS

TRANSMISSION
Year/make: 2010 Baker
Modifications: 6-into-4
Painter: Kirk Taylor
Type/color: House of Kolor/Ocean Blue
Special paint: roses

FRAME
Year: 2005 prototype
Builder: Johnny Chop
Rake: 32 degrees
Stretch: none
Shocks: rigid

ACCESSORIES
Carb: Johnny Chop
Handlebar controls: PM
Fenders: ribbed and short
Headlight: Unity/CDS
Taillight: Roland Sands
Speedo: Drag
Pegs: Johnny Chop
Electrics: Kirk & Mike/CDS
Oil tank: Kirk/CDS Mooneyes
Oil system: CDS
Seat: Rick Jantz/Fab Kevin
Sissybar: CDS
Grips: hockey tape

FORKS
Type: 1967 Hydra Glide
Extension: stock/shave legs
Builder: Harley-Davidson

WHEELS
Size: 2l-inch front, 18-inch rear
Wheels: spool front, Akront aluminum rear
Tires: Avon
Brakes: disc front, old PM hydraulic rear
Photos: Michael Richter