Eddie Trotta's V-Twin TV Vike
47 images Created 1 Aug 2020
Eddie Trotta's V-Twin TV Bike - 2004
This Thunder Cycle 120” Single Sided Swingarm was built for the V-Twin TV show. We shot about a dozen episodes showing how we built the frame, motor fab, bodywork, paint and assembly. Then we gave the bike away to a lucky viewer, who sold the bike and never rode it one mile! We bought it back and sold it to Karim Ghachem in NYC and he has owned it for the last 10-years.
The last 12-years have been very challenging to keep Thunder Cycle open for business. Between the 2008 crash and now the pandemic, I’ve had to make major adjustments. I sold Eddie Trotta Custom Parts to a company in MO and so I have continued to operate Thunder Cycle as a smaller shop. Health issues have always been an issue for me, and so now, as a 3-time cancer patient, COVID19 is something I don’t want to mess with. I just know it would be a major battle if I got exposed to it, so I do what I can to be safe.
There was a time I built baggers, but really, it was just something I did to keep the shop open. There were two or three that I was proud of, but for the most part, building them was like punishment to me. I don’t like them and don’t care to ride them. I’ll give my employees most of the credit for them as they took my ideas and ran with them putting in the bulk of the effort.
My 2,500’ shop feels a lot better now. I can still do almost everything I was doing before, except now there’s no CNC equipment to play with. My goal would be to build just 3-4 bike a year as well as continue to maintain bikes I’ve built over the years. Basically, I love building motorcycles, and will do so as long as I can. Who knows, With all of the young talent I see out there, maybe someone will want to come and learn a thing or two as they help me build new custom choppers.
Now a days, I’m just happy at a slower pace. I enjoy going in at 2 pm and working until 8-9 pm. I plan on doing some boating and would love to build a very fast boat to do some speed trials. Who knows, maybe I’ll break the the few bones in my body I haven’t broken already? What can I say, I just love the feeling of high speeds on water. (curator’s note - Eddie raced off shore power boats as in the Bacardi Trophy race from Miami > the Bahamas > Miami that he won in 1981.) And if the boat thing doesn’t happen, no worries, I’ll just get on my 103” S&S Pan and ride off into the sunset!
- Eddie Trotta 2020
This Thunder Cycle 120” Single Sided Swingarm was built for the V-Twin TV show. We shot about a dozen episodes showing how we built the frame, motor fab, bodywork, paint and assembly. Then we gave the bike away to a lucky viewer, who sold the bike and never rode it one mile! We bought it back and sold it to Karim Ghachem in NYC and he has owned it for the last 10-years.
The last 12-years have been very challenging to keep Thunder Cycle open for business. Between the 2008 crash and now the pandemic, I’ve had to make major adjustments. I sold Eddie Trotta Custom Parts to a company in MO and so I have continued to operate Thunder Cycle as a smaller shop. Health issues have always been an issue for me, and so now, as a 3-time cancer patient, COVID19 is something I don’t want to mess with. I just know it would be a major battle if I got exposed to it, so I do what I can to be safe.
There was a time I built baggers, but really, it was just something I did to keep the shop open. There were two or three that I was proud of, but for the most part, building them was like punishment to me. I don’t like them and don’t care to ride them. I’ll give my employees most of the credit for them as they took my ideas and ran with them putting in the bulk of the effort.
My 2,500’ shop feels a lot better now. I can still do almost everything I was doing before, except now there’s no CNC equipment to play with. My goal would be to build just 3-4 bike a year as well as continue to maintain bikes I’ve built over the years. Basically, I love building motorcycles, and will do so as long as I can. Who knows, With all of the young talent I see out there, maybe someone will want to come and learn a thing or two as they help me build new custom choppers.
Now a days, I’m just happy at a slower pace. I enjoy going in at 2 pm and working until 8-9 pm. I plan on doing some boating and would love to build a very fast boat to do some speed trials. Who knows, maybe I’ll break the the few bones in my body I haven’t broken already? What can I say, I just love the feeling of high speeds on water. (curator’s note - Eddie raced off shore power boats as in the Bacardi Trophy race from Miami > the Bahamas > Miami that he won in 1981.) And if the boat thing doesn’t happen, no worries, I’ll just get on my 103” S&S Pan and ride off into the sunset!
- Eddie Trotta 2020
