Schwing Ray
SCHWING RAY
American FLYERS
A motorized beach cruiser from the "other" Jesse
JESSE ROOKE IS NOT your everyday custom-bike builder. Then again, maybe he is. Why the ambiguity? Because just about the time you’ve concluded that the only guys building customs are bearded, ponytailed old hippies, tattooed meat-heads or some combination thereof, you encounter Jesse, who at age 29 is none of the above. And then you meet his friend Roland Sands (see “Speed Demon,” page 40), and you realize that the new generation of custom builders is made up of motorcycle enthusiasts just like you and me. Guys who’ll just as soon go motocrossing or roadracing as ride their one-off showbike to Sturgis.
rs off a bike after badly breaking a leg in a motocross accident, which is what the Phoenix, Arizona, resident did at age 15. Predictably, Rooke then did what many other exmotorcycle racers do: He took up karting, where he broke the other leg but parlayed a stint at a shop into a successful racing career and ultimately his own business. Just a couple of years later, however, he got re-bitten by the bike bug after watching Jesse James’ “Motorcycle Mania” on the Discovery Channel.
Rooke spent time under the tutelage of builder Jim Nasi, then set out on his own. He built his first bike, nick named Dinah, in 2002, and promptly won Best in Show at the annual L.A. Calendar Motorcycle Show. Next came a Last Century Chopper dubbed Phyllis, and then Cathy, which served as the prototype for what Rooke Customs now markets as a Kali Kruiser (frame kits $ 17,500, rollers $20,500, full builds $70K-plus). Which brings us to the custom shown here, Rooke's 10th, a bicycle-like Kali Kruiser called "Chop Shop" in reference to its inclusion on the 2004 Chop Shop Tour. Looking at the right-side chain and kickstand, you suspect that the photo might be flopped, until you notice that his old raciing number 27 is legible. The `wrong" side drive comes courtesy of the Baker six-speed Drop Start Slam Clutch." which transmits power from the Kendall Johnson-built 124inch S&S motor to the mam moth 240mm rear Metzeler. From there, things only get weirder. What looks like the oil tank is actually the gas tank; oil is contained within the single-sided swingarm, a la Buell, only you can't call it that because it doesn't swing; it's a hardtail. It also appears that the bike doesn't have any brakes, but there is one in the rear, the disc integrated into the wheel sprocket with the caliper hid den behind the chain stay. Jesse made most every thing himself: the frame, fork, faux gas tank, oil tank, rear fender, handlebars and foot controls, as well as the seat, covered in 1950s diner fabric silkscreened with his trademark chess rook logo. Other parts came courtesy of his network of suppliersi' friends: His buddy Roland contributed the Performance Machine footpegs and wheels, Lee Wimmer pro vided the velocity stack, the oil cooler came from Merch and the headlight from Custom Chrome. Things came full circle for the "other" Jesse when he was invited to participate in the Discovery Channel's "Biker Build-Off" and he's now talking to producers about a show of his own. We'd tell him to break a leg, but he's already been there, done that.
Brian Catterson
