MEN OF FEW WORDS - MELL'S WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

Mell's cycles is an old-school motorcycle shop that has been in business since the mid-80's.  Partners Phil Mell and Charlie Conrad had been fartin' around motorcycles for more than a decade before opening this shop.  Phil is the motorhead, having been drag racing Harleys for 16 years until kids and a family forced him to settle down.  Charlie had always been involved in the street and touring side of the sport.  Together they can do most everything one might need none in the building and maintaining of motorcycles.  Chris Mell runs the store, and it's his job to make sure these things get built.  The self-proclaimed "parts dude", he also owns the spray shop where they paint everything from full customs to antique restorations.

When they began building this bike, it was going to be a basic, mid-priced chop.  As time and dollars grew, it got increasingly radical.  The bike started life as a CFL rigid frame from West Coast Choppers.  There weren't a lot of modifications made to it other than building internal fender mounts and brazing on tubing to run all the wires internally.  The fenders are also WCC items that required considerable messaging to achieve their final form.  Finishing up the sheet metal chores, they utilized a Fat Katz custom made gas tank with a Paul Yaffe pop-up gas cap.

Ron Sweigart, the owner of the bike, wanted the front end kicked out beyond the WCC 38-degree rake, so they used a set of Accutronics 7-degree raked triple trees which nicely complement the 8-inch-over tubes, Arlen Ness lower legs, and a skinny 21-inch front wheel.

Phil and Charlie chose to run the 100-inch Custom Chrome, RevTech motor, due to its reputation for power, coupled with dependability.  It's basically stock, except for the addition of Craig Walters' Powerhouse .530 cam and lifters from Mid-USA, and a Dynatek Dyna 2000 ignition.  Mell's swears by this setup to really drag more ponies out of the RevTech motor.  The transmission is a CCI RevTech 5-speed model.  Tying the two together is a Primo belt drive, renowned both for its quality and good looks.  Although Mell's is often called upon to build custom exhaust pipes for their creations, the "fuely" inspired pipes on this mad mother are Grumpy's Customs Hell Fires.

The Performance Machine brakes were a no-brainer.  Ron is well known locally for his unique style of tearin' up the equipment, and dependable stopping power is a PM trademark.  The rear Avon 200 tire on the 18-inch rim casts a super-wide stance on the pavement, and surely does its part to spell "attitude."

The Pavo Purple, House of Kolor paint was laid down in-house by Kane Mell, another member of the tribe (they do their best to keep it all in the family).  Jerry Ebersole applied the tastefully executed flame job.  The seat pan was handcrafted in aluminum by Mell's, then it was handed over to Billy Reed at K&S Upholstery to craft a seat in leather.

Mell's Cycles is a no-nonsense, old-school motorcycle shop.  If you're looking for fancy Web pages and dynos and all that crap, well, you  might want to look someplace else.  But if you are looking for a full service shop that's been around awhile, a shop where experience is measured in decades, not months, and one where they can handle just about any chop defying chore in-house, then a trip to Reading, Pennsylvania, might be your smart move.  You can reach 'em by calling 610-779-6355.

written by Kit Maira - Easyriders October 2003