2023 Biltwell People’s Champ Finalists

The votes are all counted and the top six builders for 2023 have been selected! This year we have three Panheads, a Knuckle, a 1929 "D" Model, and believe it or not – a hand-built chopper powered by a helicopter engine (parts of it at least!). These builders have already put in tons of hours and have more to go before the big reveal. In May, we’ll send our team to shoot videos and photos of each bike and builder in their home shops/garages. Once those videos and photos are complete votings will go live on or around June 20th and will close the morning of June 23rd while they are riding the treacherous Ortega Highway to Cook’s Corner where we will have all the bikes on display, and will announce the Champ around 9:00 pm or so. There is no cover charge or entry fee to get in at Cook’s, and it’s a great way to get your Born Free weekend started!

You can get all the details here: www.peopleschampshow.com

---

 Alex Hackel

Name Al Hackel
Instagram Account
@alhackel
City
Bloomington
State
Illinois
Country
USA
Bike Year
2023
Bike Motor
Hackel-Wright

What have you done?
I have built a 98ci single cylinder engine using one cylinder from a wright r975 radial. Scratch built my own frame, rear hub, and front fork.

What do you have left to do?
Make a set of tins, plumb intake and exhaust, make some bars, figure out a carb setup, think about how on earth I am going to license this thing.

Any problems so far?
I had to make the frame twice. The first one was great, right up until the tubing galled together ruining the downtube joints.

Favorite part of the bike so far?
I am pretty proud of the rocker covers, I feel they give the motor real personality.

Favorite part of the competition?
Getting to know the other builders. Our group chat has been the highlight of many mornings.

---

Barnie Bowman

Name
Barnie Bowman
Instagram Account
@Barnstormerr
City
Sterling
State
Virginia
Country
USA
Bike Year
1946
Bike Motor
Knucklehead

What have you done?
Chassis:
-1950 OEM Wishbone frame with a 25 degree knucklehead neck. Frame was in rough shape when I got it, so a lot of repairs have been done.
-1926-ish Peashooter springer front end. I had to modify this to fit my Wishbone frame, along with a lot of reinforcing to run on a big twin. Grooved front leg every 3″.
-19/21″ high shoulder aluminum wheels w/ stainless spokes that I laced and trued to star hubs.
-5/8″ stainless sissy bar that I made. Grooved every 3″ to match my Peashooter springer front leg.
-Custom split peanut gas tanks with a polished brass center trim piece.
-Custom brass flames on the gas and oil tanks. Polished up!
-Some neat old headlight I found on eBay.

Engine/Trans:
-Freshly built ’46 knucklehead engine.
-Rebuilt transmission.
-Rebuilt Fairbanks-Morse magneto.
-Custom made exhaust.
-Designed and sand casted the Linkert carb cover.

What do you have left to do?|
I need to finish setting up the drivetrain, build a set of foot controls, finish the rear leg of the Peashooter springer, wiring, figuring out a taillight setup, make my own handlebar risers. Still waiting on my actual seat to come in to mount up. Paint, chrome and polish, etc.

Paint will be Deep Fuchsia from a 1998 Nissan 240sx (to stick with my drifting roots) with heavy flake and a black pearl finish. Some parts will be accented with black paint with gold flake.

Any problems so far?
Nothing major, just a lot of failed ideas that ended up in hours lost, which lead to a lot of frustration. Staying motivated and making myself not give up was definitely the biggest challenge for me.

Favorite part of the bike so far?
I tried linking parts together like the grooves on the front end and sissy bar, and the ribs on the carb cover to match the cam cover; details like that make the bike come together in my opinion.

I really like how compact the whole bike is with the small springer and 25 degree rake.

Also the flames…they were a lot of work.

Favorite part of the competition?
Pushing me to be more creative and build the best bike I can.

Shout outs:
To my amazing fiancé, Lauren Linton. She’s been very patient with me while dealing with all of my crap, supports my crazy passions, and roots me on through all of this.

Also to my buddies who have helped along the way. Especially to Gurbinder Kalra, who has been dealing with my shit for months, being my go-to for opinions, and a ton of help on all my dumb ideas. Shout out to Massey Bick who helped me build the engine and hooked me up on good deals for ordering all my parts.

---

Brandon Oddy

Name
Brandon Oddy
Instagram Account
@justkeepintabs
City
Abbotsford
State
British Columbia
Country
Canada
Bike Year
1965
Bike Motor
Panhead

What have you done?
I started with a stock swingarm frame, which was hard tailed, with lots of metal work and molding throughout. I shaved off as much junk as possible and shaped everything to my liking. Next went to building the front end, which is a 10” over 33.4mm front end with extended lowers and a shaved top tree with molded in risers so it’s all one piece. The tank and fender also got some extensive molding, with sort of tunnels/flairs on either side of the tank and a built in ironcross on the rear fender which will look seamless to the fender after body work and paint. I then built all the bolt on parts and little details out of checker plate material and square stock. Shotgun style exhaust was built to tie everything all together.

What do you have left to do?
I have some very minor details left, such as brake linkage and primary assembly. Then tear it apart and do the body work, paint and get the parts that were built all plated. After that final assembly, wiring and plumbing. After it’s all said and done, ride the hell out of it!

Any problems so far?
No major problems so far. Just getting stumped or overwhelmed and remembering to step back, take a good break, and come back with fresh eyes.

Favorite part of the bike so far?
I really love the whole front end of the bike, from the extended lowers to the molded riser top tree combo. Also all the parts I built out of the checker plate, I’ve seen it used before but I think I nailed it with that detail.

Favorite part of the competition?
I loved going to work on the bike and seeing the ideas I’ve had for this bike come to life. Also just all love from people online who I have never met being so stoked on the build and giving me nothing but encouragement

Shout outs:
Thanks to all my friends and loved ones who are always firing me up, and everyone who has shown this build some love

---

Collin Sells

Name
Collin Sells
Instagram Account
@Collinanthonyhair
City
Seattle
State
Washington
Country
USA
Bike Year
1929
Bike Motor
D

What have you done?
So far I’ve rebuilt this whole frame new engine mounts to replacing the back bone, narrow the oil bag added the hand pump, replaced the gas fill on the tank, built the 2 into 1 exhaust, narrowed the fender, built the brake system, made taillights, made the sissy bar, lifted the transmission an inch, made split bars, laced and polished the the wheels, chromed the rear brake and headlight, hand shift, upper motor mount, center kick stand.

What do you have left to do?
Rebuild motor, transmission, chrome the whole bike, make foot clutch, make front end, chrome everything and paint, make grips and foot pegs

Any problems so far?
Pretty much everyday minus maybe 2 has been a problem. I’ve learned so many new skills just to keep up with my ideas

Favorite part of the bike so far?
I think my favorite part of the bike so far is the narrowed model k oil bag with the external oil pump and the whole bike is under 11” wide

Favorite part of the competition?
I’ll always find the best part of any competition is how much harder and further you push yourself than you would just building alone.

---

Robert Mayer

Name
Robert Mayer
Instagram Account
@Bobby63pan
City
Pease
State
Minnesota
Country
USA
Bike Year
1963
Bike Motor
Panhead

What have you done?
Fully built gooseneck/swanneck style frame. It’s fit with a @northernspringers 30” over springer. T-Bars on top, talked to my buddy Drew @evolutioncycles and we came up with this 6” rise with a little forward twist on top. The frame is tripple 1/4” plated at the neck to keep it super strong while keeping that area of the bike thin. Moves back to a lowbrow tank that I sunk then fully molded to the frame. Did a little twist on the King-Queen seat separated and molded them individually to the rear fender. Hand formed Diamond sissy bar that attatches to the Queen seat with no visible hardware. Handformed “skinny” oil bag that molds to frame and rear fender. I did not want a tall visible top motor mount so I’m building a side mount that attatches to 2 strong points on lower portion of the frame. Built Custom Frisco style high mids. Running lights off a early Pontiac flipped sideways.

What do you have left to do?
Lots do yet. Need to finish off all the fabricated parts for nickel plating. Headlight bracket, mids, jockey shift, bars. Springer. The frame will be fully molded and receive an over-the-top “show” quality Kandy paint job by my brother and I. Need to rebuild the motor and transmission fully polished and powder coated. Gonna build my own air cleaner and sneak in some resin casting throughout the bike. Those are the big things anyway.

Any problems so far?
Building this bike mostly with a torch, plasma cutter and mig/tig. I don’t have a lathe or any high tech machines sometimes it’s hard to create what I have in my head with limited equipment. But at the same time it makes each part have a little more character. I messed up and tweaked the rear half of my frame the first time around so I had to cut it up and straighten it out.

Favorite part of the bike so far?
Favorite part is definitely finding the headlights. I know I wanted an oval shape and 2. These worked out perfectly.

Favorite part of the competition?
Favorite part is watching the other builders create. Gives me a good push and allows me to push even harder!

Shout outs:
Most of all my girlfriend. She has pushed me and motivated me more then I can explain. My dad for helping with Henry (my son) in the mornings so I could get a couple hours in before work. My brother who is always pushing me to do better. And my co-workers Tristen and Darren.

---

Sean Jackson

Name
Sean Jackson
Instagram Account
@axtion88jackson
City
Springboro
State
Pennsylvania
Country
USA
Bike Year
1948
Bike Motor
Panhead

What have you done?
We started from ground zero by fully disassembling the 48 motor for rebuild, weld repair, and a satin polish of the cases. The frame, front end and inertia starter mount were all designed then the frame was laser cut and bent. I bent the tubing and made the reverse link DAH Hillclimb style springer for the front end. Then we fabricated what you see into a rolling chassis. Once into a roller I made a set of split fuel / oil tanks. One side will act as the engine oil while the other is fuel. I built the two into one collector exhaust pipes. From here we were able to get some more design work done for the Dual Brembo rear brake caliper setup. One of these calipers will actually be hooked to the front brake lever for a hill hold while using the rocker foot clutch. The Inertia starter was mounted and tested for a hand crank position. I made a flip up seat bracket and a set of early 30s style handlebars.

What do you have left to do?
A lot! One of the largest tasks is getting the gearing and pieces made to hook the inertia starter to the primary. The actual 48 motor that is going in the bike also has to be finished along with the trans and satin polishing of the cases. Machining of the trees out of 304 stainless and the rocker ends. Then the entire bike will need disassembled for polish and nickel plating. The foot controls, rocker clutch, hand shift, master cylinders, hand grips, headlight, taillight, paint, center stand, wheel spacers, risers, and one of my favorite features the sand cast dual Linkert intake manifolds that we are making. I am sure I am forgetting something but my head hurts already looking at this list lol.

Any problems so far?
We had some design challenges and my cases actually had some pretty knarly spots that needed welded multiple times. We are far from done so I am sure there will be a few more snags along the way but that’s normal on any build.

Favorite part of the bike so far?
This is a tough one because I have a few but I will say at this point the full size version of the reverse link springer.

Favorite part of the competition?
Honestly the motivation to complete things faster then a “normal” build and getting to know the fellow builders. They are all super cool and are here for the same reasons, building awesome motorcycles.

Shout outs:
Shoutouts to my buddy Gary that has been painstakingly polishing my cases. George for the motor and trans assembly, Kevin @tibbs_76 For all the help with design and modeling, Brian @wudsgoods for the future paint work, and my wife Kelsey for the support and dealing with all the long nights. Also big thanks to Biltwell for hosting this event and giving us the chance to share our stuff with like minded folks!