Editor’s note:
After spotting Wilbur’s VTX at the Indy Show, we made arrangements for our photographer Kinney Jones to shoot these photos a few weeks later at Daytona Bike Week.

nyone in attendance at this year’s Dealernews Powersports Dealer Expo at Indianapolis would surely agree that it would be hard to pick just one machine as the top standout from all that were on display. One serious contender for this distinction would have to be Wilbur Redman’s custom 2002 Honda VTX 1800C, a striking yellow metric chopper that might well have ended up in a junk yard had its owner not been in search of a challenging project.
     There is an old saying that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and that could well be said about this motorcycle. Redman purchased his VTX as a wrecked bike, then worked with Hal Greenlee of Direct Line Parts, Inc. to adapt a number of items made for Harley customs in the Drag Specialties FatBook catalog.
     According to Greenlee, “We wanted to keep the project simple so we didn’t spend all of our time building custom parts. I looked at the cover of the 2003 Drag Specialties catalog and thought that bike had a nice look. We decided to combine the rear portion of our bike with the Drag Specialties Project Bike XI. The result was the “VTX Chopper.”
     Greenlee added, “We think we ended up with a unique bike that retains some of the Honda VTX signature items such as the shaft drive, VTX 1800 engine and the VTX headlight. We will be taking this bike with us to the shows this year so other people can realize the unlimited potential of the Honda VTX. Honda asked us to bring the bike to the Honda Homecoming in July to show alongside the Cobra VTX and the Jesse James VTX.
     
     Some of the key products from the Drag Specialties FatBook:

Frame: Chopper Guys
Swedish Rigid
Rear tire: Metzeler 240
Front tire: Metzeler 120/70 x 21
Fuel tank: Independent
Fork tubes: Drag Specialties with 5-degree triple clamp
Controls: Joker Machine
Exhaust: BUB Jug Hugger