Chris Hinkle from Memphis, TN had a dream. A dream of 37 years, since he was six years old. He wanted an Evel bike. Chris knew he could never afford an XR750 and make it street legal (no kick starter, wiring for lighting etc). The dream came into fruition when he discovered my ad in Walneck's for my SXR Sportster Street tracker kit. He made up his mind..."I'm going to build that."
Chris called me zillions of times with questions because he never owned a Harley and never done a bike build. Chris always stunned me with his southern way-he constantly referred to me as "Mr. Little" and I couldn't break him of the habit.
He began the long project with many bumps, particularly with sourcing and building the wheels. He finally settled on Marty from GoMoto here in Minneapolis to do his wheels. Johnny Isaacs from Tulsa supplied the hard-to-get dirt track tires. His local Harley shop "Bumpus" helped greatly. Rob Wooley at Customs and Classics in Moscow, TN did a marvelous job of recreating an early Evel design ( used several design themes over the years) and I had the custom seat made for it.
Rob Wooley suggested Chris enter his Evel bike in the April 2012 Mid-South Custom Bike and Auto Show. Chris did reluctantly. After all his bike was just a 1991 883 Evo Sportster and he'd be competing against hundreds of fellas who dump mega thousands into their show customs. In his first ever show he won; Best of Show, People's Choice and the show promoter's "Bluefoot Award." Chris was so moved at the award ceremony that he cried like a baby in front of the entire crowd. That moved the crowd, they muttered "that guy is shaking". They clapped and cheered for a really humble guy and patted him on the back. Chris just swept the show and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Chris said of the entire experience, "Dreams can come true!"