Repeat Business: Two gnarly performance choppers by MB Cycles

Given how long the chopper scene has been around, builders are spoilt for choice when sourcing parts for their projects. But finding the right engine, frame, and running gear for a custom chopper is only half the struggle. You need to know exactly which parts to pick—and you need to know how to combine them to create a cohesive machine.

Martin Becker at MB Cycles excels at this. The German custom bike builder is a matchmaker of sorts, combining bits from wildly different sources to create jaw-dropping V-twin performance choppers. He’s a master of stance, proportions, and details, and knows how to make modern and vintage details harmonize.

The two performance choppers pictured here were built using one of Martin’s favorite combos—a West Coast Choppers CFL frame and an S&S Cycle V-twin motor.

Designed by West Coast Choppers founder Jesse James in the late 90s, the CFL is a TIG-welded hardtail frame with a distinctive backbone and a raked-out front end. Martin picks up CFL frames whenever and wherever he can, and typically has four CFL-based builds on the go at any given time.

The first of these bikes, dubbed ‘The Eisenhauer’ [above], was built to compete in a European build-off. It took second place in the ‘Master Builder’ category at that event, before being snapped up by a customer in Beverly Hills, California, USA.

“This is absolutely crazy,” says Martin, “to send a bike that I built from Germany to the land of the choppers. I am really proud of that. The guy who bought The Eisenhauer ordered another bike five days after it arrived by plane; another West Coast Chopper build called ‘The Stauffenberg’.”

For The Eisenhauer, Martin started with a 2009-model Jesse James-built WCC CFL frame with a 32-degree rake and a 4”-up stretch. He matched it to a set of Pro-One yokes, then lengthened a set of forks and cleaned up their lowers to complete the front end. An Arlen Ness fork brace and Hyperpro steering damper add stability.

The bike rolls on a set of Lyndall Fan Tab wheels, measuring 21” up front and 18” out back. Despite its chopper aesthetic, Martin’s built this one to be a rider. To that end, it wears modern Metzeler tires, Performance Machine brake calipers, and Beringer rotors.

The cockpit is all business. Tall (and adjustable) Vity’s Design risers grip a set of ABM handlebars, fitted with Hart Luck grips, a racing throttle, Beringer controls, and micro switches. A tiny Motogadget speedo sits against the bottom edge of the top bar clamp.

All the wiring runs inside the handlebars, courtesy of a Motogadget breakout box. Martin converted the clutch to a hydraulic system as well, using a kit from Speed Dealer Performance. All of these details play into his overall vision for the build; “To make it as clean as possible, and to try to make it look fast and functional.”

That trend continues through the bike’s bodywork. The headlight nacelle is from Fork Co., Japan, and mimics the shrouds on enduro bikes. The fuel tank is a modified aftermarket item, the seat and oil tank are from West Coast Choppers, and the rear fender is handmade.

There’s not an inch of this gnarly chopper that hasn’t been carefully considered. Martin opted for Kellerman LEDs for the turn signals and taillight, added mid-mounted foot controls from Famous Fabricator in Germany, and propped the bike up on a West Coast Choppers side stand.

Some of the best details are hard to spot—like the custom-made front axle, which acts as a conduit to connect the left and right front brake calipers. Rounding out the accouterments are an MB Cycles license plate mount, a Kuryakyn skid plate, and a West Coast Choppers upper motor mount, which also houses the ignition barrel.

The Eisenhauer’s motor is equally tasty. “The casing is special, and was made by S&S Cycle years ago,” Martin tells us. “It’s a mix between a Twin Cam and Evo—so the mounting points are Evo and the inner parts are Twin Cam.”

Also in play are a Joe Hunt magneto, S&S gear-driven camshafts, and a Baker six-speed transmission. Martin also installed a 2” primary from Belt Drives Ltd., along with the company’s Competitor clutch.

The 88 ci V-twin is fed by a Keihin CV carb, fitted with a Performance Machine air cleaner. Gasses exit via a handmade exhaust system, capped off with a Jekill and Hyde muffler that features an electronically-actuated valve to alter its loudness.

The Stauffenberg follows a similar recipe—with several tweaks. So it’s less like a sequel, and more like a spin-off.

This build uses a 2011-model WCC CFL frame, although it features the same geometry as its stablemate. Martin once again picked Pro-One yokes, an Arlen Ness brace, and a Hyperpro damper, but pieced this bike’s front forks together with a set of modified Harley Dyna Super Glide Sport lowers.

Lyndall Design V-Starr wheels sit at either end, measuring 21F/18R and wearing Avon Cobra Chrome rubber. Except this time, they’re fitted with Lyndall Brakes rotors and grippy Brembo four-piston calipers, mounted on Speed Dealer brackets. The twin front calipers use the same through-axle design as The Eisenhauer, but they also benefit from race-style carbon fiber cooling ducts.

Up top, you’ll once again spot a 4.5” headlight surrounded by a Fork Co. fairing, plus 10” Vity’s Design adjustable risers and mid-rise bars. The hydraulic clutch and brake controls are from Beringer, but the grips are from Famous Fabricator. The single rear-view mirror is a glassless Motogadget model.

Martin picked the same Motogadget speedo for this bike, but here it’s mounted in a special housing that places it just above the top bar clamp. The housing also houses two discreet buttons on its front edge—one to start the bike, and another to scroll through the speedo.

The Stauffenberg also wears twin Kodlin taillights, Famous Fabricator foot controls, and a small LED spotlight in front of the primary. Under the hood, Martin added an extra brace to the frame’s backbone to make it stiffer and installed a Famous Fabricator upper motor mount. The bodywork includes a Famous Fabricator fuel tank, a WCC oil tank, an MB Cycles seat, and a handmade rear fender.

The client wanted his second MB Cycles chopper to have a little more poke, so Martin used a 2023-model 111 ci S&S Cycles engine. It uses an S&S ignition and coils, with an Accel charging system. The clutch and open belt drive are from Belt Drives Ltd., the transmission is another six-speed Baker, and the sprockets are Lyndall parts.

The intake features a modified K&N air cleaner, originally designed for Harley’s Milwaukee Eight engine. It feeds an S&S Cycle Super E carb.

Finishing The Stauffenberg off is a tightly twisted two-into-one exhaust, made to spec for MB Cycles by a craftsman in Indonesia. “If people ask, ‘No,’ the muffler doesn’t burn your leg,” Martin adds.

Both bikes are draped in swathes of chrome and black, with tasteful gold accents. Martin turned to his regular collaborators to add the finishes; Metal Skin Works for powder coating and Chiko’s Pinstriping for paint.

The Eisenhauer and The Stauffenberg are now safely in Beverly Hills, parked in what is surely a very enviable garage. We’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite between these two gnarly performance choppers… how about you?

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