Spotlight: Nigel Mount & The 1979 FLT

Nigel Mount leapt onto the custom motorcycle scene when he started working at his father's shop, Veloce Imports, when he was just a kid. It was here that Nigel learned all about the build process, and when he moved to Denver (where he currently resides), he began working at LaFores Motorcycles. At LaFores, Nigel began building and maintaining custom Harleys all by himself.

"I got started in motorcycles a little over ten years ago after going to Laconia Bike Week in 2012," Nigel recalls. "It was my first time there as an adult. Didn't have a bike, but my buddy and his family all rode. I decided, after that week, I'd finally go get one. And a month later I bought an '81 GS550 for $300. Over the winter, I turned it into a cafe racer/brat and rode it to Laconia on my learner's permit."

Nigel's most recent project is a 1979 FLT. Owned by his best friend, Braden Kirk of New Hampshire, this bike features an 88" Shovel, a Mag. Paughco frame (Nigel says the original one was a disaster) and a Buell S3 inverted front end. It is affectionately named "Natty Daddy" after Braden's daughter.

Source: Nigel Mount

"The only real performance upgrade is the 88" shovel with a magneto," Nigel explains. "But when you couple that to a rigid frame with an inverted fork up front, this might be the most fun bike I've built! And with a 13" rotor and 6-piston caliper up front, it actually stops when you want. The bike absolutely boogies!"

Source: Nigel Mount

In terms of custom fabrication, Nigel admits he didn't do anything too over the top. He built some one-off mounts for the oil tank, fender and engine and a one-off sissy bar to coordinate the paint designs. Nigel says this was pretty hard because the tins were painted prior to the project.

"Narrowed the bars, machined the trees to fit the frame and risers, and a one-off stainless B-side exhaust," Nigel illustrates. "And the usual little components for shift linkage, custom stainless front axle to fit the Harley wheel to buell front end (by ACSIS Systems), fitting the calipers, and various frame mounts. And everything was hand-polished."

Source: Nigel Mount

Nigel's cousin at ACSIS Systems (@acsissystems) did the stainless front axle and handled all of the custom machining. The chrome was done by Ajax Custom Plating in Denver, and the powder was done by Colorado Powder Coating. The paint job was done by Ronnie Hatem (@hatemgraphics), who completely set the tone for the bike and set some pretty high standards for Nigel to meet.

"I try to support my friends or other smaller outfits for the stuff I don't do myself," Nigel states. "The timing cover is from Martian Machine. the taillight and plate bracket are from No School Choppers, and the pink grips, intake and mag cover are from Exotic Choppers."

Source: Nigel Mount

The seat is by Biltwell, and the carb and oil pump are by S&S Cycle. The oil tank and filter housing are by Lowbrow Customs.

"Honesty, most custom bikes ride terribly," Nigel laughs. "Too many builders focus on being long, loud, flashy and they don't even know what 'trail' has to do with anything. Those early legends did. But modern customs, choppers and big wheel baggers forgot that riding is what's most important. I have no interest in pandering to the 'I spent this much' or hacked together 'sketchy choppers'. I'm very opinionated on a lot of things in this industry, but I worked for people who wanted to build things right, and build them well. It's becoming a lost art. But I think there's hope; especially in the performance bagger scene. To take an utterly soggy couch and make it handle close to a sport bike is awesome to me. I'd love to see the chopper scene go in a similar direction. If you've ever ridden a WCC CFL, then you know. That's why I'm so proud of this bike, it just rides so well."

Source: Nigel Mount

On the Natty Daddy's maiden voyage, Nigel was invited to ride with Michael Lichter. Nigel was working on a stripped spark plug and welding the broken kick stand together prior to starting the journey from Colorado. He remembers the actual ride fondly, enjoying the experience alongside Michael who took some photos of the bike.

Source: Nigel Mount

When it was time to give the FLT to Braden, Nigel planned the ultimate surprise. He made his way up to the Deadbeat Customs Show at the Gunstock Hill Climb in New Hampshire this past June, knowing Braden would be there with his family. Their lasting friendship was Nigel's inspiration for building the bike, and Braden was surprised and grateful to have it. Nigel himself was honored to give Braden the Harley in front of Braden's wife, daughter, his in-laws and Nigel's own parents.

The occasion marked the first time any of them had seen one of Nigel's bike builds in real life.

"I think it's when the whole of the bike starts to come together," Nigel responds when asked about his favorite part of the build process. "I had a pretty narrow window and minimal amount of equipment to build this. I really had to trust my ideas and approach, but I didn't know it was all going to flow and come together like it did 'til the first major mock-up on the ground. Otherwise, I think building the exhaust is my favorite piece to make. It comes last and it can make or break a bike."