Between building the giveaway bike for Easyriders Events bike tours and some of his own personal projects, Bill Holland of Executive Choppers took some time to speak with us about his business.
Where do you get your inspiration for your original designs at Executive Choppers?
Bill Holland: It goes back to the early days, smooth lines and attention to detail without adding extra parts that aren’t needed. I’m inspired by some of the other builder’s talents which make me want to improve more.
What was your first big break in the business of building bikes?
BH: My brother Harry and John Harman started H&H Cycle in 1970. After designing and building prototype girders with leaf springs, John came up with an idea about an internally sprung girder. My brother had me come to work with them from the beginning so that gave me the opportunity to learn all AI could teach about fabricating. John was so skilled at fabricating he could build just about anything he wanted. He taught me patience and the foundation for the skills and talent that I posses today. If it wasn’t for my brother and John, I don’t know if I would be in the bike business today.
What was your most memorable chopper design?
BH: In around 1975, after building many custom bikes that they would show all the time, one of our customers asked me why I never put one of my bikes in the shows. The reason was I never thought they were trick or over the top enough to compete. So I came up with an idea to build a 100” Sportster drag bike for the street.
It took a year to build. I built my own cylinder out of T 6 aluminum billet with ductile steel sleeves, shovel heads, fuel injection which we made our own injector bodies using Hilborn pump and nozzles, pills etc. Dual plug heads, 2- magnetos, custom frame, front end, oil tank, seat, fender, gas tank, exhaust, rear controls. The wheels were real magnesium Morris Mags.
Everything was handmade. When I got it to the Sacramento motorcycle exposition, we didn’t want to start it because John and I were literally plumbing the bike in his van on the way to the show and we weren’t sure if it was all correct and didn’t want to risk damage to engine so we lost points because of not starting the engine. I still came in first place in class and best engineered bike of the show.
What has been your oddest request for a custom chopper?
BH: I built a 42” over chopper for a customer, turned friend, in North Carolina. I wasn’t crazy about his frame choice and motor but after talking to him about a different motor; it didn’t take much talking till he decided to go with a fully polished 124” S&S.
What advice would you give to someone trying to break into the business?
BH: You have to love what you’re doing, especially if you are a fabricator and are anal about quality and detail. You never get enough money for the time and effort you put in.
What do you think sets you apart from other custom builders?
BH: First off, you have bike assemblers then you have bike builders. When it comes to building a bike, I start with a steel rack with good quality materials that only come in straight 20’ sections. I start from there. Other than that, style is what sets most builders apart.
Is there anyone that you like to work with, whether it’s a fellow builder or someone you’d like to build a bike for?
BH: Other than John Harman, and he’s gone RIP I pretty much work alone When it comes to fabrication I don’t like anyone around me, it breaks my concentration. When it comes time to assemble after paint and chrome I have 2 friends that I’ve known and built bikes for over the last 30 years. George Carlton and Mark Filkill, they come out and help me. I’d love to build a bike for anyone that could give me a blank check and let me do my thing.
How long does it usually take you to create a bike from start to finish?
BH: If I had nothing else to do but that one bike it would take around one and a half months to fabricate and another one and a half months for paint and chrome. One and a half weeks to assemble and wire. That’s the perfect world; usually around six months.
What projects are you currently working on?
BH: I’m building the giveaway bike for Easyriders Events bike tours. It will be given away in Chillicothe, Ohio in September. And also I am duplicating a bike for a company in Italy like the Gold Digger bike that Jesse James built on the documentary History of the Chopper, which I was invited to be on, along with John’s wife and son and my brother. He had one of our original H&H Cycle front ends and he bought a swoopy style frame out of the 70’s at a swap meet that he mated together.
