The Imperial House

Just pulled this one out of the kiln.........CRAZY COOL!!

2012-01-15T09:34:00.000-06:00

HOT pearls!

2012-01-15T09:27:00.002-06:00

A few new ones heading out of the studio....

2012-01-15T09:25:00.000-06:00

Ssssssssssssnake.........

2011-12-09T21:18:00.000-06:00

Crazy snakes............Thanks Thom!

Mitch Cotie -

2011-12-09T21:07:00.001-06:00

Check out this killer illustration Mitch worked up for DeathtrapsMC ; amazing. Head over to their blog/store to get a t-shirt with the design.

Finshing this one up.

2011-11-20T21:00:00.000-06:00

Long time coming on this one but I think it's worth the wait! Cant wait to kick this one.

Headed to Yokohama Hotrod Show.......

2011-11-20T20:51:00.000-06:00

Worked up this little beauty for the Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod Show on Dec. 4th.

Hope they dig it!

Simple stripes.........and a little sugar. (Black and Gold For Sale)

2011-11-20T20:43:00.000-06:00

TRI-co.........check it! Hollywood baby!

2011-10-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

www.tricostore.blogspot.com

new day.....

2011-10-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

fresh flavors..........

2011-08-25T22:36:00.000-05:00

Some new work

2011-07-10T22:27:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wish I had more time to post on this blog, yet on the other hand,

I'm glad I have things to keep me busy.

Thanks Bacon!

2011-05-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

Bacon, (Dan Carr of DCChoppers) finished up the rebuild of my 64 pan/shovel engine! Damn she looks good paired up with all the rest of this stuff!

Okay.....time to move forward

2011-05-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

some of the latest helmets/artwork from Imperial House

Help JAPAN

2011-03-23T00:43:00.009-05:00

ATTENTION: Anyone interested in making donations, please do so via check or money order. I have removed the PayPal donate link due to complications on there behalf. To those of you who have donated..........Thank You! If you havent received them already, all prints are in the mail! Damn the man!

I have had the situation in Japan on my mind,

as I am sure many others have. In talking about the devastation with others, it became painfully obvious that a lot of people really want to help but they have no surety of

how or to whom they should direct their contributions. So, with that being said, I set out to create this original painting, using water color and one shot. As clearly depicted in this print,

the red circle of Japan’s flag, (which is historically symbolic

of the sun; warmth, and brightness) is being overtaken by the cracks from the outer

edge of the print, (representative of the 9.0 earthquake that triggered the devastating tsunami.) With the final touch being the single tear falling from the heart of a country as a silent cry for help.

The goal in creating this painting was to put together a striking image that would

help keep the plight in Japan at the forefront of our minds, while also creating an avenue for people to donate to help Japan. With the help of C & C Quality Printing, Inc., Imperial House will be offering high quality, signed and numbered, 15” x 20”, limited edition prints.

These prints are available for a minimum donation of $20 and will ship within

2 weeks of donations being placed.

ALL proceeds will be going to a program

called “Socks for Japan”, and the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Together we can help the land of the Rising Sun, rise above this tragic time. Thanks.

You can donate today:

send check or USPS money order to:

HELP JAPAN

c/o Shawn Long

8845 Ridgeview Dr.

Sparta, IL 62286

Once again, ALL proceeds will be going to the relief efforts in Japan.

Working on the bikes vocal chords!

2011-02-18T22:02:00.000-06:00

I've always loved the look of rippled pipe, and yeah it may be overused at times, but I had to have a little touch of it. Pieced together these pipes from 3 old beat up sets of exhaust I had laying around. Capped them off with sum BUB reverse cones. Cant wait to see them chromed!

Threw on a seat I've been holding onto and the original Paughco Alien dual cap tank just to see how everything is flowing. Digging it!

Pan/Shovel update

2011-02-18T00:48:00.001-06:00

As stated in previous posts; my goal is to build my idea of a killer bike while keeping the spending down! Well, one way to do this is to turn other's trash into treasures. In the same way that the early wishbone frame was crying out for help; well so was this early oem Horseshoe oil tank. Not sure how this crack came about, but it needed help nonetheless. The crack ran across the top seam as well, so I had to start by grinding out some of it, and then using a shaping hammer, I got everything to line back up as it should. Buttoned it all up with teh TIG, and now it's ready to ride the ride again.

Some new paint -

2011-02-18T00:35:00.001-06:00

El Diablo Run helmet to be given away to the winner of the Circulo De Muerte! Check out more at http://www.eldiablorun.blogspot.com/

100% original design on this one - "Hard Luck" soon to be a series of designs.

And next, some simple variegated leaf with Black accent striping.

Finished up the frame -

2011-02-11T16:16:00.000-06:00

for now anyway. Filled in the obvious void left from hacking off the sidecar hoops. So I am sitting here at a standstill, and figured I would mock this thing up and see if it matched the image in my head. So far so good! Nothing's really bolted down, just set in place; but man I'm diggin it! Whatdaya think?

Frame repair....

2011-02-04T23:11:00.001-06:00

The first order of business was straightening the backbone, which I accomplished with a little heat and persuasion. Next was to tackle the neck. As you will see in the picture below, someone along the way hacked this thing up pretty good. Oddly though, instead of following the norm and taking a pie slice out of the bottom support and kicking the neck outward to gain the desired rake; this genius took a pie slice out of the top of the neck casting/backbone and pulled the neck back. I have never seen it done this way.

So the choice was made to dive in and get this thing sitting right! I started with a cut right down the back side of the neck itself. After shelling the teeth off of 3 sawzall blades, and burning through a few cutoff wheels, I was ready to add a little heat and start bending this thing back into it's natural resting place. The original welds may not have been pretty, but they were definitely solid!

Next, I had to make a template of the gaping void that I was now left with. Once I had the template then I came up with the 2 pieces you see in the next photo. Combined as one, they filled this void perfectly and gave me some solid support to tie things back together.

Once fitted in place I fired up the Lincoln, and sewed it all back together. After the root pass secured everything for the road, I layed down a few more passes to help with blending and molding later.

1964 Pan/Shovel Build

2011-02-02T21:03:00.005-06:00

Okay, I have thrown together a few bikes in the past and each consisted of a plan to: build, sell, re-invest, repeat. Or something like that. I am finally at a point where I am setting out to build a bike for myself; something that I want to ride. All the while trying to prove to the world that you can have one helluva bike even with a limited budget. So with that being said, I am going to attempt to chronicle this build thoroughly here on this blog. So let's get to it.

In my eyes, there's not much that beats the look of a slabside shovel, so when i came across this 64 panhead with a shovelhead topend I had to pick it up.

The next thing on the list was the frame. I had my hopes set on a straight leg frame but seems that someone else had another plan because along came a 48 wishbone that had the right numbers on the price tag. It needed quite a bit of help, but was definitely worth resurrecting.

I will go over the repairs I chose to make to the frame on the next update. Stay tuned!

Fresh PAINT

2011-01-23T20:12:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from Imperial House!

2010-12-25T21:08:00.000-06:00

SOLD: New BILTWELL HUSTLER motorcycle helmet

2010-12-16T14:09:00.001-06:00

Killer new Biltwell DOT certified Hustler motorcycle helmet for sale. Tight Pinstriping in turquoise and white to set this thing off! Nice one-off freehand design. $200

Max Grundy tag.....interesting.

2010-12-12T08:43:00.000-06:00

Fresher paint

2010-12-12T08:40:00.000-06:00

Fresh paint

2010-12-12T08:36:00.000-06:00

New helmet SOLD:

2010-11-08T22:06:00.001-06:00

brand new sunset duo tone BILTWELL helmet with fresh custom pinstriping and lettering. Shout it out to all on the road that you are "Nomad".

My humble offerings!

2010-11-03T14:18:00.000-05:00

See more at www.bornfreeshow.blogspot.com

Sweet images playing in my mind...

2010-11-03T14:14:00.000-05:00

sorry for the lack of posts.

Just a little inspiration........

2010-09-14T08:09:00.000-05:00

not sure where I got these from, but just thought I would throw up some pics from my hard-drive occasionally to keep things interesting.

Salt ASSAULT 2010........

2010-08-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

if youre into all things COOL, then check these guys out for sure! http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/

2 of the greatest guys you will ever meet, brothers Tyler and Kyle Malinky have teamed up with Triumph guru Wes White, http://www.fouracescycle.com/ to wreak havoc on the bonneville salt flats! So far they have pushed through minor issues to make their mark in the books! Sounds and looks like all is going well! Check them out on their blog and show your support!

If nothing else, this third picture would make on helluva background for your desktop!

New BLOG!

2010-08-16T15:31:00.000-05:00

Check it at http://alexkustom.blogspot.com/

SOLD!

2010-08-14T10:02:00.000-05:00

Gen 2 Biltwell Flat Black with gloss, red striped, and killer SS lightning and old school flames to accent - $169 shipped to your door! International orders add $15 usd. Check it!

Showin' some LOVE!!!

2010-07-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a deck I did for Jeremiah at Love cycles. Check him out at http://www.lovecycles.blogspot.com/

Monday Hero.....Shinya Kimura

2010-07-26T08:22:00.001-05:00

If you do not know who this guy is by now, then motorcycles are not a true love of yours! His artistic view, and mechanical ability are amazing to say the least; and it seems that there are no boundaries in his mind or heart. Check him out if you havent; you do not know what you are missing.

Monday Hero....

2010-07-12T12:01:00.001-05:00

You gotta admit this cat was super smooth in Cool Hand Luke! Even in real life, he always seemed to have the right swagger, regardless of the situation. Paul Newman; hero.

Fresh paint for your pleasure -

2010-07-08T13:38:00.001-05:00

Fresh paint for your pleasure-

2010-07-08T13:34:00.000-05:00

Been on the road...

2010-07-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

nothing like being on the road for a couple of weeks to help put things in perspective. 2300+ miles later I am still trying to sort through all of my thoughts. Made the trek in my 73 Econoline, (which is aestethically pleasing but needs some mechanical attention now), out to Rockingham, NC to meet up with the Lowbrow crew at the Horse Smokeout East! Overheating the whole way there due primarily to a failing water pump and extremely low gearing, blown front tire from debris flying fom the ass end of a semi, blown rear shock that left me leaning for a few miles, and all this while traveling in 90+ degree weather with no luxurious AC. Gotta love it!

Nonetheless, I made it to my destination and back again! Great time, (minus the wacky storm that came trough on Friday night and destroyed half of the campground.) great people, crazy experience! Thanks to Kyle and Tyler from Lowbrow customs: truly 2 great businessman, and awesome guys all around! The whole crew of people that were there as the Lowbrow crew.......you are all great! Thanks for your hospitality! BFJosh.....are you sure you were really deployed.....I mean c'mon?

I wish I could remember everyone's name, you know who you are- thanks. Clay R.- it was good to meet you and I still plan on gettin my frame out to you. Hope to enjoy more events such as this in the future! Wish I had more pictures, but I am the worst at thinking about a camera after the action has taken place.

New stripes.....

2010-06-11T15:50:00.000-05:00

traveled up to northeast Missouri last weekend to lay some paint on a new build. Take a look! Still waiting on clear, but you get the jist of it. Really nice bike! It's always a plus when the canvas is something you're into.

Monday hero...a day late.

2010-06-08T08:20:00.000-05:00

Great music; even better personality. Merle Haggard's "Are the Good Times Really Over for Good?", has to ring true in everyone's mind. Take a listen and hear it for yourself.

New t-shirts...........?

2010-06-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

Trying to finalize a t-shirt design. Yeah, yeah ........I know. looks just like the Chop Cult shirts! Yes it does, and that's on of the cool things about this design. Give me some feedback please, I want to get this thing nailed.

Monday Hero.....

2010-06-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

no introduction needed here! Quoted as saying, "I dont need drugs, I am drugs!", Salvador Dali definitely sparks a few questions in the heads of anyone viewing his artwork. If you ever have the chance to visit the Dali Museum in Florida, do it! I am not a big museum guy, but man this guys art is insanity.

Imperial House Military Special......

2010-05-31T19:17:00.000-05:00

As a way to express our appreciation for your service, Imperial House, would like to announce the following offer:

Imperial House/Biltwell Military Special

Valid 5-31-2010 Memorial Day through 7-4-2010 Independance Day

For all currently serving Military Personnel, Imperial House is proud to offer, for a limited time, Custom (striped/lettered to order) Biltwell Motorcycle helmets, for the price of $169 (Usually $189-249) plus shipping. This price includes your choice of helmet plus the following options: any color striping, lettering, leaf work and limited full custom artwork. Along with a killer helmet from Imperial House, the gang at Biltwell Inc. has offered to toss in a free t-shirt (their choice) with every helmet order!

"How do I get in on this?", you might ask. Simple. Send a picture of yourself in uniform, holding a sign stating "Imperial House". Include your t-shirt size with your helmet request and leave the rest up to us. Send all emails to shawn@imperialhouse71.com

Once again, Imperial House and Biltwell Inc., would like to say thanks to each of you for your service.

Monday Hero...............

2010-05-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was." Muhammad Ali

For Sale..........

2010-05-18T22:57:00.001-05:00

Next.....is a brand new Gen 2 Flat Black Biltwell helmet, spiced with some Sublime Green and White one shot!

And finally......a brand new Gen 2 Flat Black Biltwell helmet adorned with some fresh freehand striping in Fire Red, Red/Orange, and Yellow one shot.

Fresh paint...............................

2010-05-17T18:28:00.000-05:00

send me your custom requests and I will turn then into a killer piece for you to hold onto! Guaranteed satisfaction!

Monday HERO..........

2010-05-17T08:54:00.000-05:00

yeah, yeah, I know this pic has circulated to all corners of the web, BUT this has to be the coolest "surfing" photo ever! I dont know who this guy is, but he is definitely a ruler! Pure confidence, and composure! (Photo by Scott Pommier)

R.I.P. Frank Frazetta

2010-05-11T08:19:00.001-05:00

.......man this guy's s#!t has always blown me away! His skills of lighting, and anatomy, and let me not forget to mention his killer vision of the female character! Just absolutely insane! Well, the torch has passed. Amazing artist, illustrator, and storyteller to say the least.

Monday HERO...............

2010-05-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

one of THE most influential artist in my life; Robert Williams. Truly a master with a brush, and unbeatable when it comes to layout and story-telling within one frame! Crazy! And a picture of the cover of Thrasher magazine from the late 80's. This particular magazine, was a turning point in my artistic journey! Check him out, each piece he creates is filled with subtle as well as "in your face" wisdom!

Loco en la Cabeza!

2010-05-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

All hand painted............each one different!
1-Shot enamel!

Fresh paint for the masses.............

2010-05-06T11:22:00.001-05:00

Customer requested some Pinups, and this is what rang out! Thanks again Brian "the mad hatter" Matter!

.....first up, The Handsome One for Larry in Canada!

Then we have more Sugar goodness for Josh! This was a fun one, copper leaf, and full Artwork!

Monday hero.........

2010-05-03T07:48:00.000-05:00

Max Schaaf......skater, painter, builder..........ruler. Just dig his style, and vision. Keep doin your own thing!

Monday Hero.....er, HEROES!

2010-04-26T07:57:00.000-05:00

8 1/2 years sure seems to have gone by quick, but let's not forget these heroes and others that are still tangled in this mess of a war. Thanks to all!

My new best pal.............

2010-04-25T22:29:00.000-05:00

introducing TONY! This guy is absolutely crazy.

Monday Hero........

2010-04-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

.......this cat was definitely the coolest! Forget Hulkamania, The Nature Boy, or Macho Man Savage; when this guy started bleeding, and rubbing that stuff all over while climbing to the top rope..........you knew it was about to happen! The greatest signature move in wrestling! Long live Jimmy "SUPERFLY" Snuka!

Lonestar 2010

2010-04-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

Another dash piece................ Owner was a helluva guy! Thanks
again man!

Lonestar Round Up 2010

2010-04-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

More artwork from the round up.......

Lonestar Round Up 2010

2010-04-15T18:19:00.000-05:00

All original 32 coupe. Crazy!

Lonestar round up 2010

2010-04-15T18:18:00.002-05:00

2010-04-15T18:18:00.001-05:00

Latest work..................

2010-04-14T15:57:00.001-05:00

Latest work...........

2010-04-14T15:48:00.001-05:00

Just got back from the Lonestar Round Up, and I must say that it was an absolute blast! Great weather, great rides, and great people! Gotta admit, that I have never met nicer people at such a gathering! I was fortunate enough to stay busy the whole weekend with striping, but unfortunately, i am the worst at remembering to take pictures of my stuff. So, I am searching the net for pics, and once I have them i will be posting some of my efforts....................so to tide things over, here are a few offerings that I have put together as of late.

Monday Hero...........

2010-04-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

Mr. Dylan, anyone..............? "The Times They Are a Changing", this song has never rang as true as it does today! Look around and take it all in.........if you're not "living" your life, you better start today. You wont get a second chance!

From the vault..........

2010-04-06T07:53:00.000-05:00

just a little screen time for some oldies but goodies! All have been sold.....................if you're lookin for similar custom work, give mw a shout. shawn@imperialhouse71.com

Monday hero.........

2010-04-05T07:57:00.001-05:00

.......that's Mr. Eastwood to you.

Thanks Bret..........

2010-04-04T18:27:00.000-05:00

Check out Logan Design Works......killer work from a great guy!

straight perfection!

2010-04-01T13:32:00.001-05:00

First bike I ever built....

2010-03-30T15:33:00.000-05:00

turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

New helmets for sale!

2010-03-29T18:13:00.000-05:00

Fresh paint and leaf work.........get them while you can!

Black Biltwell Megaflake with 2 tone purple striping and variegated leaf.............$225

Ice Blue Biltwell Megaflake with killer lettering.........................$220

Disco Gold Biltwell Megaflake with Green striping and green variegated leaf......$225.

Monday hero.....

2010-03-29T09:32:00.000-05:00

This guy has to be one of the coolest cats...........

¡chico duro, personificado!

Spring Thaw busy-ness.....

2010-03-28T21:09:00.000-05:00

some goodies for the masses!
This 250 needed some dressing up....thanks Scot!

"..........it takes total concentwation!"

Miss this one........

2010-03-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

First Triumph build. To me, it had one of the coolest stances. A little too long in the rear, but overall it turned out pretty sweet. I gotta find the finished pics.

Gotta be 1 of the best looking engines......

2010-03-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

Monday Hero....

2010-03-22T10:37:00.001-05:00

Just a little ritual to reflect on some heroes, past, present, and future.

Spring Thaw....

2010-03-21T20:22:00.000-05:00

I will be peddling some goodies as well as pinstriping all day at the Spring Thaw bike show and swap, in Shelbyville, TN on Saturday March 27. If you're around that area, come check it out....