From the archives. April 2013

One of my all-time favorite photos, and not just of the Rising Star:

Taken on an unseasonably hot day in April 2013; better days, better times, gone but not forgotten.

From the archives. June 2013

You may not realize it, because your eye is understandably drawn towards the Jaguar (hey, everybody loves a shapely rear end) but the Rising Star is also in this photo, taken at Brian's garage some years ago:

That car is known to keep good company...

From the archives. February 2013

Another three-quarters view, this time by the waterfront during an outing to lake Bracciano.

From the archives. 2010

One of the most fun and enjoyable things about building a chopper is looking around for individual parts; this comes after you have decided what the overall look of the bike will be, in itself a challenging task, given the variety of styles out there and the many pitfalls that lie in wait any time you think a certain piece will look good or work well on your build.

For the better part of 2010 I amassed major components and came across some unexpected parts that I liked and had never seen before, such as the spare spark plug holder (which has been a hit everywhere I've gone, someone always says "hey that's cool").

Other parts require fabrication from scratch, and this is where you need to be skilled or rely on someone else who is. These are just some of the many purpose-built items on the Rising Star:

Above: the sissy bar made by uncle Fester is a very functional piece, and necessary if you wanna carry luggage on a motorcycle like this one.

From the archives. February 2013

A photo of the completed Rising Star (including the gas tank painted by Toni Raia), shows off the bike's low-slung stance: