West Coast Choppers, the brain-child of motorcycle chopping legend Jesse James has churned out some remarkable choppers in the decades past. While not being the most prolific manufacturer, the company has placed more emphasis on producing quality builds, standing up only about 12 – 15 bikes a year, with the beefiest ones netting the company a 6 figure cheque.
The team at West Coast Choppers used a combination of hand-building dexterity and high-precision machining to deliver each bike. Jesse James, the leader of the team was always emphatically hands-on, not willing to budge on his decision to go with good old-fashioned metalwork whenever the opportunity presented itself. It actually took a while for him to even consider the idea of using CNC machining to manufacture components and when he eventually did come around, he maintained a strict 50/50 rule whereby fifty percent of the production process was done by hand, and the other half by programmed machines.
By his own admission in an interview in CNN, Jesse considers himself a ‘glorified welder’, but that has not stopped him and his consummate team from putting together some awe-inspiring chopper builds.
West Coast Chopper’s El diablo II, however, takes the prize in the remarkable build category. Let's take a look at that build.
The El Diablo II Paint Job Is a Thing of Beauty
Huge, scorching flames from hell is exactly what you’d expect to be covering anything bold enough to be adorned with the jarring ‘El Diablo’ title, which loosely translates into ‘The Devil’. The second generation of El Diablo is beguilingly handsome, with its solid, glossy coat decked out with flames characteristic of the searing heat that seems to emanate from this hot pair of wheels.
There are different variants of the paint jobs, with some crowd favorites being the bright orange solid coat that has yellow flames snaking all the way from the front to the rear on Kidrock’s El Diablo II, as well as the job on the chopper formerly owned by Shane McMahon, which features a solid black coat with yellow flames that taper off with an orange shade on the flame tips and edges.
These Are Not Your Ordinary Wheels
Jesse would hardly be classified as a conformist when it comes to design. Far from it. The more radical the solution to a problem, the more attractive it is to this creative rebel, and with the wheels on the Diablo II, he had just that in mind. He machines the wheels in-house using a Haas VTC, which he installed in 2003, and uses it to shape a chrome alloy or aluminum block into either the front or the rear wheel of a bike in production.
The El diablo features a set of proprietary chrome wheels, which are lined with Jesse James bullets. To bring the bike to a screeching halt, the wheels have chrome Brembo brake calipers, which are consistent in their performance. The 21-inch front wheel comes with an 80/90-21 tire and the back wheel is wrapped in a fat 200/50-18 tire.
Let’s Talk Engine And Transmission
This two-wheeled work of art is powered by a 124-inch Beeston S & S motor with electronic compression release and fueled by an SS Super G Carburetor. The El Diablo II dishes out about 140hp in its stock setting. West Coast Choppers (WCC) however, have modded it on the Diablo II, adding a custom WCC air intake, covered with the WCC Iron Cross. This engine is hardly a still pond while it’s running, and it roars hellishly through a Hellbent exhaust system. Building on its generous performance, the engine is strikingly gorgeous, chromed-out from every possible angle, and engraved with the WCC logo just to make it clear who’s work is behind the bike.
The bike has a right-side final drive system, with a Baker 6-speed transmission, that propels the power from the engine to the wheels.
Take A Look At These Design Specs To Close It Out
A single, chrome downtube frame with decorative holes drilled into it, runs all the way down to the Jesse James controls at the bottom, giving it a rare aesthetic, and is a design step up from its predecessor, the El Diablo. The El Diablo II features the standard chopper 38 degrees of rake.
Woven onto the backbone is a custom WCC reptile skin seat that is a delight to ride on and is engraved with the WCC name and logo. Six-Gun Handlebar controls line the handlebar, with Jesse James reservoirs resting on the bar, between both brakes. Also on the handlebar is a standard hydraulic clutch that takes care of gearing.
Rotating power from the engine is fed into a 3-inch open primo belt drive, which is also chromed out just like the downtube and the backbone on the bike. Also made of chrome are the bike’s swingarm and the side-mounted license plate mount.
The Softail El Diablo II rides as amazingly as it looks. It offers a sweet balance between performance, aesthetics, and badassery. It represents years of experience drawn by Jesse and the WCC team, attacking both the design and the engineering aspects of the bike with decades-old dexterity, making this bike an amazing build from WCC.