When Tory Du Varney asked me to be a judge at this year's David Mann Chopperfest, I was intimidated. You see, as one of the organizers of the DMCF, Tory takes motorcycle critique seriously. That commitment is reflected in the panel of builders, bike owners, media representatives and industry members who carry the clipboards at his event. When I saw the unanimous praise DMCF judges heaped on my favorite bike at this year's seaside showcase, I felt relief. Turns out the professionals on Tory's panel loved this stunning machine even more than this neophyte judge did.

Owner/builder: Dalton Walker

Age: 30

Shop: Split Image Kustoms (SIK)

Year, make and model of motor; modifications: STD shovel bottom, machined for 1946 knuckle barrels, lifter blocks and heads; dual Linkert carbs on a SIK manifold; House of Horsepower cone magneto with Harley mag; SIK knuckle rocker nuts. The bottom end is one of five Trevelen built for Biker Build-Off a couple years ago. He gave me a sweet deal, so I pieced together the OEM H-D ’46 top end

Year, make and model of frame; modifications: 2011 SIK one-off. The neck and rear axle blocks are chrome plated. The transmission mount is also chromed; the rest of the frame was molded in between the chrome bits

Make, model and mods on transmission: 4-speed Dougherty Machine blower case; original H-D suicide lid; knuckle kicker covers with welded fins; SIK kicker arm and pedal

Model, style and modifications on primary: Phase 3 belt drive with no backing plate

Hand controls: SIK custom handlebars with molded internal throttle cable, SIK internal throttle; bars are part of the top triple tree to look like the forks go through them

Foot controls: SIK mechanical rear brake pedal with bell cranks; SIK foot pegs

Fork: SIK one-off made to look like a narrowed H-D

Seat: SIK seat pan with Central Valley upholstery

Paint: Kal Concepts Air Syndicate

Other SIK custom fabbed parts: Exhaust, wheels, gas tank, fender, sissy bar, aluminum oil bag, kickstand, headlight, chain drive for BSA generator

Builder’s back story: I was invited to build this bike one year ago for Artistry in Iron. I had less than a year to finish, but I wanted everything to be built from scratch and not have anything jump out at you unless you looked really close. I was trying to nail the ‘60s–‘70s show bike look without breaking the bank—I’ve got less than 10 g’s into the whole build, but thousands of hours. I’ve been invited to take this bike to Sturgis for the AMD World Championships

Thanks: Jeff Montgomery, Dion Gulliano, Craig Fraser, Tommy Rhodes, Anthony Raven, Vincent Rivero, Derik Boling, Paul Bethel, Trevelen Rabanal, Johnny Surprise, Randy, Tony Corona, Morenos Polishing, A&D, Mom, Dad, Kelly. Sorry if I forgot anyone!

Visit Dalton's blog here.