With help from his friend and customer Tyler Malinky, Greg Villadolid has raised the stakes in garment manufacturing for the chopper industry. 911 Clothing is Lowbrow's vendor for screenprinting and embroidery, and Greg is a faithful Weirdo who volunteers to work in Lowbrow's booth when Tyler or one of his employees isn't available.

I met Greg for the first time in the Lowbrow booth at Daytona Bike Week. Both the man and his machine impressed me with their respective attention to detail. That attention serves Greg in business, too. 911 Clothing has specialized in custom screenprinting and embroidery for organizations and businesses since Greg founded the company in 1989. Greg's work in the chopper industry can be seen in the garments and patches he produces for Lowbrow Customs. In addition to Lowbrow, 911 prints for numerous fire, military and EMS organizations. Greg specializes in supple waterbase and discharge screenprinting inks, and these products give 911-made garments their "soft hand." For laypersons, that's screenprinter lingo for "thin and comfortable."

Speaking of thin and comfortable, here's what Greg has to say about the little chopper he built with co-workers at his other business, WyldRydes:

The bike was built for fun. I always have several projects going, but this was my first XS build. XS Yamahas are good entry-level bikes for first-time builders. They really don't get the respect they deserve. This is one of the reasons I chose this model. This bike was already finished and running when I decided to cut it up and tear it down and do it again. The build went pretty smooth. I made a few rookie mistakes like sending my tank off for paint before installing steering stops, so I over compensated and welded a nice U-shape under lower trees and sent the frame out for paint. When I put it all together and got it off the lift I had to make a 15-point turn just to get it out of the shop door. I cut the U-stop down after fresh paint. I Also mocked up the bike with a vintage rear tire that was not safe to run and couldn't find an exact replacement, so I had a hard time finding the right tire for the rear. Other than that the build was pretty easy, including tearing down the motor and doing a complete rebuild using all high-performance parts.

Owner: Greg Valladolid 

Year/Make: '79 XS 650 Yamaha

Fab and Assembly: Greg Valladolid

Build time: Six months over a Ohio winter. What else can you do when there's three feet of snow on the ground?

Engine: Yamaha 650 bored out to a 750

Cases: Stock cases cut and reworked to remove Yamaha logo

Rods: XS performance

Pistons: 81mm with cut valves pockets for over sized valves.

Cylinders: XS Performance cylinder sleeves

Heads: XS Performance big bore cylinder

Cam: XS Performance high-performance cam

Ignition: XS Performance

Carb: 34mm Mikunis

Pipes: Custom made with Biltwell exhaust kit; brass tips and black exhaust wrap from Lowbrow

Transmission: Stock with a 24-tooth pinion gear installed for freeway fun

Clutch: XS Performance racing clutch

Frame: XS 650 Yamaha front loop with a custom-built hardtail 

Forks: Stock with shaved brake tabs for a cleaner look 

Triple Trees: Endless hours on reworked stock trees 

Front wheel: 21” laced with old-school spool hub and polished stainless-steel spokes and nipples

Rear wheel: 18” dirt bike rim laced to a stock drum brake hub with polished stainless-steel spokes and nipples

Front tire: Avon Speedmaster MKII 21x3.00

Rear tire: Cheng Shin Marquis 100/90-18

Rear Brake: Stock drum drilled with lighting holes

Fuel Tank: Reworked Sportster tank from Lowbrow Customs. Relocated filler neck and fuel valve. Installed a fuel sight gauge and toped off with a crown

Fenders: Used stock XS front fender for rear. Cut modified

Handlebars: Welded up some stainless steel bars with 35mm clip ons

Hand Controls: MX flat tracker dirt track style clutch lever

Grips: Custom 7/8” aluminum

Pegs: Reworked Honda MX Fastway dirt bike pegs

Headlight: Lowbrow Customs

Taillight: Afterhours Choppers Titmouse

Painter: Jeromeborris.com 

Polishing: In house wyld rydes

Electrical: Rick Frasso 

Seat: In-house pan with leatherwork by Xian Leather

Thanks: Rick Fresco, Jerome Borris, Tyler and Kyle at Lowbrow