Jarrod Del Prado's Ironhead Mele

Jarrod Del Prado of New River, Arizona, has made a fast name for himself in the modern customizing game. Several of his recent works have received high praise from readers on sites like Bikes EXIF. Jarrod built this ironhead for racecar driver Perry Mele.

Perry's machine displays Jarrod's personal chopper aesthetic nicely without falling victim to the dreaded theme bike curse. Here's what Jarrod has to say about his Mele project and its new owner.

Our customer on this build is a racecar driver, so we really wanted a racing look and feel. It turned out to be a really cool hybrid of a cafe racer and a drag racer-style bike. The sport bike tires and clip-ons work surprisingly well with the 6" stretch. The owner says, "It's the smoothest riding bike I've ever been on, and it begs to be ridden fast!" 

As we were delivering the bike down to Tucson, we could see just about every motorist that we passed snapping their necks to get a look at the bright white wheels contrasting with the bright orange and the near chrome. The owner had not seen any photos, but we were pretty sure he'd like it based on the response we were getting.

Special thanks to Duffee Motorsports, Ramjet Racing and Strahm Photography for helping us bring this whole project together.

Owner: Perry Mele, racecar driver in the Pro-Mazda series

Builder: DP Customs, New River, AZ

Bike: 1979 Harley-Davidson Sportster

Engine: 1000cc ironhead with hot cams, headwork, Branch intake manifold, Mikuni carb

Bars: DP Customs clip-ons

Exhaust: DP Customs 2-1-2 X-Pipe

Paint and graphic design: DP Customs

Frame: Stock rake with a 4" stretch hardtail, modified by DP Customs to 6", dual underseat down tubes modified to a single tube

Front Suspension: Lowered 3"

Rear suspension: Seat shocks

Seat: Biltwell Slimline

Grips: Biltwell Kung-Fu

Throttle: Biltwell Whiskey

Wheels: Stock 19" front, 16" rear

Tires: Pirelli Sport Demon

Fuel tank: Peanut

Oil Tank: Scuba

Controls: Vicious Cycle Works

For more photos, visit Jed Strahm Photography

See more bikes from DP Customs at their website