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Jim Giuffra's "Er Head " Best of Show winning bike The 17th annual edition of Calendar Bike Building Championship of the 2008 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show Weekend again features many of the world's top Pro and Amateur street bike builders in attendance to compete in the Performance Machine Calendar Show Bike Building Championship with a bulging purse of $86,000 in cash and awards. There are 10 individual classes for American V-Twin and Metric Street Custom, Performance, Classic, Bobber, Chopper and Sportbike motorcycles The coveted Performance Machine Best of Show Trophy is awarded for the top overall bike at the Show and includes a $3,000 cash prize, an additional $7,000 in product awards bringing the total awards to $10,000 overall, plus the winning bike and builder receives an editorial bike feature in Iron Works magazine and the Iron & Lace Calendar photographed by Show producer Jim Gianatsis. Taking home the coveted Best of Show award for the first time ever at a major Show was an incredible metric custom from builder Jim Giuffra / AFTcustoms.com. Named “Er Head” for it’s air-cooled Yamaha XVS engine fed by a Mikuni HSR carb, the bike features a specially modified Yamaha/Redneck Engineering/ AFT Customs oil-in frame with RMD billet girder front forks, and a single shock rear suspension. Assisting Jim with the construction of the top bike was his assistant Ron Abel, and AFT Model Agency girls Kylie and Elaina. That the Show judges like about Giuffra's "Er Head" (pronounced as Air Head, and named so because of its air cooled engine) is that it was clean and simple, and carried throughout the bike in its colors, fit an finish its bar hopper theme. It also encompassed our preference for a 'balanced bike" with functional monoshock front and rear suspension , a performance braking system on both wheels, and sportbike style wheels and tires. This was a high-end custom bike that you could actually ride safely and fast into turns and around corners. The bike had a number of unique one-off special features like the clutch and front brake's hydraulic reservoirs hidden inside the handlebars. And the simple fact that Giuffra had the courage to build a high end custom bike using a metric engine to compete in the Pro Builder Class against American V-Twins.
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