Smooth Moves :: By Danny Helms

Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away, two friends embark on yet another custom motorcycle journey. Rodney Roberts and Jerry Berryhill have built several bikes and have witnessed the highs and lows of taking on such a quest.

These two brothers have been through all the aspects of motorcycle building and the drama of them taking on such a task together, was no less entertaining then any made for TV reality show.

Robert's and Berryhill's love-hate relationship spans over 30 years and combines the level of experience and skill needed to bring about a bike as awesome as Smooth Moves. Their skill, combined with the skills of of all the other employees at Rodney's Cycle House and kept sane under the watchful eye of superior motorcycle mechanic, DR Eddie Bunch, turns what can be a soul crushing project into a jaw dropping work of art.

This bike was not a simple snap together kit bike. In fact, every aspect of this bike came from lots of thought, trial and error, and of course, beer. Like most projects, it started with a dream and this particular dream came to Berryhill two years ago. In the beginning, it was unknown whether it was a dream or a nightmare, but it became a reality in the form of the bike now known as "Smooth Moves".

This one off custom's emphasis was to have a design in which every aspect of the bike blended together and was pleasing to the eye with smooth lines and near perfect body work and paint. Like it's name, it can be best described in one word: "Smooth".

Smooth Moves pushed every person involved with it to the very limits of their sanity. The thousands of hours involved in this project rival that of any bike to come out of Rodney's Cycle House and was worth every minute of blood, sweat and tears that were shed for it.

Over the span two years, Roberts and Berryhill spent countless hours bending and welding shapes and angles together to get the first rendition of the frame. Displeased with the results, they cut that one up and did it all again. This time, the frame met their approval and the shape of the bike was set, now it was time to bring in the swing arm and drive line.

Wanting to try something different, Berryhill came up with a combo stock 5 speed FLH transmission case. It was converted to right side drive and now sports a 6 speed with the oil pan on the bottom. The trick worked great. Another trick to this unique drive line was to rubber mount only the front of the engine and allow the rear to rotate with the swing arm.

The engine is a 120 cubic inch Merch. This polished beauty puts out over 130 hp and breathes through and old school SU carb off of an old Jaguar. Spent exhaust gases exit from a one off custom exhaust designed and built by Berryhill. The cool set of pipes were built out of scrap exhaust pipes laying around in Rodney's Cycle House. The pipes were ground smooth and sent to High Performance Coating to get a cool finish. The final touch was to hand mill holes into a three inch aluminum pipe, giving it a machine gun look. This look found its way to several other pieces on the bike as the project went on.

Satisfied with the way things were coming together, Roberts and Berryhill pressed on with the fenders and tank. The front fender is a Russ Weirmont, trimmed to fit. The rear fender is a combination of custom struts made out of plate steel, added to a custom fender. It proved to be a bit of a challenge, but in the end, became one of the coolest features of the bike.

The tank is a one off, built by Independent Tank Co. As usual, with anything custom, it had to be modified to make it fit. This tank has had literally hundreds of hours put into it. The small pod on the tank is speedo/tach combo by Dakota Digital.

Berryhill made the handle bars out of one inch pipe and added Arlen Ness controls. The hand bar grips, foot pegs and forward controls, all by Arlen Ness, have the same milled hole look Berryhill put on the exhaust pipe. The Ness forward controls put the pressure on the trice Exile rear brake. The front binders are tried and true Performance Machine Unit.

The bike was finally ready for it's first mock up. It's lines were right, but several changes still had to be made and it was broken down and put together several more times. When Berryhill refused to put the bike together again, the nod of approval was given and the body work and paint began.

Six weeks before Smooth Moves was to make it's debut in South Dakota, it was still in pieces. Berryhill contacted custom painter Danny Helms of Helms Custom Designs in Little Rock, and handed him a project that would prove to be the biggest challenge ever put on him. Berryhill's only request was that the paint be yellow. The bike needed substantial bodywork, paint and graphics. There was no way one person could do all the smoothing and detailing it required in the allotted time.

After many hours of discussion and several beers, a design was decided upon and Roberts and Helms combined efforts to whip this beast into shape in the very little amount of time they had left. The bike's potential was evident, but it was going to take every waking minute to bring it out.

With over 30 years experience in the paint biz, Roberts handed Helms the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to see how it was really done. Over the course of the next two weeks, Roberts passed a lifetime of priceless information to Helms, proving to the "young gun" that there was still a lot to learn just by watching, listening to and working with the "old master".

A grand total of 365 hours was spent transforming what resembled a worn out farm implement into the shining diamond it is today. Once the paint was dry and buffed, the pieces were handed back to Berryhill for final assembly. With only ten days left before it had to be loaded for Sturgis, Berryhill worked day and night to get the bike put back together. The bike was assembled and crowned with a one of a kind custom seat created by Joe Warren. A piece of crocodile skin, imported from the Nile and tanned to blend with the yellow of the bike, was stretched over Warren's custom seat pan, creating the perfect finishing touch for Smooth Moves.

With hours left before everyone was to leave for Sturgis, Smooth Moves breathed life for the first time. After dealing with only a few small leaks and clearance issues that were quickly and easily fixed, the smooth one and it's owner went on the maiden cruise.

The bike performed flawlessly, was loaded with everything else and the trek to the "Mother Land" was on. To show up in Sturgis with this bike was a dream come true for everyone involved. "Smooth Moves" would show the world what can happen when a bunch of "poor boys" from Arkansas put their head together.

For Roberts and Berryhill, both brothers in a motorcycle organization called the Hamsters, making a good showing was very important, since the Sturgis Rally is one of the largest U.S. gatherings of the Hamsters. "I don't care if anyone likes the bike," said Berryhill, "I just wan Arlen Ness's approval." When Ness saw the bike in Sturgis, he gave Berryhill the nod he was looking for.

During the week of Sturgis, Smooth Moves competed against some of the best bikes in the world at the Metzler Tire Show and the Rats Hole Custom Bike Show. Smooth Moves won the Mayor's Choice Award for 2006 and was photographed by Hot Bike Magazine.

All in all, the bike had a great week. It made a statement and opened a few doors. During the week, everyone involved in the creation of Smooth Moves was on top of the world. The friendships and accomplishments built at the rally will always be the glue that bonds these people together.

Since Sturgis, Smooth Moves has several shows and has been featured in local magazines, as well as landing a spot in the 2007 Caribbean Tan Calendar. What the future holds for Smooth Moves is unknown, but you can be sure that whatever moves she makes will be SMOOOTH..........