Born Free was a bitch to shoot. There are so many top-quality bikes that it's a gaurantee that you'll miss some. I wandered around in a daze with my camera set on spray and pray. Afterwards I had high hopes of doing a few photo features, split up into different categories: panheads, triumphs, etc. The amount of hype after the show was nearly as overwhelming as the event itself and I didn't want to add to that clutter so I let the images sit a while. I never got around to organizing them, and now that this is the last week for me doing articles on Chop Cult, I thought it would be best to just pile 'em all into one big gallery. So if you've been jonesing for some chopper porn, here's an even 100 images for your veiwing pleasure.

Dennis Fauerbach and his sons Jagger and Cole built this neat '67 Triumph TR6 over a two year period. Here's the story according to this proud pop.

Pounded by critics for not being technologically advanced and pummeled by customers every time they stray from tradition, Harley-Davidson will always face a double-edged sword. Outlasting all other stateside bike makers and defending themselves from quality imports is a testimony to both Harley's cult-like status and the rabid dedication of its customers. What if a new motorcycle company came along that didn't have the restrictions of over a hundred years of defining a category?

A couple months ago our friends at Show Class had an idea for a way to get someone new into the "invited" builder arena at what has America's best custom motorcycle show. Taking submissions from over a hundred builders meant 75 percent of them had to be clipped, with survivors filling the roster. Eventually it'll come down to six bikes to be displayed at Cook's Corner on the Friday evening before Born Free. The winner of the Show Class pre-party bike show at Cook's Corner will get to display his people's choice machine with the big guns at Born Free.

I should have named this story the Matchmaker. We had a friend who was looking for a knucklehead and another who happened to own one. We'll let Jason Craze tell the story.

When McGoo and I launched ChopCult.com in 2009, we did so with limited knowledge of the growing realm of social media. We wanted to assemble a community for people just like us: blue-collar guys who enjoy building and riding custom motorcycles. We dedicated a lot of time and energy to make ChopCult as good as possible within the scope of our abilities, but ultimately, members quickly became the people who made ChopCult unique.

How many times have you heard that details make the difference? Obviously this is especially true when it comes to building motorcycles. Off-the-shelf parts are easy and often that is the best way to go. But, combine a few of your own hand-hewn solutions and the end result will surely be more satisfying. A few details at the recent David Mann Chopper Fest caught my eye (and lens) so here's a bit of inspiration.

New Year's Eve is a great time to reflect on what you accomplished in the previous 12 months, and to make plans for even bigger and better adventures in the year ahead. As this collection of bike features, scene reports and tech how-to's illustrates, 2012 was another banner year for building and bikeriding on the old 33.

If there is one challenge that every garage builder has to tackle time and time again, it's how to attach the fender to the rest of the bike. Even though there are some tried and true methods, if you look at a dozen custom bikes, you are likely to see a dozen different solutions. At the recent David Mann Chopper Fest, I took the opportunity to snap a small collection of photos; maybe one will inspire you the next time you need to make one.

Noise Cycles humbly churns out a wide variety of finely-crafted, interesting motorcycles. While many builders or shops have an indentifiable format, Scott "T-Bone" Jones' style is more flexible and he has broad range that shows both craftsmanship and diversity. His black gennie Shovel won Best California Bobber and Best in Show earlier this month at the David Mann Chopper Fest in Ventura, CA. That machine is luxurious in detail and was never without a crowd around it at the show. Meanwhile, this understated beast sat quietly in front of the Noise booth. In a sea of metal flake peacocks it's simplicity made it a standout. The fact that it has a contemporary (by our standards) and reliable power plant that's often over looked by today's top builders made it even more interesting. Why not? Evos are plentiful, fun to ride, and as this bike proves - they make great donors for custom bikes.