Larry Pierce at Garage Company Customs in Pelham, Alabama, knows a thing or two about a thing or two. BFJ caught up with Larry and the Haints crew at the Smokeout XI to get the lowdown on this fresh-baked cone shovel.

Boozefighter Josh dug up this sweet panhead at the Smokeout XI in North Carolina. Its owner John Dills rolled all the way from Alabama with his bike and the Haints crew to check out the scene. Until BF Josh gave him the chopperazzi treatment, old John just thought he was going for a ride.

The Horse magazine's annual Smokeout is eagerly anticipated by faithful chopper fanatics all over the country. Like drunken moths to a rusty flame, riders from all points on the compass head south to hook up with old friends, check out hand-built motorcycles and get loaded.

Wil Thomas always seems to ride a memorable machine, and this latest unit is no different. A solid starting point, a neat collection of old parts and a heavy dose of creativity result in a bike that won't blend into the crowd no matter where Wil decides to take it.

This murder-black pan is a classic mixture of perfect parts and proportions. The mill is a 1948, rebuilt by Chica in Huntington Beach, CA. The frame is a '56 straight leg with many of the factory bits carved off and new stuff brazed on the old fashioned way. Fork? How about an RL from 1932? You won't find a lot of those hanging off the front of every chopper in the lot.

It's pretty easy to corner a dude at just about any event, do a quick photo shoot and walk away thinking it's a wrap. In reality, sometimes it's damn near impossible to track the dude down, pry the details out of him and finish off another ChopCult bike feature in any reasonable length of time.

At an age when most other guys are content to chase pimple-faced tail or play beer pong with their frat buddies, Andy Carter of Pangea Speed churns out custom motorcycle parts like a seasoned vet in the chopper trenches. This 23-year-old progeny from a family of industrial designers and fabricators first drew attention to his craft by building the bike you see here. Andy's Yamaha XS650 is brimming with details you won't find on custom bikes of significantly higher pedigree.

Many a professional lush has lamented: "One drink's too many and ten isn't enough." Unrepentant chopper addicts can say the same thing about motorcycles. One such heavy tinkerer is Gilby Clarke.

Eric Secor's well-ridden Triumph embodies perfectly the style of "sickle" you'll find on this SoCal resident's popular blog. Sledsandsickles.com is Eric's labor of love and personal homage to hot rods and bobbers, and his bike is that website's own best mascot.

Some men are like magnets for precious metal. Hide a period-correct panhead in the trunk of a rusty Cutlass Cruiser in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Arizona Nick could find it blindfolded. He's just got the knack. A few years ago Nick's sixth sense kicked in again and he unearthed this fine specimen from the bowels of bikerdom.