The exhaust system was custom crafted. It begins at the engine exhaust ports and eventually exits rear of the seat cowl. The exit pipe was made from tail section of a Harley-Davidson muffler, and the exit pipe location was originally a tail light mount on a “Boat tail.” The welding required in the build of Brunelle’s bike was done by Mark and his son Tony of Mark’s Prop Shop in Stacy, Minnesota, while the paint work was left to Jeff Johnson of Johnson’s Body Shop in Hudson, Wisconsin. Brunelle recalled the conversation he had with Johnson upon walking into his shop and introducing himself, as he said it’s a memory that has stayed with him. “I asked Jeff if he would consider painting my motorcycle,” Brunelle described. “He said that he had as much work as he could handle doing—collision work on cars and trucks—and didn’t do motorcycles. Then he asked me, ‘What kind of bike is it?’ I told him it was a custom build revolving around my experiences in Vietnam. Jeff was a Marine veteran. When he heard my story, he said ‘I’ll do it.’ What I didn’t know at that time was the energy that Jeff would put into the project.” A few days later, Johnson called Brunelle requesting that he come to the shop to go through color swatches. Together, the two selected the shade of O.D. Green for use on the bike. Shortly thereaf ter, Johnson again called Brunelle to come into the shop, this time to inspect the actual color, shot on a test panel. Af ter that, the paint was applied. The par ts were then sent to Lenni Schwar t z’s shop Krazy Kolors in New Richmond, Wisconsin, to have the artwork done—a project that included using reproduction graphics of the original art as used by C Troop, 16th Cavalry Aeroscouts (“Outcasts”). “We went over what was to be applied and where,” Brunelle explained of the process. “Then we mocked up the bike so Lenni could see how the panels would flow from one to the other. When I saw the finished product, I was beyond happy. Lenni’s artwork gave the bike life. His workmanship was incredible. For instance, the crossed sabers on the fuel tank are entirely hand done. Lenni used silver leaf, gold leaf and variegated leaf on that one image.” Once the artwork was finished, the parts came back to Johnson’s shop for clearcoat. Again, Johnson went through swatches with Brunelle to determine the level of gloss to be used, and again, he had Brunelle check out the chosen matte finish on the green panel that was used during the original selection of the color before applying it to the bike. Once Johnson shot the clear, the paint job was done. Af ter more fabrication and assembly, the bike itself was finally declared finished. Brunelle retrofitted a van for safely transporting the motorcycle, and for a while, he showed it at various venues. During its tour, the bike won first place in the radical custom class at the 115th year anniversary bike show at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee and first place in the open class at the Donnie Smith show, the biggest bike show in the Midwest. It also garnered first place and Best of Show awards at a half dozen other shows in its time on the road as well. With inspiration plucked directly from the battlegrounds of Vietnam, this motorcycle is a one-of-a-kind, tribute-style piece of mechanical artwork, built from the ground-up by a man who proudly served his country in its time of need. Stunning in presentation and exuding oodles of “badassery,” this is a bike worthy of every bit of attention it receives this January in Las Vegas as it crosses the Mecum auction block. OFFERED JANUARY 28 AT LAS VEGAS 2022 MECUM.COM // 81
