Fan Dancer

Featured in Jammin', Spring 1981

If custom bikes are your thing, this beauty will definitely give you goose bumps as Tom Summers, the creator and builder of "Fan Dancer," surely intended.
Tom is the owner of Lowriders by Summers, in Minneapolis, and also the sole operator and main creative force of the shop which has business hours from afternoon until late in the evenings. Tom's days are spent as manager of a local body shop and his creativity and expertise with body work is clearly evident in his custom two wheelers.

"Fan Dancer," originally a stock '76 750 Honda, received the first stage of customizing when Tom trashed just about everything except the engine and electrical works. The next step to follow was stripping the engine and all visible components were then sent to Custom Metal Finishing and Brown's Plating for chrome and gold plating.

Tom Summers and Mark Swanberg commenced working on what in the beginning was a rigid frame from SB&F. Initially the rake was increased to a full 60 degrees before Mark handmade the drop top tube. Also at that time Mark fabricated the unique tank. The fuel tank rides below the seat in place of the stock oil bag. You are probably saying to yourself, "under the seat," well then what is where the fuel tank normally would be? Well, in place of the gas tank we find a one of a kind custom dash panel with a tach built in. This unique dash panel was built by Alan Speer.

Okay, so where's the oil hiding? It's in an aluminum spoiler, fabricated by Ross Noard for Tom, ahead of the engine. A modified Ness fender was installed and molded in to finish the chassis off.

Below the rear fender is mounted an 18" alloy rim to the stock Honda hub, which was machined and plated. The rear brake assembly was also machined prior to plating. On the front end mounted between the legs of a 6" extended Honda set-up are rims and disc brake assemblies from Hallcraft. The bars and mirror mount come from none other than Ness. Note the engraving work by L.R. Fliger on the machined legs. The added touch of suspension was given the forks with air conversion.

Mounted on the completed chassis is the beefy 836cc power plant, which was completely gone through by Bill Hoh. Big jugs were installed along with an ARD magneto, and Barnett clutch. For an added touch, the cylinder and head were hexed. The gold plating work was masterfully done by the folks at Brown's Plating in Kentucky. Once the engine was in place, a slightly modified set of Santee headers were connected. At the hands of its creator the multi layered coats of green, yellow, blue and green candy lacquer were applied. The lettering is the handiwork from DJ Eckel.

A shop makes a great name for itself when fine work like "Fan Dancer" is produced, and no doubt that "Lowriders by Summers" is attaining that plateau. For any other futher information regarding "Fan Dancer" or any of the accessories used on it, don't hesitate to contact: Lowriders by Summers, 628 E. Lake St., Dept. J, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407.