The "Harley" bass

Where do I start on this one? Have you ever had a friend that did so many things for you but you never could find a way to repay the kindness? When they're a true friend you really don't have to repay it, but you would still like to. Marc Karpowich and I have been friends for years. He's a great drummer and we've been in a lot of bands together. He's always wanted to learn to play bass. So I thought, here's my chance, I'll build Marc a bass. He's been a huge Harley Davidson fan so that's the theme I used for his bass.
It had to be black, have lots of chrome and leather and as many Harley touches as I could think of. The pickguard is black leather. The control knobs are direct copies of a twin cam's pistons made from billet aluminum. The pickups are engraved with a twist on the Harley mantra. A chrome eagle's head adorns the upper bout. I wanted to really do something special with the tuners. I oriented them into the classic Harley V and had them machined out of billet as models of the twin cam cylinders.
The final touch was my favorite. Marc had always loved the custom made brass hand shifter he built for his 1940 Knucklehead. A friend of Marc's had faceted an amber marble that Marc had inset into the top of the shifter handle. I duplicated this as the pickup selector switch. I made it out of brass stock and placed an amber cubic zirconia into the top.
The cover plate on the back has the logos of the bands that Marc and I have been in together. I gave it to him on Christmas Eve of 2006.

The "Harley" bass