While at the 28th Annual Laughlin River Run, we were photographing the Custom Bike Show when we came to a truly outstanding looking bike called “Unforgiven”.  Now every picture tells a story and so do many bikes, but this bike and its owner have traveled down a path not followed by most custom builds.  We got to talking with Sam Baldi, Unforgiven’s owner, and he agreed to share the story of his “build”.  The unique twist is that it includes him and his bike - both underwent changes during the same time period.  Here is the story in his own words:

“Ever since I was a kid I wanted a Harley. I started riding when I was 11 when my dad bought me a 1970 Yamaha 125 (which I still have). My feet didn’t touch the ground and I slept in the garage with that bike the first week I had it. I had been bitten by the bike bug…BAD! I and my 2 brothers (who are also my business partners) had always customized whatever we had. In the late 70’s and 80’s it was vans. In the 90’s it was pickups. They leaned toward dirt and off-road I always loved asphalt. Marriage and kids tended to put toys on hold for awhile. The first words out of all 3 of my kid’s mouths were “daddy wants a Harley”.  The other thing that was happening was my weight was starting to get out of control. I’m 5’10” and I weighed 250 pounds in the 80’s. I finally got the opportunity to get a bike in 2000. But I didn’t just want any bike. So we decided to build one.”

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“We built a fat boy styled custom with a 113 cu.in S&S and 6 speed trans and 200 rear tire…all new for 2000. That was a big bike. And I was getting bigger myself. My wife Dawndra wanted to ride her own bike so I bought her a 2001 883 Sportster and we were happy.
In 2002 she decided she wanted a bigger bike with more power. So she took my custom and we built “Unforgiven”. I’m a big Metallica fan. I wanted a chopper that would not look so small when I was riding it because by then my weight had gone up to over 300 pounds. Real fire flames were new and I had seen it done on TV. I spoke to my painter at the time and he said he could try. They looked ok for the time and I was happy again.”

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     “In 2008 business was going well - we are in construction working for the federal government building runways and doing airfield repair all over the country - and I had a Sand Rail built since we are 3 hours from the dunes. I had it painted by Alberto at Onextreme with real fire flame.  We named it “Unforgiven II, I fell in love with the paint job and decided to rehab the bike and have Alberto paint it to match the car. I also needed to do something about my weight I had now ballooned to 380 pounds it was hard to ride the bike because my legs were so big that I was burning them on the heads.
     Through one of the guys that worked for me I met Jimmy at Profile Cycles. Jimmy works out of his home garage and is only 10 minutes from my house. He showed me some of his work and I knew he was the guy. That was September of 2008. Earlier that year I had decided that if I don’t do something about my weight I was not going to be around to see the good stuff that was happening in my life. I was getting ready to turn 50, my oldest daughter was about to get married, so grand children were possible and I was having this great bike built. I didn’t want either one of us to look the same anymore. I was 380 pounds and now a diabetic because of my weight, both knees were bad, I had one operation and the doctor would not do another until I lost weight and my general health was failing. I had dieted in the past…lost 50 pounds here 80 pounds there and then put back on as much if not more.
     Surgery was the answer for me. I needed something drastic and that was it. I went to 6 months of preparation classes and had my surgery on Dec. 3rd 2008. That was just the start. Since then with diet and exercise I have lost 187 pounds and working on keeping it off. I am no longer a diabetic and I can walk for miles now. A far cry from 2 years ago.
     The bike was completed in July of 2009. It took Alberto 2 months for the paint job which if you look at the detail you would think it would have taken a lot longer. Jimmy did all the engineering and fabricating on everything else. Such as the Accutronix forward controls that were new in 2003…they were made into mid controls. As far as I know this has not been done before with an open belt drive. I never liked forward controls. All the lines and wires are hidden including the linkage for the trans. The seat was made by Rich at Bitchin Seat Co and the wheels are by Rampage Wheel Co.”

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“Here are some specs:

• Owner-Sam Baldi, Cherry Valley Ca
• Bike- 2003 Softail Chopper
• Builder- Jimmy at Profile Cycles, Beaumont Ca 909-770-2048
• Paint- Alberto Ahumada, Onextreme.com San Jacinto Ca 951-201-8676
• Frame- Diamond Chasses with 2” up and 2” out and 45 degrees in the neck
• Forks – American Suspension with 6 degrees in the trees…Total of 51 degrees
• Motor and Trans- S&S 113 with 120 HP and Spike 6 speed
• Wheels- Rampage

     The handle bars were built by Jimmy as were many of the parts that had to be machined. The rear tire is an Avon 18” 250 and the front is an Avon 21” 90.
     Since we started all this Jimmy and Alberto have become good friends. So much so we’re working on another bike for my wife, built by Jimmy and painted by Alberto of course. And we are going to have both bikes competing at the Grand National Roadster show in Pomona, CA next year for the America’s Most Beautiful Bike. There is also a 3rd bike coming from all the parts left over from the previous builds. Hope to have that one done for Sturgis this year.
     As you can tell from the pictures a lot has changed over the years. The bike and I both look better and I feel better than I have in 25 years. I weigh less now than I did when we got married 25 years ago next month. I inspired Dawndra enough that she had the same surgery last October and to date has lost 80 pounds herself. So now we’re both new people with new bikes…The future looks bright.”

The future looks bright indeed...

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