Did a young Charlie ever imagine he’d be living the life of a wayward ‘cyclist? “I don’t remember picturing my life as anything in particular as a kid,” he mused. In Namiquipa, Chihuahua Mexico, parked up with a BMW GS adventure tourer. “I’m not going to put a car tire on the back of a sport bike and take it to the track, but people do tend to get super-hot about this kind of stuff.” Other bikes, other adventures. “People who’ve never done it are the first to say, ‘You can’t do it,’” he says. I can run it a little lower on air pressure and smooth out some of the bumps, and I can get 30,000 miles out of a tire instead of changing motorcycle tires twice a month.” Experts enjoy telling Charlie that he can’t ride with a car tire on the rear of his motorcycle, regardless of the fact he has and will pound out 1,000 mile days on the machine. It’s a Swedish thing to do, and a lot of the old choppers ran car tires. And Charlie runs a 15-inch car tire on the rear. Overall, the aesthetic of his long, rigid-at-both-ends chopper is reminiscent of custom builds from Sweden. “I have friends who can help me with that,” he says. I’d always liked long choppers, and it was time for me to do it.” While mechanically competent, Charlie insists he’s not a fabricator or a welder. “I changed the paint, cut a few things off here and there,” Charlie explains, and continues, “But about 10 years ago, I decided to hardtail it and rake it out.
As purchased, the Heritage Softail had apehanger handlebars. I’d already been all over the country, just not on a motorcycle – and the motorcycle added something extra awesome to the mix.” Charley Weisel at a roadside motel. “I didn’t know what I was getting into, but it all felt very natural to me. “I took a ride with a couple of friends up to Wyoming,” Charlie recalls. It wasn’t until 2005 when Charlie put money on the ‘03 Heritage Softail that miles really began rolling under his tires. Ironically, the Sportster was mostly ridden around town. “I had the idea that I’d travel, but I’d use a motorcycle to do it,” he says. In 2002, he bought a new Harley-Davidson Sportster. About 22 years ago, Charlie moved near Boulder, Colorado, and eventually got his motorcycle license. Having been taught where the clutch, brake levers and throttle were on a friend’s bike, Charlie would occasionally borrow a machine and ride for an hour or two. Eventually, the fun was taken out of the bicycle racing and the only part I enjoyed was the traveling.” Although not raised around motorcycles, he wasn’t exactly a stranger to them.
“I’d win a race, live for a week on the earnings, and then drive to another race and zig-zagged around the country. “I raced from the age of 11, up until I was 28 or 29. And his mom, who was athletic and a marathon runner, got him interested in road racing bicycles. His dad was a career Air Force man, and the family moved around the country every two or three years. Charlie didn’t grow up around motorcycles, but he was a seasoned traveler. A familiar roadside shrine near Conception Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico. “Typically, the more remote and difficult roads yield the greatest rewards,” he explains. So, either begging or apologizing!” He rides on all surfaces, from asphalt to dirt, sand and gravel. I have a pretty close relationship with the machine I’m constantly asking it to go just a little further or saying sorry for riding it where I’m asking it to go. “I’ve never named the thing,” Charlie says of his Harley-Davidson.
Over the last several years, Charlie has ridden his chopper more than 235,000 miles, traveling the roads of 17 European countries, Mexico, and all 48 contiguous United States. He’s used to the attention, and says, “people do tend to stop and make sure I’m good fairly often, it’s a reminder that humans are far more caring and helpful than we like to believe.” And he’d know.
HARLEY DAVIDSON CHOPPER 2 SEAT DRIVER
“Everything all right?” one concerned driver shouted out during our conversation. With a car or truck passing every few minutes, Charlie sat astride the 10-foot 4-inch long custom. I’d called him a couple of hours earlier, right when he was elbows deep in the drive side of his 2003 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail chopper. After a short ride, he pulled over and returned my call. After swapping out a clutch hub bearing and installing a new primary drive belt at Rivera Primo’s shop in Goleta, California, Charlie Weisel (that’s pronounced Wisel), hit the road.
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