1975 Russ Collins 1000TT CB750 Chopper
For many of us we all have a certain bike we owned that got away, but imagine if you built a bike in the pinnacle of the seventies chopper revolution and it never got away. Imagine if you kept it preserved for over 45 years and continued riding it all that time. That's what Keith Schupp did ever since the day he got his motor back from the now famous Russ Collins of RC Engineering. Back in 1975 he built an Amen framed Honda chopper with the quintessential look of the time, mixed with a quest for ultimate speed that only a beefed up inline 4 motor could bring. It is true there were Kawasaki motors that were capable of meeting the 1000cc mark around that time, but if you wanted a 1000cc CB750 Honda, there was only one way to do it and that involved commissioning the innovator himself, Russ Collins. What you would end up with is a sleek and well hidden amount of vintage power called the 1000TT that could roll up and smoke any stock CB750 chopper your buddies were building down the block. As you know we love our stock CB750s in both original and chopper form but it's not every day you get to roll up next to a survivor chopper today that has one of these. So we met up with Keith at a local diner in Indianapolis to talk shop about his wild ride he named affectionately "The death cycle from hell."
So starting off what can you tell us about this bike?
Well it's a 1975 assembled motor vehicle with a 1972 Honda CB750 motor. I put it in a crate and shipped it from Indianapolis to California to a man named Russ Collins of RC engineering with a check for $1000 (a dollar a CC) and if you haven't heard of him he is the man that employed both Terry Vance and Matt Hines back in that time, that's where both of them got their start. Anyway Russ did his magic to the motor and made this 1000 cc's with a bunch of nasty go fast stuff in there and it's the death cycle from hell. I mean it doesn't handle for crap, it barely has any brakes, it's dangerous as all get out but it goes like a son of a bitch in a straight line and that's what I always wanted.
Truth be told I've seen quite a few 836 kit CB's but never a 1000 in person. What can someone who knows what to look for pick out about this to tell that its not your average CB750?
Definitely the jugs, it has some distinct cylinders that only a few can pick out right away. I was up at a shop here locally, Cycle Recycle, and the owner there was one of the only people to know right away what I had. I kinda like that.
So if this bike had a name then what would it be? The 1000TT?
No, the TT name came from Russ on the motor, you know I would definitely have to stick with "The death cycle from hell" Haha.
Tell us more about the 1000TT, where did that name come from?
Well the engine was kind of like a catalog engine back then, RC Engineering had literally a catalog laid out of all these things that they did and in there its name was the 1000TT which stood for " TURNPIKE TERROR." That's just what Russ called it.
Can you elaborate on what some of the "nasty go fast stuff" that Russ put in it at the time?
Well initially he redid the engine to 1000 cc's, it had crank work, the alternator has been lightened, the starter was pulled, among a few other things, ohh and I also told them to put in the biggest cam that they had. He told me at the time that I might hate it because it could lead to idling issues but I didn't care I said that's what I wanted.
How long have you had the bike?
I built it in 1975 and I've had it every day since
Wow that is incredible. A true survivor chopper. So when did the original paint get added and who's responsible for that?
It was painted by a local guy to Indianapolis at the time who goes by the name of Bikini. Half of it is gold undercoat and the other half is silver so you get kind of a candy Apple red that goes back-and-forth on either side, then all of the black is off of an acetylene torch, it was then cleared and pin striped by Bikini as well.
We noticed the pin stripe lettering on the tank, that's a really cool detail, what's the meaning behind that and what it means to you?
Well the quote is "And as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller than our soul" It's of course the legendary Led Zepplin. I used to be a disc jockey and that was one of my favorite lines.
For this paint work being done in 75 this is pretty impressive for how well it has held up is there anything you would change about it?
Yeah I've thought many times about getting the scratches and things redone and straightened up but every time I decided no I'll just leave it, it looks good with some patina.
So the bike has got some really cool details to it all from the era you built it these square Springer is one stand out thing to me I really like, but what's one of your favorite parts?
I think the gas tank is pretty cool if you look at it under the right influences you could see just about anything you could imagine.
So sort of like a seventies Rorschach test mixed into the theme?
That's the idea just let your mind wander
Who was the original manufacturer of the frame?
Well its an Amen frame but I later did some molding and a few things to it but it's mostly an original Amen.
Very cool, we definitely love the old Amen stuff. Speaking personally my first chopper was an Amen Saviour plunger frame CB750.
Save your ass, as they would say it!
Haha, well that's what they say but mine was rigid as hell. Haha. So, I noticed your license plate, that's too funny. The last time I saw you your tail light had actually rattled off, I see you popped on a new one, what's the meaning of the plate?
Are you kidding, this thing will vibrate the hell out of you, gotta have the VIBR8 plate to match.
So I guess my last question is what has made you keep this bike all these years and was there ever a time that it got away from you?
Honestly I never wanted to sell it because if I did someone is just gonna kill themselves on this thing. It's incredibly fast, it handles terribly but that's the beauty of a chopper I guess, so I just kept it. Nobody else has this exact bike and to me it's just mine and I like that. Sometimes it's a son of a bitch but that's what I wanted.
Well you know when you see it in a crowd of bikes it definitely stands out and you know there has got to be something special about it and there definitely is. We are glad we got to speak with you about it, thank you so much.
Words and photos by Mike Vandegriff
So starting off what can you tell us about this bike?
Well it's a 1975 assembled motor vehicle with a 1972 Honda CB750 motor. I put it in a crate and shipped it from Indianapolis to California to a man named Russ Collins of RC engineering with a check for $1000 (a dollar a CC) and if you haven't heard of him he is the man that employed both Terry Vance and Matt Hines back in that time, that's where both of them got their start. Anyway Russ did his magic to the motor and made this 1000 cc's with a bunch of nasty go fast stuff in there and it's the death cycle from hell. I mean it doesn't handle for crap, it barely has any brakes, it's dangerous as all get out but it goes like a son of a bitch in a straight line and that's what I always wanted.
Truth be told I've seen quite a few 836 kit CB's but never a 1000 in person. What can someone who knows what to look for pick out about this to tell that its not your average CB750?
Definitely the jugs, it has some distinct cylinders that only a few can pick out right away. I was up at a shop here locally, Cycle Recycle, and the owner there was one of the only people to know right away what I had. I kinda like that.
So if this bike had a name then what would it be? The 1000TT?
No, the TT name came from Russ on the motor, you know I would definitely have to stick with "The death cycle from hell" Haha.
Tell us more about the 1000TT, where did that name come from?
Well the engine was kind of like a catalog engine back then, RC Engineering had literally a catalog laid out of all these things that they did and in there its name was the 1000TT which stood for " TURNPIKE TERROR." That's just what Russ called it.
Can you elaborate on what some of the "nasty go fast stuff" that Russ put in it at the time?
Well initially he redid the engine to 1000 cc's, it had crank work, the alternator has been lightened, the starter was pulled, among a few other things, ohh and I also told them to put in the biggest cam that they had. He told me at the time that I might hate it because it could lead to idling issues but I didn't care I said that's what I wanted.
How long have you had the bike?
I built it in 1975 and I've had it every day since
Wow that is incredible. A true survivor chopper. So when did the original paint get added and who's responsible for that?
It was painted by a local guy to Indianapolis at the time who goes by the name of Bikini. Half of it is gold undercoat and the other half is silver so you get kind of a candy Apple red that goes back-and-forth on either side, then all of the black is off of an acetylene torch, it was then cleared and pin striped by Bikini as well.
We noticed the pin stripe lettering on the tank, that's a really cool detail, what's the meaning behind that and what it means to you?
Well the quote is "And as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller than our soul" It's of course the legendary Led Zepplin. I used to be a disc jockey and that was one of my favorite lines.
For this paint work being done in 75 this is pretty impressive for how well it has held up is there anything you would change about it?
Yeah I've thought many times about getting the scratches and things redone and straightened up but every time I decided no I'll just leave it, it looks good with some patina.
So the bike has got some really cool details to it all from the era you built it these square Springer is one stand out thing to me I really like, but what's one of your favorite parts?
I think the gas tank is pretty cool if you look at it under the right influences you could see just about anything you could imagine.
So sort of like a seventies Rorschach test mixed into the theme?
That's the idea just let your mind wander
Who was the original manufacturer of the frame?
Well its an Amen frame but I later did some molding and a few things to it but it's mostly an original Amen.
Very cool, we definitely love the old Amen stuff. Speaking personally my first chopper was an Amen Saviour plunger frame CB750.
Save your ass, as they would say it!
Haha, well that's what they say but mine was rigid as hell. Haha. So, I noticed your license plate, that's too funny. The last time I saw you your tail light had actually rattled off, I see you popped on a new one, what's the meaning of the plate?
Are you kidding, this thing will vibrate the hell out of you, gotta have the VIBR8 plate to match.
So I guess my last question is what has made you keep this bike all these years and was there ever a time that it got away from you?
Honestly I never wanted to sell it because if I did someone is just gonna kill themselves on this thing. It's incredibly fast, it handles terribly but that's the beauty of a chopper I guess, so I just kept it. Nobody else has this exact bike and to me it's just mine and I like that. Sometimes it's a son of a bitch but that's what I wanted.
Well you know when you see it in a crowd of bikes it definitely stands out and you know there has got to be something special about it and there definitely is. We are glad we got to speak with you about it, thank you so much.
Words and photos by Mike Vandegriff