Rakish and ready to ride, this is the 2007 American IronHorse Slammer. Photograph by Cordero Studios/ www.corderostudios.com

With the vision of creating a new breed of custom motorcycle, long before the days of TV celebrity bike builders, American IronHorse started in a Fort Worth, Texas garage. In the 11 years since those humble beginnings, AIH has come a long, long way. The garage production facility is now a modern and efficient 224,000-square-foot factory that houses engineering, design, product development, parts manufacturing, paint, powdercoating, engine assembly and production, all under one roof. The in-house engineering and manufacture of hundreds of custom parts, including seats, fork legs, triple trees, brake calipers, tanks, sheet metal, and the use of multiple CNC machines, elevates American IronHorse above the host of by-the-numbers assemblers of someone else’s parts. The attention to detail, constant focus on quality control and craftsmanship is amazing and systemic. Creativity, craftsmanship, and accountability are all vital parts of the AIH corporate culture.

Less than five years ago, the market was clamoring for anything with a big displacement American V-Twin and loud pipes. Such bikes were in short supply, but everybody who wanted one would pay way over MSRP to get it. Waiting lists were months out, with little or no ability to choose color or configuration; but how that market has changed. Today, you can pretty much walk into a dealer, pay MSRP and ride out. For a manufacturer to stand out in today’s market, their motorcycles need to be exceptional. (Click image to enlarge)

Like a flesh and blood thoroughbred, each IronHorse has its own personality, bred at the factory to the whim of its future owner. AIH offers six basic configurations: three lean-and-mean, pro-street cruisers (two softails, one rigid frame) and three stretched out, tall choppers (again, two softails and a rigid). These can be equipped with any of three S&S power plants—111 cu in, 117 cu in, and 124 cu in—that can be dressed out with powdercoat and/or diamond-cut cylinders.

With the thermometer inching toward 90 degrees and the sun not yet a finger’s width above the horizon, it promised to be another scorching Texas day. No cold fronts or drought-breaking rain would give me relief. The long, lean, Texas Chopper’s AIH-patented chopper tank rose from beneath me to meet the gorgeously finished triple-tree and sweepingly pulled back handlebars. With the grips above shoulder height, I expected to feel racked-out and somewhat shaky, as with all tall ape-hangers, but this AIH design gave me a feel of confidence and sure control that I usually found lacking with apes.

Each of the three chopper models has a different ride and feel. The softail Texas Chopper and the hardtail LSC are both tall and imposing in look and feel. The Progressive adjustable air suspension with onboard compressor and stealth swingarm on the Texas Chopper allowed a reasonably wide range of fine tuning to the rear suspension and softened the ride noticeably compared to the LSC’s rigid frame. Sporting wide 280 rear rubber, and 90mm front tires on 21-inch wheels, these bikes turn widely and track beautifully, as you would expect from a bike of this extreme configuration. I found the Legend, with its several inch shorter stance and narrower, though still wide, 240 rear tire, handled the best for me. Its air ride provided the most comfort when laying down some miles in a day, while still looking and feeling every bit an IronHorse chopper.