Blue Crush
Alex Lurig’s Pimped-Out Warrior

By Sam Whitehead, Photos by Bob Feather

Let this serve as a warning. Should you ever find yourself feeling a bit vulnerable while wandering around the greater Fort Lauderdale area ( Davie, Florida, to be exact), do not go anywhere near Broward Motorsports. For within the hallowed confines of that ever-expanding dealership lurks a custom sub-enterprise whose sole intention is to bring you over to the dark side.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe, within minutes of talking to Sam Nehme and his metric Mack Daddies, you might very well be seduced by what’s known as “the pimp world of BMS Choppers.” Once the BMS crew has you in their clutches, there’s no telling what will transpire. Just ask poor Alex Lurig, the victimized 32-year-old owner of this seriously slick scoot.

“I actually went down to BMS to buy another sportbike,” states Alex, as if still in a state of disbelief. “I’ve always loved sportbikes, and they’re what I know, so that’s what I wanted.” At least that’s what Alex thought he wanted. However, like other innocent creatures before him, the allure of the BMS pimp world proved too strong, and his desires took a radically different turn. “Sam talked me into getting a chopper. He told me how exciting they are to ride, and the attention they draw from all sorts of people. Finally, he convinced me that there’s something so cool about putting together a machine that will be totally my own, and entirely unique.” The seduction was complete.

Truth told, Sam and his crew are in no way hustlers. They’re artists, groundbreaking innovators, and honest pros that have created a number of exquisite customs for several straight-up, walk-in customers. Alex just happens to have known Sam and many of the BMS boys since high school. In fact, that’s one reason why Alex eventually nixed the sportbike idea. “If you’re on a crotch rocket when most of your friends are riding cruisers, it’s not nearly as fun,” Alex explains. “You spend all your time waiting at intersections.”

Still, Alex was worried that he would find life astride a cruiser a bit dull. So, Sam asked his old pal what he was after, other than a two-wheeled ballistic missile. Naturally, Alex wanted something fast. He also insisted on a beast that would look completely different from any other bike. And since he’d owned a lot of Yamahas and trusted the brand, a Yamaha it would be. Finally, as Sam says, “Alex wanted to be able to put that bike in the garage, and in two months’ time, simply hit the start button and ride. He was all too familiar with the headaches and horror stories of customs — Harleys in particular.”

Wanting to tread new turf, Sam and his BMS Chopper pimps picked a Road Star Warrior as their weapon of choice. It was a decision that didn’t immediately sit well with Alex, as he felt the Warrior wasn’t a very good-looking bike to start with. “That’s the problem with that model,” says Sam. “Very few people can get past those huge, potato-launcher pipes. But I assured Alex that we would make it look different.” Clearly, Sam is a man of his word.

To get the party started, the guys rolled a brand-new ’04 Warrior off the BMS dealer floor and into the BMS Choppers shop. They then stripped it to the frame and began cutting, welding, and smoothing everything out. “The Warrior is designed to be a really powerful and aggressive cruiser that also feels a bit like a sportbike,” Sam states, pointing out that it’s got an aluminum frame. Those familiar with the difficulties of working with aluminum know that it’s tricky and unforgiving to weld. “People are scared of it. Before this bike, I don’t believe anyone had ever raked the frame of a Warrior. We were the first, kicking it out to 48 degrees.”

This bike also features another first for Sam and his crew. See if you can guess what it is. Oh, forget it. Unless you’re blind, you can’t miss that super-fat 280 tire. It frames a styling Performance Machine Contour Widow Maker rim (just like up front), and defines the bike’s rear with all the subtlety of a jackhammer, albeit an extremely cool jackhammer. Remarkably enough, that obese coupling of rubber and chrome spins on a stock Warrior swingarm. That’s right, stock. At least, that’s what Sam says. But let’s read between the lines.

“Essentially, what we do is take the stock swingarm and add a new channel to the outside of it,” Sam reveals. “That widens the internals. But at the end of the day, you still use your original factory axle and hardware. The whole process takes about 14 hours. Once done, our conversion drops right in.” It’s right at this point that Sam clams up. He’s leery of going into further detail about his “stock” Yamaha swingarm invention, because he doesn’t want others to copy his design. And rightly so, since, at the moment, there are no aftermarket swingarms that let you run a 280 tire on a Warrior. In other words, if you want to go really big on that kind of bike, sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with Sam and BMS Choppers.

With the frame and swingarm complete, the crew turned to David Londono of Flawless Custom Paint in Hallandale, Florida. After an extensive roundtable summit meeting between Alex, Sam, and David, the eye-popping color design was agreed upon. “The paint, like so much else about this bike, is really a direct reflection of me,” states Alex. “I love it, though I realize not everyone does. However, no matter what you feel about the bike, you have to appreciate the time, energy, and talent that went into building it.”

Naturally, such radical perfection has a price, in this case 55 grand — hardly a number to sneeze at. When pressed about the logic of throwing down that sort of cash for a bike, Alex pulls through with a wise and totally disarming response. “There is no logic,” he says. “You can’t think that way. Do I sometimes flinch? Yes. But money is money, and you just can’t put a price tag on the reality of having something that gives you such pleasure.”

Alex pauses a moment before wrapping up. “I’m a firefighter, and I see a lot of terrible things at work. That puts everything in perspective for me. I mean, I’m walking around on my own two feet, and I’ve got great friends and family. I’m lucky. But you never know. So, while I’m living, I want to really live.”

Obviously, there’s no saving Alex. He may have been a nice guy once. But he’s cruisin’ in the pimp world now. RB