The Story Behind Norman Reedus' Custom Indian Sport Chief Motorcycle

At this point in his acting career, Norman Reedus' name is synonymous with riding a motorcycle. That's partly because the actor rode a motorbike on the regular during his 11-season stint playing Daryl Dixon on "The Walking Dead." In addition to that iconic role, Reedus has spent the last several years hitting the open road "Easy Rider" style with his famous friends for the AMC travel series "Ride with Norman Reedus." 

It's hardly a fluke that Reedus has spent so much time of late riding bikes on the small screen as his love of motorcycles dates back to well before he turned up astride a hog on "The Walking Dead." The actor has regularly shown off motorcycles from his collection on "Ride."

Reedus' collection got a major upgrade earlier this year when he took ownership of a custom-built Indian Sport Chief. The actor's first-look reaction to the fully customized motorcycle was captured for all eternity for an episode of Indian Motorcycle's "Forged" video series. Reedus' face when he sees the finished bike says more of the vehicle's chromed-out beauty than words ever could. Here's how that custom Indian Sport Chief came to be.     

Though Norman Reedus no doubt knows his way around a motorcycle, it should be noted he did not go about customizing the Indian Sport Chief himself. The job was instead undertaken at one of the top garages in the greater Los Angeles area, Powerplant Motorcycles, and the custom work was done by Powerplant founder Yaniv Evan.

Evan reportedly began customizing neighborhood bicycles when he was just a kid. These days, he's doing the same for motorcycle enthusiasts looking to transform their two-wheel beauties into road-worthy works of art. It turns out the Indian Sport Chief was not the first motorcycle he's worked on for Reedus, with the actor noting in the Reveal video he's known Evan for quite some time and had the builder work on several of his bikes over the years.

It likely won't be the last, with Reedus stating during his Indian Motorcycle interview that Evan is "one of those artists who knows what you're going to like." He continued to praise Evan's work, saying, "You can see a Yaniv bike when it goes down the street," admitting part of what he likes about Evan's approach is that the customizations he makes tend to be hyper-specific to the taste and style of a bike's owner.     

Just looking at the "before" and "after" images of the Indian Sport Chief will confirm Yaniv Evan went above and beyond in customizing the bike for Norman Reedus, transforming an already impressive stock model into the flame-kissed beauty the actor rides away on in the Reveal video. And yes, that upgrade required more than a fresh coat of paint, with Evan explaining his goal with any custom job is to infuse the finished project with as much of his own soul as that of the person he's upgrading a motorcycle for.

While that meant giving Reedus' bike a fiery, earth-toned upgrade on the exterior, it also included upgrading the Indian's profile and hardware. Per a Men's Journal feature, Evan fit the bike with a one-of-a-kind stainless-steel exhaust pipe made by his pals at Redthunder in Italy and chrome parts from his friends at Lyndell Brakes in Texas. Among the other upgrades, Evan swapped the wheels with shiny Marvic Morris 7-spoke magnesium replicas that Evan modified so each would work in tandem with the Indian's axels, brakes, rotors, and bearings.

He reportedly also slimmed down some of the bike's existing features, aiming to give the Indian a sleeker look and a build fit specifically for Reedus' riding style. That required fabricating custom parts for the bike that helped him re-shape everything from the wheelbase and seat to the gas tank and handlebars.      

Yaniv Evan spent roughly four months overhauling the Indian Sport Chief for Norman Reedus. After showing the actor the finished product, Evan proudly declared, "I made sure this thing doesn't leave here looking the same," further noting he felt the vehicle proudly epitomized the spirit of both Powerplant and Reedus.

"The Boondock Saints" star agreed, proclaiming in the Indian Motorcycle Reveal video, "It's so custom to me... I'm totally in love with it." Badass upgrades aside, the bike was not built just for looks, and after the unveiling, Reedus, Evans, and Carey Hart promptly grabbed their helmets and set off for a ride through the streets of Los Angeles, with the actor noting of the Indian, "It fits and handles perfectly. It sounds sick."

As Reedus continues, he admits the bike is all the more special to him as he'd never owned or even ridden an Indian motorcycle before, clearly reveling in now being a part of the company's fabled history. Given Reedus' celebrity status, it seems only fitting he rode an Indian for the first time with the cameras rolling. It's probably just a matter of time before the custom-built Sport Chief gets another Hollywood-styled close-up on Reedus' "Ride."