Posted: Thursday, July 20, 2006 7:00 pm
David Prochello of South Sioux City designed and built a two-wheeled tribute to his favorite college football team: the Cornhuskers, of course. Now he hopes to sell his bike on Ebay.
By CRAIG HENRY | Lincoln Journal Star
So you think you’re a true Husker fan?
Tom Osborne bobblehead. Check.
Autographed photo of the 1971 National Championship team. Got it.
House decorated as a Husker shrine. Of course.
Fair enough, but David Prochello of South Sioux City still has one up on you.
Prochello designed, built and hopes to soon sell the Husker Chopper, a one-of-a-kind motorcycle commemorating Nebraska’s football championships.
“This is a really special bike,” said Prochello, owner of Pooch’s Custom and Theme Cycles. “It’s built to run. It rides great, it’s got great power. It’s a real head turner.”
The bike, which is licensed by the Collegiate Licensing Company, was supposed to be raffled, but at the last minute, Prochello backed out. Now it’s on eBay.
Starting bid: $50,000.
The bike sports more than Husker colors. It features pigskin handle grips, a seat fashioned from a real Husker football and Osborne’s autograph on the gas tank.
Prochello got the idea to build the bike after a mishap in his body shop.
While replacing the front end on a white Chevy Blazer, Prochello received a used front end that was the wrong color, at least for the SUV.
“It came in bright red,” Prochello said. “That’s when I decided on the color scheme for the bike.”
At first he planned to build a chopper themed on his high school, South Sioux City. But his wife, Julie, said it should be a Husker bike.
Emily Osberg, a cashier at Husker Headquarters, said Prochello should have no problem finding a buyer.
“If you got the right person with the money, especially with it being signed by Tom Osborne, it would sell,” she said. “We’ve had people come in and buy a thousand dollars worth of stuff. People definitely go crazy coming in here and buying.”
Prochello isn’t stopping with the Husker Chopper, though. He’s already completed another bike for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
Good luck selling that one.
Reach Craig Henry at 473-7224 or chenry@journalstar.com.