It was in meritorious fashion that Mr. Isidro Juarez took the biggest piece of the cake at this year's Las Vegas, Nevada, Lowrider Magazine Super Show where the task was to crown the best and baddest lowrider bike in the country. Please join LRB in officially announcing to the world that Isidro's '71 Schwinn, "Last Prophecy," is the 2004 Lowrider Bicycle of the Year! The annual title goes to Isidro, his son, and his loving and supportive family.
Hold on to your handlebars because Isidro went way out of the country to have this bike hooked up and we don't mean down south in Mexico. The man behind the building of the frame and body is Junior Morales from the Philippine Islands. That's right, Isidro spun a world globe and came across the South China Sea to the Philippines where Morales is a Rollerz Only member. The dude often goes back and forth between L.A. and the islands. Two frames were shipped bare bones with open instructions to do something unique and wild, and what came back four months later was a close to 300-pound bare metal form. But could it win was the real question.
Isidro--part-owner of Hi-Tech Auto Interiors in San Antonio, Texas--specifically stated that for every year of competition, he has had a new frame and bike highly modified from the frame up. His first bike was built back in '98 when everyone was building tribute bikes to singer Selena and Isidro went with a remembrance to rapper Tupac Shakur. His next bike was "Prophecy I" followed by "Prophecy II" and "Prophecy III." Last Prophecy is the final word in finessed two-wheel superiority!
Custom experience gets competitors in championship form. Isidro's custom resume reads well, and includes building bikes like "Child's Play 2000," "Child's Play Revenge," "Tiffany's Revenge," "Dragons and Wizards," "Stone Cold," "Trike Loca" (a more recent three-wheeler built for a buyer in Japan) and "Little Dora the Explorer." Two wheels aren't Isidro's only passion, as high-profile rides real pay bigger bills. His Hi-Tech shop has been involved with the Lowrider Truck of the Year in '97 and '98, "Wild Thing 2000," plus the "Great Pretender" '99 Lowrider Bomb of the Year. Other custom notables include "Raising Hell," a purple Chevy Stepside, and "Pura Plata II," a green Ford F-150 with supreme quality.
So why is Last Prophecy such a far and away winner? Crazy as it seems, the Bondo and bodywork, paint and mural work captures your senses and never lets them go. The paint assignment was accepted by The Candyman (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Cortes Paint (San Antonio). It's a sparkling rainbow with gold candy fading to magenta with numerous multicolor graphics including a championship checkered flag effect. We got a chance to look up close and discovered outline pinstriping by Mr. J.C. (San Antonio). Another giant in the art world is muralist Von Otto (Waco, Texas). His tank-top green-winged dragon and rear fender bathing beauty depiction are both detailed and striking, and no doubt helped Isidro gain the winning edge over his competition. So what other kind of details did we find on the Bike of the Year? The tricks list goes on.
Isidro fashioned an elaborate handlebar rack featuring custom cross mirrors, engraving, a skull-face steering wheel and a place for a cell phone to let you know that he's comin' with claws at the ready. Imagine your hands gripping this custom art piece. The dragon theme continues into the twisted and gold-plated (by Morales Plating in Dallas, Texas) fork system with engraved wings that carries itself like a true Bike of the Year professional. Check out the Schwinn 20-inch OCC Sting-Ray "Prophecy" tires and gleaming golden engraved rim. The rear tire is the new Schwinn 6-inch wide tire; perfect for shredding the competition like a good dragon should.
You gotta look at the details, details and more details. Scanning the flow and flavor we found billet pedals and cranks, custom three-link rear sprocket system, mountain bike rear disc brake and fully raked head tube, twisted seat frame with a seat made by Isidro and the Hi-Tech shop. Electronics also play a part. Check out the 3-inch portable TV and a Gameboy in a protective metal box. So just how did the judges score it all? They did it with undeniable accuracy and attention to detail because Isidro paid massive attention to artistic integrity.
Custom hydraulics helped Last Prophecy rise above rest of the field as no one else features this installation. A full-size Heavy Hitter hydraulic gold-plated pump was engraved by Mr. Marcos (Phoenix, Arizona) and mounted behind the seat. The number one hydro guy in Texas is Shorty's Hydraulics of Houston, and Shorty Villareal himself hooked up this modification and expertly installed steel tubing and two aircraft pumps below the frame to push down on the swing arm. A single Optima 6-volt battery juices the system. Of course, the same engraving and gold-plated treatment was given to all of the parts, moving and non-moving.
Like any admirable father with true integrity and character, Isidro does do a lot for his 11-year-old son, Isidro III, for whom the bike was built. We're sure that the labor that the two experienced strengthened their family bonds like paint to primer. Though, Isidro and his boy stand together at the championship podium, his seasoned journey didn't come without help from both friends and professionals. Isidro wants to pat the backs of his buddies David Gonzalez, Jerry Vadler, Domingo Morales, and Beto and Fernando Cortez. Special custom parts were crafted by Joe at Total Metal (Dallas), twisted parts and rods were fashioned by La Chiva (Eagle Pass, Texas), neon lighting was supplied by Artistic Neon (San Antonio) and gold leaf was applied by J.C. Pinstriping (San Antonio).
A prophecy is like a prediction, a vision, a foretelling of the future. See, Isidro knew that something good was going to happen if he just kept persevering and crafting new and fresh artistic ideas. His own valiant prophecy came true because he never, ever gave up.