Bill Steele’s PPG Painted “Blue Baller” Named Easyrider’s Bike of the Year

“Blue Baller,” a retro-styled motorcycle constructed by celebrated motorcycle builder Bill Steele took 2014 Bike of the Year honors at the Easyriders Grand National Invitational Finals held February 8-9 in Columbus, Ohio. The unique bike features a shovelhead motor, plenty of gleaming chrome and a stunning PPG silver-flake and candy-blue finish.

With Blue Baller, Steele and his team at Bill Steele’s Kustoms in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, chalked up their third win in the contest for this highly sought-after prize. This was Blue Baller’s first award. The bike was on display at the PPG SEMA exhibit last November. Steele won Bike of the Year in 2009 with “F-2” and in 2007 with “Fascinator”—two outstanding bikes in their own right, both sporting PPG paints.

“I was floored when I found out I won,” said Steele. “It was awesome. I was as excited this time as I was the first time, and I could not have done it without the entire team back at the shop.”

Well known for his creative use of parts and materials, attention to details and remarkably imaginative paint schemes, Steele stayed with his successful formula in building Blue Baller. The motorcycle was assembled with parts salvaged from other bikes. Shop metal master Josh Hart shaped the pieces while Steele and painter Phil Williams tackled the bike’s finish.

Steele uses PPG products exclusively in his work. To achieve the dazzling paint scheme he envisioned for Blue Baller, Steele used an array of PPG products including ONECHOICE© SX1071 Etch Prime, ENVIROBASE High Performance ECP15 A-Chromatic Surfacer and ECS25 A-Chromatic Sealer, DELTRON DBC DMD1687 Toner, DITZLER BIG FLAKE VM4421 and VM4402, Deltron DC2000 Clearcoat, VIBRANCE COLLECTION© RADIANCE II DMX 216 and DMX 220 Toners and Dyes and Deltron 4125 CERAMICLEAR.

At the same time that Blue Baller was winning at the Easyriders Grand National, another of Steele’s bikes, the “Honey Bagger”—with its one-of-a-kind gleaming gold finish—was drawing crowds at the annual V-Twin Expo in Cincinnati. Steele created the Bagger’s unique look with Envirobase High Performance waterborne basecoat, OneChoice SX1071 Etch Prime, ECP15 A-Chromatic Surfacer, ECS25 A-Chromatic Sealer and VC5200 Custom Clear from the PPG Vibrance Collection.