Kickstand Crackle: Chocolate Honeycomb Candy for Scrappy Builders

Kickstand Crackle: Chocolate Honeycomb Candy for Scrappy Builders

Week 2 of “How to Build a Chopper (When You’re Broke and Half Clueless)”
Inspired by Billy Lane

So, you’ve just dragged home a donor frame that looks like it survived a barn fire and a breakup. You don’t know yet if it’s a chopper or glorified yard art—but it’s yours. Welcome to mock-up week: the stage where you squint hard enough to see potential in rust, busted welds, and bad decisions.

This week’s candy is the edible version of that early-stage madness: chaotic, unpredictable, loud—and ultimately… magic.

Kickstand Crackle is a chocolate-dipped honeycomb candy that goes from sugar soup to glorious crackly crystal with the right mix of heat, confidence, and timing. Sound familiar?

Yeah. It’s a lot like a junkyard build.
More specifically, it’s a lot like Billy Lane.

Why Billy?

“The building came about because I wanted a cool bike and I couldn’t afford it so I started doing it myself. I’d use old car parts, plumbing parts, anything I liked the look of and I’d try to make them look cool and work them into the bike. This way I taught myself how to make bikes.”
— Billy Lane

That’s the exact spirit behind Week 2 of this series. You’re not waiting on perfect parts or permission. You’re using what you have, trusting the chaos, and watching it rise. Just like this candy, your mock-up stage doesn’t need to be pretty, it just needs to be yours.

Billy Lane didn’t wait for a perfect shop, a polished plan, or permission. He built bikes from scrapyard ghosts, added soul to steel, and gave the finger to anything that said “you can’t.” His early builds weren’t pretty. But they were loud. Real. Dangerous in the best way. And they worked.

That’s the energy we’re bringing into Week 2.

Mock-ups are where you learn to trust your gut. Where you don’t polish, you test. You bolt on weird pieces and hope they click. And when they don’t, you grab a hammer. Or a snack.

Preferably both.

Kickstand Crackle Recipe

Tools You’ll Need

• Small rectangular pan (max 20×20 cm / ~8×8 inches) or bowl lined with parchment
• Large saucepan (light-bottomed if possible to see color)
• Egg whisk
• Thermometer
• Pastry brush + small bowl of water

Instructions

Before you even touch the stove: prep your space. This recipe moves fast; like dropping a motor into a frame that barely fits. Line your pan with parchment and get all your tools out. Sift baking soda + powder together and set aside.

Step-by-Step:

1. In your saucepan, combine sugar, honey, and water. Crank heat to high. Stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Stop stirring. Use your wet brush to clean stray crystals off the sides.
3. Let it boil undisturbed for 5–7 minutes. You’ll see the bubbles grow and the color shift to amber. Watch it like a hawk.
4. When it hits 143–145ºC (290–293ºF), stir gently 2–3 times with your whisk (keep the pan on the heat). It’ll start to froth and slightly pale.
5. Toss in your soda. Whisk exactly 2–3 times—no more. It’ll puff up like a righteous burnout. Don’t over-stir or you’ll kill the texture.
6. Immediately pour it into your pan. Do not spread it. Let it rise and settle on its own.
7. Cool at least 2 hours without touching it. Break into jagged shards and drizzle or dip in melted chocolate.

Builder’s Notes

• Use a deep pan. This foams up like a motor that wasn’t bled right.
• Over-stirring = dense, sad candy. Trust the foam.
• Store airtight. Honeycomb is sugar’s version of an open primary; exposed and sticky if you leave it out.

Why It’s Perfect for Week 2

Mock-ups are weird. Sometimes they look like progress. Sometimes like failure. But they’re always where your bike starts becoming yours. Just like this candy.

Both require heat, reaction, and faith in the unknown.

Kickstand Crackle is your edible reminder that even chaos can set into something solid—if you leave it alone long enough to rise.

So don’t worry if your frame is still half zip-tied together.
Billy Lane didn’t build legends by playing it safe.
He built ‘em by trusting the blowtorch and the process.

Bonus Fuel: Billy Lane Wisdom

“People ask me why I build bikes. I say: because I can’t not.”
— Billy Lane

Lane’s story isn’t just greasy hands and TIG welders. It’s deeply American in its rebellion, craft, and guts. If you’re new to his world, start with his books:

• 📖 “Choppers: Heavy Metal Art” – A visually rich tribute to custom bikes and the builders behind them.
• 📖 “Billy Lane’s How to Build Old School Choppers, Bobbers and Customs” – Equal parts how-to and history, perfect for beginners and scrappy dreamers.
• 📖 “Outlaw Justice: The Memoirs of Billy Lane” – A raw look at his life, choices, and the road to redemption.

These reads are for builders who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty—or face their own reckoning.

Sources & Inspiration

• Lane, Billy. Billy Lane’s How to Build Old School Choppers, Bobbers and Customs. Motorbooks Workshop, 2004.
• Lane, Billy. Outlaw Justice: The Memoirs of Billy Lane. Motorbooks, 2011.
• Lane, Billy. Choppers: Heavy Metal Art. Motorbooks, 2004.
• Quote sourced from Billy Lane via The Guardian Interview, 2004.
• Recipe inspired by traditional honeycomb candy methods and adapted in-house for Sugar Throttle. Original content © Cult Bohème.