enis Manning, Pete Davis, the whole crew at BUB Enterprises, and the guys at Drag Specialties have done it again. “I don’t think Harley makes a touring bike that goes this fast, do they?” Manning asks, poking a little tongue in cheek fun at The Motor Company. The answer, of course, is no, they don’t. But Drag Specialties does, and here it is. Every last piece of this motorcycle, right down to the nuts and bolts holding it together, came straight from the FatBook. This ’bagger—and its performance—can be duplicated by anyone. The parts list to make it happen is right on these pages. How’s that for a rapid touring recipe?
     For those just coming in here and maybe wondering what the heck is going on, here’s a little recap to get you up to speed, no pun intended. This high-speed ’bagger, dubbed The FatBook Flyer II, is a little fun project paralleling the original FatBook Flyer of a year ago—with a twist. With some saddlebags and a windshield, actually. The Flyer I, as you might recall, was another Drag Specialties/BUB Enterprises collaboration aimed at building a completely street-legal and completely FatBook-sourced bike able to top 150 MPH at Bonneville. That accomplished (at 154 and change), everyone involved decided to do it again, this time with a FatBook ’bagger. And once again in true, anyone-can-duplicate-this fashion BUB’s Pete Davis built the bike after hours in his home garage.
     Stealing a page from the original, and some already proven parts, Flyer II got its big push from a TP Engineering 124-inch engine, a duplicate of the one used last year. Per the unofficial rules, it was left completely untouched and unmodified, used as delivered, straight out of the catalog and straight out of the box. Pete stuffed that powerhouse into a Daytec softail-style GEN 2 frame, another FatBook offering. That frame, by the way, was chosen for its specs; with just a little stretch and running 35 degrees of rake its numbers are close to a stocker’s.
     Along those same lines, Pete picked a stock width, or just slightly wider, rear wheel and mounted up a small tire to cut down on the rotating mass “and slim things down as much as possible.” The rear tire mounted to the Performance Machine wheel is a 150-series Metzeler, a 16-incher. More suspension specifics include a Legend Air-Ride and a Storz/Ceriani front end, both offering ride-height adjustability, something definitely important going fast at Bonneville.

     And go-fast they did, under the watchful eye of an official AMA timer, we might add. Sitting up behind his Memphis Shades windshield, and wearing a big smile, Pete Davis motored Flyer II across the Bonneville Salt Flats at 140 miles an hour. “And you couldn’t fit that smile on Pete’s face into the back of a pickup truck!” Denis Manning notes. For the record, the official speed was 140.375 MPH.
     And there’s more on tap. The guys only got to make about half a dozen passes with Flyer II. The late-October weather on the flats was horrible; cold, it barely reached the 30-degree mark, and it even snowed. “And bear in mind,” Denis says, “this speed run took place at an elevation of 4,200 feet, where you’re throwing away 15 percent of the horsepower right off the top.”
     Even so, Pete Davis, Denis Manning, and everyone at Drag Specialties rightfully counts this bike, and its predecessor Flyer I, as “real racing successes.” And they’re successes, Denis Manning says, “because anyone can do it. We even give you the part numbers! You can build a totally street-legal bike in one style and go 155, or you can do it as a ’bagger and run a strong 140.” Some choice.
     The FatBook Flyer II will be at the upcoming trade shows in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, so if you have a chance stop by and have a look. Pete Davis will be there with it, too, just in case you want to try this at home and have some assembly questions!