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You’ll be seeing these Vance & Hines Sideshots
on one of the upcoming Drag project bikes. |
The Drag Specialties’ Dyna project will feature these 80-spoke
chrome American Wire Wheels. |
 he
dream is a full-on custom. Always has been. There isn’t a rider
out there who wouldn’t love to call a ground-up rigid or Softail
his own, a one-off machine that starts with a raked and stretched aftermarket
frame and then blasts off into the moto-stratosphere from there. The
hottest, biggest engine around, chrome heaped on by the pound, and everything
topped with a mile-deep paint job looking just-sprayed-wet 24/7. That’s
the dream.
The reality, of course, generally falls
somewhat south of that lofty goal. When most guys open the garage door
they’re getting ready to throw a leg over a factory Harley, new
or used. Not a bad thing, of course, but not that full-on custom, either.
Which isn’t to say that that OE Harley-Davidson can’t be
reworked a little, that it shouldn’t be reworked, sweetened up
a bit and pointed towards that full-on custom status. It’s not
hard to do. It doesn’t have to be super expensive, either, and
the transformation can be stunning. In fact, done properly a “bolt-on”
custom can be every bit the equal of one of those ground-up builds,
impact-wise.
None of this is lost on the guys at Drag
Specialties. Hey, the FatBook is loaded with page after page of exactly
the sort of stuff needed to pull this kind of job off. The trick, if
there’s any trick to it at all, is knowing what FatBook parts
to use and how to combine them into a pleasing whole. Knowing how to
build to a theme. Well, this year we’re going to get a regular
mini-fleet of examples for all this, a whole series of “bolt-on”
customs done right. Bikes along the lines of the Road King featured
in this issue, a Dave Perewitz-authored remake of a factory favorite
that kicks off this new series. And that one’s just the start.
Going right down the lineup of Motor Company possibilities, there’s
going to be something for everyone. There will be a bolt-on custom Softail,
a full-on Dyna re-do, a big FLH cop bike made cool, and even a custom
Sporty, one of those new ultra-smooth 2004 models made ultra-bitchin’.
Each one is guaranteed to be a winner, too, because tackling each project
will be some of the biggest names in the business. How each of these
world-class builders approaches a real-world bolt-on job will be informative
in the extreme, and most definitely inspiring. What FatBook parts they
choose, and why and how they’re used, promises to be a series
of lessons well worth learning.
Now, that Road King Perewitz did does
push the bolt-on envelope just a little. He raked and stretched the
frame. He did a little tin work, too, extending the stock gas tank,
removing rivets and smoothing things overall. “But by just cleaning
up a factory frame and painting it the same color as everything else
you pretty much have an instant custom right there,” he says.
A good start towards one, for sure. Take a close look at this bike,
and pay special attention to the build sheet. Frame mods aside, Lesson
No. 1 in how to bolt-together a Road King and turn it into something
truly royal is all there.
The FatBook Flyer No. 2 features a High End seat. Here is the Raven
in Ostrich inlay.
The scalloped cut of the slash-cut billet end caps give the Sideshots
a unique look.
And
next up will be a Softail, a factory Harley recast into a new, custom
role by Don Hotop. That bike is already in the shop, and as a teaser
of the kind of information headed our way listen as Hotop explains how
he approached the build. “The possibilities are almost endless
with the bolt-ons,” he says, “and it’s really easy
to open yourself up a regular can of worms.” So how does a guy
like Don Hotop avoid that trap? By staying focused, that’s how.
“The first thing to do,” he says, “is get your wheels
and tires on, and have the front and rear end mounted. Then you can
choose your sheet metal based around that, determining what kind of
fenders you need, what size and style tank. But you have to first set
the basic attitude of the bike. Then you can put the clothes on it.
The style will present itself. You’ll know whether you’re
going to the opera or you’re going out to rock-and-roll!”
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? There’s more.
Don Hotop will be using these new Carriage Works
Spider wheels on his Softail build-up to create the bike’s “attitude.”
The importance of the wheel choice for
a custom can’t be overemphasized, Don says. “Other than
the basic frame style I’m working with, most of the time my decision
about what a bike is going to look like is based on the wheels. I want
the rest of the bike to work with the wheels, because by far they’re
the most noticeable aspect of any motorcycle. It’s pretty much
the first thing your eyes go to.” For the Softail bolt-up Don
will most likely be using some new-style Carriage Works wheels, and
to set the basic “attitude” he’ll add one of the FatBook’s
Wide-Drive swingarm kits with a 200-series tire. Up front he’ll
use a Perse Performance fork, and unlike Perewitz’s Road King
the frame will stay Harley-Davidson stock. No rake, no stretch. In fact,
Don says he probably won’t even completely disassemble the bike.
“The idea is to make the job as simple as possible, a real bolt-on
that anyone could do at home.”
The new Sideshots also feature Vance & Hines’ Power Chamber
technology.
This one’s going to be interesting.
And following all that will be the Dyna project, the big dresser, and
don’t forget about that Sportster. That one just might turn out
to be the real sleeper of the series. Don Hotop will be putting the
wrenches to that one, too, and “can’t wait to get my hands
on it. That one’s going to be exciting. It’s all virgin
ground!”
For the Solftail bolt-up, Don Hotop will be using a Drag Specialties
Wide-Drive swing arm kit. See the 2004 FatBook page 750 for details.
So stick around. This whole series of
Drag Specialties bolt-on customs is going to be fun. More than that,
it’s going to be packed with the kind of tips, tricks and information
needed to make a better Harley, customizing a factory bike the right
way. And of course those full-on FatBook customs will keep rolling out
this year, too. Lots of them, giving us all the best of both worlds
to learn from. And study first-hand, too, because all the Drag Specialties
bikes, full-on and bolt-on, will eventually be out on the road with
the Drag truck. Stay tuned…
Drag Specialties Magazine
Volume 11 #9
Parts Magazine Index
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