ith the Harley-Davidson, V-twin, and custom markets gearing up for the spring riding season, finding the time to curl up with a good book is going to be hard. But while you can probably get by just fine without reading the latest selection of Oprah’s Book Club, there’s one tome you’ll want to pick up and dive into right away–the 2006 Drag Specialties Fatbook. Harley and V-twin riders everywhere are calling it “a must-read,” and saying things like, “I couldn’t put it down for a minute, except to order from it.”
     Those raves aren’t just hype, either, thanks to the more than 1200 pages of parts and accessories packed between the covers. In fact, this year the Fatbook story starts on the cover, which features a pair of knockout bikes by Brian Klock of Klockwerks and Tank of Tuff Cycles. You might even say they represent the theme of the catalog, because inside it you’ll find everything you need to build a cool retro bobber or a radical cutting-edge custom from the ground up–frames, wheels, engines, exhausts, brakes, tanks, seats, electrical components, and more. You name it, it’s in the Fatbook.
But you don’t have to be the kind of rider who likes to start with a bare patch of garage floor and go from there. The Fatbook also appeals to riders who want to dress up their stock bikes, or improve their performance, handling, and practicality. Whether you’re looking for a speedier Sportster, a dashing Dyna, or a more beautiful bagger, the Fatbook has it, from simple bolt-on dress-up parts to full-on, fire-breathing engine kits.
     This year’s additions to the FatBook include new part number from Rinehart, including slip-ons for Softails, Dynas, and Sportsters; Eagle Beak slip-on mufflers for dressers; and a full range of 2-into-1 systems. There are also new products from Vance & Hines, and new Big Guns 3 from Samson. Check out the new Torque wheels from Performance Machine, too, and a bike-load of new products from Kuryakyn.
     Drag Specialties continues to lead the industry in innovation in more ways than one, as evidenced by the new Drag Specialties control cable line. Throttle, idle, clutch, and speedo cables are now available in braided stainless-steel versions, with braid that matches existing Drag Specialties brake lines. The cable charting system is new, too, allowing you to instantly choose a longer or shorter cable to work with different handlebars and frames. Drag Specialties cables also come in new packaging unlike anything you’ve seen before. Clutch cables come in corrugated boxes with hanging flaps–no more cables poking through flimsy plastic bags–and throttle and idle cables come in clamshell packaging that eliminates the bother of torn hanging cards.
     The Russ Wernimont line of gas tanks gets bigger this year with more part numbers, and a new dresser gas tank that comes in different stretches, includes a dash, and can be used in both carbureted and FI applications. The Drag Specialties line of air filters is bigger, too, with more applications, as is the Danny Gray line of seats, with more styles, more applications, and the same great quality.
     New vendors for ‘06 include Diamond Engineering, makers of standard and specialty stainless-steel fasteners; Fat Baggers, which makes wide-drive kits for dressers that include the swingarm, fender and transmission components to slide a 200 or 240 rear tire under FL models; Martin Brothers exhausts, with their unique sinuous configuration; Supreme Legends billet aluminum products and forward controls; and Speed Performance’s big-bore fuel-injection throttle bodies for both Marelli and Delphi FI systems, and air-cleaner kits for FI and carbureted bikes.
     So no matter how busy you get during the upcoming riding season, take time out to leaf through the 2006 Fatbook. Just like everything between its covers, it’s bound to become a best-seller.

Steve from Heaven Cycle and Mike and
Jenny Pike from Cherokee County Cycle take
a break during the V-Twin Show in Cincinnati
to check out the new 2006