Do-it-yourself details make the difference. It’s a standard Headwinds 5 3/4-inch Bullet Headlight, smooth and clean. Check out the mount, too.
 he RSD “Vintage Kit,” which debuted in these pages last issue, is now in the FatBook, and it just plain works. Take a look right here. Underneath the full collection of Roland Sands sheet metal bolt-ons and all those engine dress-up covers this cool-as-it-comes little street bobber/chopper is a bone stock 2000 Softail. Quite a change, wouldn’t you say? Okay, there is one other modification going on here; the bike
also features a Performance Machine Phatail swingarm and a 240 Dunlop rear tire. All that is bolt-on, too (sort of, since it does require digging into the transmission to gain final-drive belt clearance, not exactly an amateur’s undertaking). But the big tire and wheel isn’t what’s making the difference. Honestly, it isn’t even required to get the effect. It’s everything else, the tank, and the seat, and the fender, and the handlebars, and the wheels and all those finned-aluminum engine covers that are responsible for this Softail’s dramatic transformation. And all of that is a simple bolt-on, straight out of the FatBook.
Talk about changing the look of a motorcycle. “It makes a big difference,” Roland Sands says, and he’s right. The bike, able to be duplicated by just about anyone, anywhere, rolls out like a one-off custom. And aside from the mechanical alterations including that PM Phatail out back and a 2-under Paughco Springer front end we’re talking nut-and-bolt, wrench-and-socket work, and of course some custom paint. The pipes, an RSD design soon to be manufactured by Vance & Hines, aren’t available just yet, however. It’s a future product, Roland says, hopefully coming soon. “I always liked the look of a high pipe,” he says, “and this little 2-into-1 worked out fine.” Indeed it did.
RSD’s Contrast-Cut Vintage Gas Cap adds a nice touch. It’s a Drag Specialties piece doing wonders to continue the all-important theme. RSD picked a look and stayed with it.
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The Vintage Kit gas tank is a classic Sporty/Peanut shape updated for the 21st century. That sheet metal frame cover comes with it, hiding the wiring and adding a switch.
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Pure custom on the outside, pure stock mechanically. For an everyday bike that’s a combination that’s tough to beat. The RSD Vintage Kit includes the tank, seat and rear fender. It’s all a bolt-on.
Everything else in that RSD Vintage Kit, however, the tank, fender, handlebars and seat, is ready right now and makes up quite a package. It’s all available separately, too, so you can pick and choose as you please. What we’re seeing here is the “Full Monty” version, everything Roland Sands offers right down to the contrast-cut Judge wheels, rotors and pulley. There’s not a lot of stock Harley left on this one other than the basic frame and engine, but you get the idea. You can go full-on like this example, or dial things back a little. Keeping it real, Roland even left the Softie’s engine OE stock. It does, of course carry all the RSD Vintage Covers, finned aluminum bits doing for the mechanical end of things what the sheet metal does for the body line. The standard Harley-Davidson Twin Cam, a solid and reliable piece, is kind of plain looking. Roland “punked it up a little,” adding needed detail. All bolton simple.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Roland says, “but this is just a dolled-up Softail, and it’s a little sweetheart out on the street.” To install the Vintage Kit you do have to cut the OE fender struts off the frame but other than that it’s all wrench work. You could install the kit in a weekend. If you sent the parts out to paint and got them back you could have everything up and running in a matter of days, ending up with a completely transformed motorcycle, a Softail that’s decidedly your own–and a custom that’s affordable.
While Roland Sands designs parts for the high-end of the business he has his eye on the other end, too. Roland feels that to keep the industry thriving it has to keep growing, drawing in new, young blood. “And $30,000 or $40,000 is a lot to spend on a custom bike,” he says. Too much for many riders, guys on stock bikes but wanting more. “But you can pick up a late-model used Softail just about anywhere for $10,000 or $12,000,” Roland says. “Add the kit and for something like $20,000, total, you’d be done. And that includes the wheels.” And look at what you’d have. A Harley-Davidson that’s numbered and reliable as the day it left the factory, yet still be a Softail like none other, built and finished to your own specification. Someone without a lot of mechanical skill or fabrication ability could do it all, too. Where’s the bad? All those RSD parts are in the FatBook, the used bikes are in your local paper’s classifieds. What are you waiting for?
A Drag Specialties 50’s Bullet Chopper Taillight sitting on top of the Vintage Kit fender. The struts are part of the package. They replace the stock Harley pieces.
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RSD’s Vintage Chrome Handlebars lend the right highbar look. It’s a classic made better. The mount is an RSD prototype riser.
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The Softail’s engine wasn’t forgotten in this facelift. It’s wearing the full complement of RSD finned aluminum covers including the Twin Cam Rocker Box Covers and Timing/Cam Cover. |
RSD’s Contrast Cut Oil Cap puts detail to the chrome-plated oil tank. Magnum’s Shielded Oil Line Kit, another Drag Specialties offering, runs the lube back and forth.
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Those finned aluminum covers bolt right on and make a huge difference. A Twin Cam is a good-looking engine, better with some help from RSD.
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Finned covers top off the Twin Cam, an S&S “G” mixes the fuel. That goodlooking velocity stack is an RSD Drilled item. The breathers are RSD, too. |
Contrast Cut wheels start off with a black anodized finish and then they’re remachined to bring out the highlights. RSD has them in a couple different styles.
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The Vintage Kit fender struts replace the OE Harley-Davidson’s. With the stock parts cut away these bolt right in place.
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Lean and mean, as a good bobber should be. The whole conversion can be done in a home garage, probably not taking much longer than a weekend.
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