I've been thinking of a potential project down the road and I was wondering: what would be your recommendation of a great first restoration/build frame? Something along the lines of purchasing a bike that has some "opportunities", but a decent frame and a clean title to customize.

Is there one version of the Softail line that really stands out for it's "workability" and ease of finding parts? I'd want to eventually modify it to have a slightly fatter rear tire and a decent rake (not like a classic '60s chopper but around a little more than a standard '11 Wide Glide).

Anything helps, thanks!

 

There's so many options and just as many opinions. Good Luck with the project.

 

Stick with an Evo or newer , you guys have screwed up enough shovelheads doing the " newish " look .

 

I don't understand the question. Build whatever you like and want to build. I would like to buy an older bike. What do you think I should get?

 

This thread is odd. What should I do about it?? Anyone?

 

I was hoping to get your opinion on an ideal first build bike. Something along the lines of: "Definitely don't go with the 19xx year or XX engine because of very limited availability of parts, poor design or overall difficulty in trying to build/modify."

 

Avoid the 80's evo's up to 1992 those where the teething years and lots of stuff got mixed & matched . Don't go FLT's either , they are goat butt ugly when peel that fairing off with all the gauges in it and the frames & triple trees are funky to work with . Aside from those issues it's wide open what you have to do is pick a design style BEFORE you get started then look for bikes that generally fit it , less footwork and big part purchases for the newbies .

Nobody can tell you what your ideal first build is , it's YOUR bike pick your own style and get busy ........ and remember unless the person giving advice has been building these things forever ( I have ) take the advice with a grain of salt what worked for Joe Blow may very wrong for you .....

 

Try to be as detailed and specific with your design plans as possible before you make the leap into it. Even though any "on-paper" plan is extremely unlikely to play out without a hitch when carried out in reality, it will help you figure out whether your design is possible to achieve mostly through compatible parts or if it will require a lot of machining, cutting, re-welding and so on. Naturally that will help steer you on where to start as far as a donor bike, frames, etc.

For example, don't just say you want to build a bike with "a fat rear tire". Figure out exactly what "fat" means, i.e., what tire size you want, what size/type of rim it will require, what type of brake system you want to use, etc. All of that will not only help you price your build out and give you an idea on parts availability, but it will actually give you general measurements to work with that, in turn, will tell you whether you can use a stock, go with a manufactured custom or will need a true, one-off custom frame built just to make the plan work.

THAT'S where you want to re-consider and re-design if something isn't quite working out as planned. On paper. Not when you're right in the middle of the build with a few grand already sunk into a donor bike and $1500 worth of new parts laying on the ground that you suddenly have no use for.

 

Custom bike building can be a pain, there is a lot of frustration. Why not build a bike that has already been engineered so you know all the parts fit and will work well together. pick up an old FXE, go on the hunt for original parts and put it back the way it was right down to the AMF decal.

 

Dude it depends on what you want to come standard on the bike. Do you want carb, efi, 5 speed or 6 speed trans, 88, 96, or 103 ci engine. If you are looking at doing a old school chopper you are looking to get a fx styled softail (bad boy, custom, black line, breakout, deuce, rocker). I have a new softail I am working on customizing and just like me you will get a lot of good advice on parts and accessories here. Check out the softail forum if you would like more info once you've decided on what you want to buy. Good luck with the build