The fenders are back from prep and paint; these things are sweet! They color matched the HD 'vivid black' exactly; they did a computer color match off of the electrical box cover. It was not easy to get images of these critters, these things are reflecting everything in the garage; and the garage is the best I could do today, it's raining They're now up on a high padded shelf pondering life, ready to be mounted once the new rear brake line is in and the exhaust installed.

The HD trashtastic flip out license plate is off the bike and I'm building a one-off license plate bracket to position the plate directly under the fender beneath the LED brake light. I wanted to keep my run/turn/stop signals AND the under fender LED, and as no such animal exists in the wild, I'm building it, with dual hidden LED plate lighting...

 

Look Great Darryl,

Getting closer to that maiden voyage.

 

Daryl...I like what I see. You obviously know what you are doing. I am not there yet with regards to converting my bike, but it is something the future may hold. As the years pass we must accommodate the changes and continue riding....the other option isn't acceptable to most of us. I saw your mention of the wear on the left side rear pivot bearing . That is the first I have heard that it may be a particular issue.. It makes me think that I should take a peak at it. I assume it may also be a wear factor on my 2003 FXDWG. Good Luck with your efforts.

 

This is a fantastic and captivating build thread and the potential issue raised by Gerald Martin and the response well reasoned and polite (unlike some other build threads which have headed south rapidly). As touched on in the above post ultimately everybody has a reason to trike their bikes and in my situation the time may come perhaps when necessity would undoubtedly override desire. Trikes have never 'floated my boat' metaphorically speaking until the day I stumbled across pictures of NCBandit's trike and thought "That is a nice looking machine!" I had never even heard of Frankenstein Conversions before joining this site.
The build appears to be coming along very well and you're doing it yourself which is commendable. You have an obvious eye for detail and I look forward to the build's progression and eventual completion (are they ever completed?). Well done!

 

Deleted - Double Tap - The board code is rubbish, now, FWIW...

 

A mod such as triking out your ride isn't going to be for everyone; we're all at different places in our motorcycling lives. I've been street riding <legally > since the day I turned 16, before that it was dirt riding. Over those 40 years on the street I've owned near every make, from cruisers to touring rigs to fire breathing liter bikes and everything in between; I've always said I'm a motorcyclist first, an HD owner second. My wanting to trike out my Wide Glide wasn't a 'need', it was a 'want'. I've always loved the look of a stripped down fat rear tire trike and it was the 'Biker Build Off' episode in '05 with the Exile Cycles trike build that sealed the deal; I'd one day have a trike.

This is a natural evolution, moving in to a place I've never been before and learning to do things I've never done before; and that's what makes this so much fun. And in all honesty, as I've gotten older I have noticed my 'skill set' has begun to diminish somewhat; reaction times are a bit slower, and my willingness to push a bike right to the bleeding edge has lessened. I was ready to do this; I walked away from liter bikes a few years ago, and pared down the motorcycles to my favorite one; the Wide Glide.

There are quite a few questions to be answered, and as this progresses forward I'll keep everyone up to date. You just never know what the future may hold

 

Awesome TC!

 

Tin cup
Your trike is shaping up nicely. When it is finished it is going to be as nice as the bandits trike. Both yours and his are the nicest I have seen and I have seen a lot in my search of what bike to trike. When I start to trike my Sporty I hope it will be able to compare to your two trikes. You mentioned the exile trike. I saw that trike in person at Sturgis, it was fantastic and it was for sale but I would not be allowed to buy it and register it in Canada.
Keep up the good work
Gerald Martin

 

The RC Components special order wheel is here. Manufactured in Kentucky; 'Merica!

It's the Czar Eclipse 21 x 3.50 wheel with an ME888 120/70-21 tire, dynamically balanced with Ride On and running Timken 205PP wheel bearings. A huge shout out to Kayla and the crew at WanaRyd; it was a flawless process, and the wheel even got here earlier than I thought it would. Zero regrets...

Next up, fun with fender fitment. Now I've got to get that beautiful beast of a wheel on the Wide Glide.

Desire walks on