Just been checking out the Sportster site lately as i used to have one and loved it.
Those guys are really showing us up !
They are cutting , grinding, shaping and all sorts to acheive something different with their bikes , why are we not (me just as guilty) all we seem to do is ride down to H-D buy another bolt on then pretend we are Orange County Choppers !
Apart from ALAIN at the moment who is cutting his fenders about, is anybody else doing anything thats individual or has someone else just bought some V&H 2+2 that we want to see!
All the Rockers are different but look the same, all the Night-trains are different but look the same, my Heartland fxstc is the same as another Heartland fxstc (back from paint shop soon i hope).
This is a great Forum and i have only been a member for about 18months but i dont seem to be see-ing anything different now..........PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG... and i will make the effort in the New Year ..

 

No way am I chopping and welding on a 09 Fat Boy. Maybe if I found a basket case bike to rebuild I might dream up some stuff.

When I want to chop and weld, I do it to my 89 Jeep Wrangler. I built my own bumpers, weld on beadlock wheels, homemade driveshafts etc.

 

Well i did wonder if the fact that our bikes are so new and expensive that we are reluctant too.............maybe in about 5yrs time ?

 

nice jeep by the way

 

So far the only part that I have actually made for this bike is the air cleaner cover. This one was a quickie just to get the new BS Stage II on the bike (they require an 8 inch cover). I cut a piece of 2024 T-3 to my liking and then hand formed the corners around to fit the "ring" part of the A/C idea I came up with. I just happened to be replacing the ceiling fan in my son's room when I noticed that the base ring that mounts to the ceiling looked to be about the right size. I cut the center out of it and trimmed the lip off that meets the ceiling except for a section of it that I left in tact to stick in between the breather/mount bolts. I painted the ring flat black and gloss blacked the outer plate. I then drilled and riveted the two together and installed. I did not take the time to make it perfect...just functional. When I finish the new one (that I'm spending more than 2 hours on...LOL), I'll post pics. I'm also adding my own driving lights with my handmade light bar along with a tool bag mount, an extra green 6th gear light and a few other ideas I have bouncing around inside my scull. A nice practical upgrade for any HD that does not have a zirc (grease) fitting on the shifter lever shaft is to add one. Very easy...just remove the shifter lever and shaft, drill a #3 hole in the tube (on the frame where the shaft slides through) and tap it for a 1/4-28 zirc fitting. Be sure to get the shortest fitting they have or you will need a washer....like me..LOL

 

No thanks... I'll leave my X-Bones just the way it is...

I played around with my Sportster and that was enough...

 

well, we are trendsetters after all......

 

Most of the Sportster models, except the XR1200 and possibly the Nightster, are of basic design with no particular style concept. If the owner wants something particular, they have a blank canvas to work from and must customise themselves.

The Softail range is a selection of "pre-customised" models, where the buyer selects their style concept and purchases the appropriate model. You wouldn't buy a Heritage if you wanted your bike to look like a Cross Bones. No need for heavy customisation because H-D have done it for you.

 

Did someone say Heritage?

 

no, that's not it at all......see the trendsetter thing above