Daily Slideshow: Biltwell Builds a Lightweight Harley Dirt Bike

"Bilt" to Race

Fans of the motorcycle aftermarket are undoubtedly familiar with Biltwell Inc, a big-time manufacturer of custom Harley parts. But the guys at Biltwell don't just make and sell bike stuff, they also ride. Not just big touring bikes and cruisers, mind you, but even dirt bikes. Owner Bill Bryant is a fan of them all, which led him down a crazy path to building this particular unique ride, as he explained to BikeEXIF.

Mission Impossible

“My roots in off-road racing go pretty deep,” Bryant explained. “I’ve pitted or driven for desert teams since 1983. Last year, during a spectating adventure to the Baja 1000, I convinced some co-workers and friends to do the impossible: race the NORRA 1000 on a well-prepped but mostly bone-stock Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster.”

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Just Finish

Obviously, you don't build a one-off experimental bike like this to win a notoriously tough, 1,300-mile desert race right off the bat. Heck, step one is just finishing the race, which would be considered a win in most people's book. Thus, that was the goal of this Sportster build from the very beginning.

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Be Prepared

You certainly can't say the Biltwell team didn't prepare for the worst, that's for sure. “Since it’s a five-day rally, we built (or bought) back-ups of practically everything; wheelsets, foot controls, bars, shocks, the swingarm, you name it,” Bryant said. “We even bought a donor bike one week before the race and pulled its engine for backup.”  

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As OEM as Possible

Amazingly enough, the team was able to somewhat retain the look of a Sportster while also building something capable of taking a serious beating. Thus, the frame, swingarm, tank and rear fender are all stock, and even the stock oil tank was retained, yet modified to make it tough enough to survive the desert.  

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Gear Up

Stripping away everything that was unnecessary did save a full 50 pounds over the stock 883's weight, however. But those savings are quickly eliminated by adding essential gear like navigation, a backup iPad, rider and safety aids, tools, and spare parts. 

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Surprisingly Results

With everything buttoned up, it was time to test out their build. So Biltwell rode their Sportster as hard as possible on the roughest terrain they could find locally. And amazingly enough, it did pretty darn well. “For such a heavy bike that was never intended for this kind of use, Frijole 883 was surprisingly capable,” Bryant said.  

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Reliability over Performance

Sure, Biltwell could have upped the performance of their dirt bike more. But as Bryant notes, more power isn't always the way to go. “Hotter cams might have made it easier to lift the front wheel over obstacles. And an extra inch or two of swingarm length might have improved high-speed tracking. But we opted for reliability and serviceability over pure performance.”  

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Staying Patient

The team also agreed to run the bike at less than full speed with the hopes of just finishing the race. “Attacking the race in this fashion might have slowed us down, but I’m convinced it saved our machine," Bryant said. "We saw more than a couple of race-prepped Husqvarnas and KTMs going home on trailers because their riders ran out of patience or talent.” 

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Heavy Favorite

In the end, that strategy paid off. Biltwell's Sportster finished the grueling race, scoring 14th out of 21 entries in the Modern Open class. And every single bike that finished ahead of it weighed in at 300 pounds or less, compared to the 500-pound Harley. Not too shabby for an old hog, we'd say!  

>>Join the conversation about this Sportster dirt bike by Biltwell right in HDForums.

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