More trouble ahead

Nothing is going smooth sailing! My so called bobber air filter is on back order. Damn luck.

Back to the drawing board

Just when I thought, I had something special going on for this project. I went to Dasman Polishing service today with some stainless steel and aluminum items. What a bummer! After giving it a try out the copper does not bind onto neither. Research on the subject has returned the following results and I quote "

The most common way to plate aluminum is to use the zincate process, followed by nickel. Copper plating onto zincate layers can be problematical and is usually avoided wherever possible. However, correct pretreatment of the aluminum prior to zincating is essential otherwise the zincate layer is of no use. I would suspect the following things:

1) Is it the correct grade of aluminum for plating?
2) Was the pretreatment correct?
3) Was the zincating done correctly?
4) Is the nickel of the correct stress?
5) Are the process solutions all in specification?"

Duh!!! I guess none of the above, this level of sophisticated process is not available in good old Kuwait. What a drag here goes my dreams of a copper coated Bomber!!!

On the War Path

Founded Springfield, Massachusetts, USA (1901) Indian Motorcycles a veteran and icon of the motorcycle industry, that witnessed several failed attempts. New Indian Chief uses an S&S fuel-injected 105ci V-Twin engine. The new Chief will have the classic valanced fenders.  New Indian also plans on offering an accessory line for both the New Indian and the Gilroy Indian motorcycles built from 1999 to 2003.

Phase One

Organizing my tasks with a simple check list, will ease the process of the transformation and will focus on rebuilding on one section at a time. First job will be the engine.

 

Engine to do list

Bore Cylinders Replace pistons 1550 Replace Heads Replace cam chain tensioners Replace Cams Replace Pushrods Copper coat pushrods covers

Replace Gaskets Replace CV with Mikuni Replace Air Filter Spark Plugs Replace oil tank Replace oil lines Replace Exhaust

Coolest Bobber Ever?

OK, so some people have fame, fortune, skills, nerves, speed  and luck. The bike was built for Michael Schumacher on the occasion of his retirement from Formula One racing as a gift from the Ferrari Corsa Clienti in Monza Italy on October 28th, 2006. I did blog about this bike previously, however I gotta admit it still looks cool and I hope schumi is using it.

Jammer Air Filter

Some components are key to give the Bobber that authentic nostalgic look. After several attempts in trying to identify a suitable air filter for the Bomber, I found what I am looking for. The sad part is that the chrome got to go after paying 140$ for this item it will be replaced by a combination of black and copper bolts.

The Waiting Game

Gosh, after an extensive shopping spree, spanning from eBay to Custom Chrome, I am left with nothing else to do than wait for my parts to land in Kuwait. Total $ spent is 4,000 to date, some parts have already arrived, however I am awaiting final consolidation of all items to kick off the project in earnest. I am hoping to get everything within the coming 3 weeks, as some parts are still on back order. Meanwhile, I will keep on updating the site with some cool rides.

Brooklands Bobber

This is one of those bikes I have drooled looking at over the web, i really though it was an authentic  pan head from the 40's. After some googling, i found out that this is yet another creation by Warrs.

2007 FLSTS Softail Springer converted in house by Stockwell & Towns at Warr\'s Kings Rd dealership. Commisioned for Brooklands Motor Museum to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birthplace of British Motor Sport. In 1921 D.H. Davidson became the first person in the UK to break the 100mph mark. He achieved this amazing feat on a V-Twin Harley-Davidson at Brooklands. This bespoke machine features custom bobbed bodywork, Brooklands racing green paint, Brooklands exhaust and saddle. Blacked motor with coppered pipes, leather bound control cables, nostalgia series grips, F series footboards, blacked wheels, bespoke graphics and signature paint.

40'S Big twin

This gorgeous bike is based on a 2006 FLSTI Heritage Softail customized in house to look like a 40\'s era big twin. Blacked wheels and front end, specially adapted rear fender gives an era correct clean fender line with no visible supports, pan solo seat, blacked pre-war fin type exhaust with pan style exhaust covers, alloy finish motor with black heads. Built by Stockwell & Towns at Warr\'s King\'s Rd.

Copper Harley

I found this Harley on the web, too many colors for my taste. However some good ideas on what to coat on the Bomber.

Amazing Shuwaikh!

I keep discovering new things, now that I have over abused powder coating  on my builds. I have decided to take another route for the Bomber. Bobbers are deprived of chrome, however a new idea came to mind copper coating, does this exist? I was pointed to Dasman chroming, I know the shop as I have dealt with him before. So I took a sample part and gave it to him for a Copper Coating Trial the results were amazing. Downside to Copper is oxidation, it tends to change colors, if not cleaned regularly. That's the the charm of an antic look.

Busy Day

So many errands today, drove to Shuwaikh with my cylinders for boring, Jacques knows his stuff, he has been in the business for the past 30+ years, discussed tolerances and specs, will be done by tomorrow. Next went to the paint shop discussed the bike theme and dropped some parts, Monaco is delivering top notch paint jobs, better then some pretentious shops that I had the misfortune to deal with on El-Diabolo. Pirelli was on the agenda, I bought a set of Metzeler white walls tires, 150/80/16 front, 150/80/16 back. Dasman chroming was next, dropped a couple for copper plating, I need to test the concept and the quality. Nice to know you can still find shops for some customization in Shuwaikh.

House Keeping

After 4 horrendous weeks of dust, I decided today to give the bikes a wash. After 90 minutes of scrubbing, I decided to take them out for a spin. First El-SuperBeasto, damn that bike can run, although its 2000 model, it has been upgraded to run smoother than the 2008s. I enjoyed the blast back and forth in the neighborhood, although I was sweating buckets. Next was the Nightrain (aka Blitz-Bomber), more of a Train like performance, this bike can't steer, can't run and can't brake. I just realized how crappy a Harley is,  I would never buy a new one again!.

The Bike

I did forget to upload pictures of the project bike, its a 2002 Nightrain. 18,000km on it, carburated nothing fancy to write home about, I rode the bike one from Mishref to the house and the next trip will be to the garage.

All roads lead to Bobbers

Funny, this is exactly how I pictured mine, but in Green of course, the funnier part is that the front wheels are identical, so are the tires and rear fender, I am keeping the original tank at this time, might change my mind later.

Bling for my Blitz

Just arrived to my inbox today at a staggering shipping rate of 30KD. Lots of Bling for my Blitz. Although I wanted something more retro, the Tracker exhaust a joint product, designed by Roland Sands and manufactured by Vance & Hines gives the BB an aggressive racing style and delivering superior performance through its 2-1 design.   A chrome billet drilled exhaust tip with the RSD mark adds a touch of class to the build.

New Seat

I took delivery of my new bobber seat yesterday, absolutely gorgeous leather work, it was packaged neatly with a leather care kit and springs to go with it. City Choppers were helpful in providing me with all the necessary details. La Rosa build quality is top quality and the tooling is professional its a steal at 135$.

BP Powder Coating

I have been struggling for a while in getting professional glossy powder coating in Kuwait, some of the parts  I have purchased are to be coated to achieve the required look of the bike. The idea is to find a professional company that can deliver the quality of work I am looking for. Until yesterday this was a difficult task until I found this shop on eBay, who does excellent coating at affordable prices. BP Powder Coating located in Fremont California, was willing to coat any chrome part I purchased over eBay, by shipping directly to him. I struck a deal with him on a list of parts, the downside is that I have to pay twice for shipping, however its the end result that counts.

The Blitz

Blitz is an intensive rush of  horsepower and acceleration controlled by a flick of the wrist.  To build the ultimate V-Twin torque machine, the choice of Camshaft is the factor that will make or break the mechanical orchestra.

This said other components should harmoniously work together to deliver on the expected performance.

Cams: TW8 aggressive ramps with .595 of lift.
Heads: Screaming Performance heads
Valve Springs: up to .650 of lift
Pistons: Forged high Compression 9.6
Pushrods: Adjustable
Carburetor: 42mm Mikuni
Ignition: Selectable Maps
Exhaust: Vance & Hines Tracker

Expected Outcome: 105 HP and a Massive 110 Ft/lbs of torque at 4000 RPM.

Item Description	Price
Cams	$268
Pushrods	$80
Pistons	$165
Valve Springs	$124
SE Heads	$380
Cylinder Boring	$100
Gaskets	$130
Ignition	$230
Exhaust	$599
Mikuni 42mm	$199
Engine Bolt Set	$85
Total	$2,360

Fat Boy Bobber

Bobbed Nighties

So this is pretty much what a slightly modified stock nighty looks like, not bad for a week end job. I still think the Nightrain is the toughest Harley of them all.

Project Update

Well, parts ordered. All the basics, to get the project moving.
Main focus is the engine and the rear end, I am still dabbling with the idea to smack a springer FX front end with a 16 inch front.

I will wait and see the work progress, expected to start within 2 weeks from today. 

Dude I cant wait to stop Blogging and start Bobbing.

Brass Balls Bobber

I gotta say these guys know their business, superbly executed on all levels, no clutter just simply gorgeous. Its either you like them or not and whatever your opinion is about them, bobbers are here to stay. Just have a look at some of their creations.

Link

Tod 8080

If you like old motorcycle ads, in specific Harleys. You ought to visit Tod8080. I really like his drawings and some of his concept could be an inspiration for  Harley Future line up.

From the gorgeous to the absurd!

Ok its getting a bit hilarious researching the new look, funny how motorcycle creation are an extension of ones creativity and personality. Armed with tools we can do whatever our mind is set to. Have a look at the below samples.

180 Degrees

Why go with the norm my wife said! Build something challenging. Hmmm does that mean more work? Well what the heck, I will give it a try! So what's the plan here? I guess inspiration is the key. Back to the drawing then. A mix of Retro and Modern I like this bobber, a bit too retro but nice nevertheless, will start investigating, I still have 4 month till the riding season giving me enough time to plan.

Bolt on Kit!

I laughed my head out looking at this ad! 4 simple steps to bob your Harley, let me point out what's missing.

• Find a Garage
• 10,000$ in your bank account for customization only
• 60 hours of intensive labor (bolt on, cutting, grinding, machining)
• Parts on back order

Second Thoughts

I hate this part of the project, when you start to have new visions on how the project would be shaping. Its not a question of budget its more of a look issue, I am having a personal crisis on which direction to go. Springer front end or not, bobbed rear end or not, springer seat or not, fat tire or not, retro look or not. So many choices, so many views, so much browsing. And last night it clicked, I saw what I like, and I am going for it, fatter front of course, military green surely and fat back a must. How wicked!

Shopping Shopping!!!

Now I understand how women feel! Armed with a PayPal Account and my trusty credit card, the shopping spree has started, it did not take long to hit 80% of my budget, since most of the parts were on my watch list and with my suppliers. I guess my wife was amazed to see me blow 4500$ in a matter of 2 hours. Come to think of it WOW! In 83, I bought a GSE750 Suzuki in the US  for 3200$ and I used to have more fun riding, this goes to show the older we get the more fussy we get!

Come to think of it, If I was back in Europe would I do the same?Most probably not, I would be riding down the Autobahn to Frankfurt on a weekend trip for 700km.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

The art of customization is how do you set your bike apart from the hordes of other Harleys out there? Thing is Harley are like tractors of the assembly line, slow, sluggish performance, heavy, giving us all kind of excuses to customizing them, and in the process molding them to reflect our personality.

Seeking inspiration: You could begin by opening up Harley's annual Parts and Accessories Catalog and sifting through its 900+ pages, trying to find the right combination of parts that look really great together. Harley makes parts for the masses therefore you will end up spending 1000+ on crappy chrome and most probably a bike that still looks like the next Harley.

A friend of mine discovered a company that builds customs bikes in Germany, he was the first to introduce it, now a third of the bikes in Kuwait are equipped with the same kit.

• Rule of Thumb: Build a bike for yourself, let it reflect you, not what other people think.
• Throwing money at it, may help however you might be stuck with too much clutter.
• Think Simple: The less complication the more fun, is it not what bikes are all about.

 

Technology the Good and The Bad

R&D is the most critical phase of this project, there is nothing called perfection, you need to evaluate read, design, re-design however avoid analysis paralysis and avoid tasks that are time consuming and yield little results. Sure 240 tire would look good but $3500 and hours of labors do not justify a 4 cm increase of your rear end.

• Google it: start googling your intentions, on average I spend 20 hours to 25 hours surfing the web searching for information. Remember too much information is overkill.

• eBay it: eBay has the most extensive list of parts for HD, you can spend hours on end, remember to be specific on what you want. There are many deterrent on eBay make sure you get what you want at the price you want, wait till the last 15 sec and bid.

• Parts Catalogue: Two I recommend, Drag Specialties and Custom Chrome, look for your parts then eBay it, you will be amazed to find deals with 40% off the original price.

Good Luck!

Plan the Work and Work the Plan

I guess the toughest part of this project is the planning phase, if you plan right chances are you  will finish your project within the allocated time and budget. Remember 70% planning 30% execution.

• Planning should start at least 30 days before you actually touch the bike. Start by identifying where the surgery will take place on the bike, make sure you have all the necessary tools, worse thing that could happen is to trailer the bike to the dealer and wait for it.
• Technology: After you have laid out a plan start analyzing what are the changes you need to carry out. For this task I highly recommend that you use Excel, a powerful tool to keep track of your items and purchases and surely your budget.
• Bomber front end: Most extensive face lift mainly bolt on, Wheel, Tire, Bearing Removal, Disc Brake, Rotor Bolts, Disc Spacers, lower front legs, triple tree, bushings, steering cables, turn signals, headlight, grips, handlebar. ($1650) Now that I have covered my front ends requirements, I can shop within a budget.
• Bomber Engine: Heads, Pistons, Cams, Ignition, Carb, Exhaust, Boring, Gaskets ($1500) that was easy, question is what combination to go for, I will cover this at a later stage.
• Bomber Back End: Toughest modification, Fender, Wheel, Bearings, Rotor, Rotor Bolt, Pulley, Belt, Cutting, Welding. ($1500)
• Bomber Seat: Springer ($400)

"chopper" or "bobber"?

Hmmm, what does this mean:  Easy A bobber is a stock H-D frame (no stretch rake, etc.), stock springer fork or girder, bobbed fender, all unnecessary parts removed, and 16-in wheels front and rear (no 21/16 or 21/18), minimal or no chrome. And a real bobber is from the vintage era. A chopper is a modified frame and/or front end, customizing, chrome, etc. You're definitely in the chopper category. I consider mine bobber-style, but not a true bobber. More like ol' school retro. Geez not that easy to figure out this is why I call it a Bomber, screw terminology lets build it.

Laying out the plan

• Find the Bike: Model and year is critical, the Softail twin cam introduced in 1999 is the best bet for custom work, you will find plenty of accessories in Drag Specialities and eBay.
• Where to Search: I was lucky to find my bike on 248 am, not really the most likely place to find a Harley but hey you gotta get lucky sometimes.
• Sketch your project: some people can't visualize, find someone who can help you sketch your vision.
• Identify a theme: a bike has to flow, its like plastic surgery for women, too much bottox then the whole thing will look out of synch, luckily bikes can be fixed at a cost.
• Plan you Budget: its very easy to get caught up in the accessories catalogue, and all these 4.99$ items will add up to 1000 of dollars. Rule of thumb you will spend 1300$ for lame chrome stuff that no one will notice, don't get caught caught up in the chrome craze.
• Comfort vs Look: looks can be damaging to your back, slim seats, hard tail will give you a mean looker, that will get you to feel your lumber after 30km.

Some of my past projects

El Superbeasto	2000 Nightrain
Hellraiser	2000 Heritage
Acrimony	2oo6 Electra Glide
Retro (friend bike)	2006 Heritage (Current)

Bomber Look

The Bomber look is a fat looking front combined with massive imposing rear end. My limitation for this project as any other project are as follows:

• Reliability: a bike that can withstand constant hammering, and can operate trouble free in the current weather conditions, while still being able to cruise all day on 95 octane pump gas. therefore compression will be kept around 10:1 and an oil cooler will be a must.
• Part Availability: Customization has no limits, however too many custom parts on the bike, might prove challenging as many motorcycle parts companies end up going bust, so I don't want to find myself with a broken shaft that I can't replace. Out goes the dream of a 240 rear tire.
• Budget: Ah the almighty $, now its the best time to customize, with the dollar at an all time low, I can buy 40% more ports, however within  the limitation of a 5000$ budget.

 
Exile Fat Bloke pretty close to the Blitz Bomber.

Motorcycles at War

Motorcycles were introduced in WWI as part of the growing mechanized army which both sides used for dispatching, patrolling and some recon. Although the key element of design was the springer front end, I am opting to keep the telescopic forks on my project, however the color will absolutely be military green.

Replica of the 1885 Daimler-Maybach Reitwagen

Harley 95ci Blitz Bomber

Now that I have established the direction of this project, I will share with you the concept. The base of this bike is a 2002 FXSTB Harley Twin Cam (Night train). A perfect canvas for the Blitz Bomber. The Blitz will come from a 1550 engine, HTCC Ported Heads, 42mm Mikuni Carburetor, HTCC Pistons. The setup is expected to deliver 110HP and 105 ft/lb of  Torque and will enable the Blitz Bomber to live up to its name delivering "Blitzering" performance across the power range.

The Project

I have always been fascinated by the role played by motorbikes in the first and second world war, although used mainly for messaging purposes, they were always targeted due to there size, speed, maneuverability and the valuable orders they carried.

I was emphatic, when I heard of the new Harley Crossbones, I even went to the Harley dealership and paid a 150 $ deposit .  Somehow after a lot of  deliberation with myself , I decided to build a bike that has its roots from a bygone era.

Project Harley "Blitz Bomber"

 

The Arado "Ar 234 Blitz" was the first jet bomber ever to take to the skies. Originally the plane was meant to be used in an intelligence gathering role, reconnaissance. Its first operational flight was on July 20th 1944 (just after D-day), where it could gather information on the allied troops and installations with impunity due to it's high speed. In the winter of 1944 it was adapted for it's bombing role, but the high speed and the necessary shallow dive resulting from it made it hard to fulfil it's expectations in that area.