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.