Hittin’ the road with the Harley and my buddy Dennis for a month.

PHL-Asheville-New Orleans-Austin-NM-Sedona, AZ-Yuma, AZ-Baja Cali-SD-LA-SF-Grants Pass, OR-Reno, NV-Las Vegas-Boulder-?-Aaron’s Wedding. I’ll see y’all there.

This is as far as I’ve “planned”. I’ll take to the slab to make up time, but I plan on diverting and getting lost on the smaller routes.

View Directions to Reno, NV in a larger map

I’ll update as I go.

Later,
Devyn

A few years ago I was looking for roads on Google maps within the Philly limits. I scanned the long stretch of park that is Fairmount and along the rivers before finding one of the greatest high speed secrets behind the airport. Aside from a few bumps the road is near perfect, complete with chicanes and go-fast sweepers. Armed with 2 GoPros and my Canon, Todd, Justin and I took a few stills and some video.

Triumph Daytona

Triumph Speed Triple

Joe on his Triumph Sprint

Harley Sportster

-Devyn

So, FINALLY I got the clubmans and got them installed.  I went with Biltwell’s 1″ Ace Bar.  These were a little pricey, but the quality is 100% top-notch and they’re hand-made by a smaller company in Cali.  Bill Becker really helped a lot with this project, and lent me the use of his experience and shop.  So without further ado, here’s how it went…

So the project started at Spare Parts Co.  I removed the seat and tank to give myself a little more room to work with.  I feel like with any project, taking the extra time to clear clutter definitely saves time (and stress) in the end

The original bars and controls are off, and Bill helped get a feel for where I wanted the bars and controls to be.  We must have measured ten times to make sure everything was set up for the next step – machining.

The operation then moved to Bill’s shop, where I trimmed an inch off of each side the clubmans.  The stock length was a little too long.  The Sportster has a narrow profile, and I’d really like to keep that visual component.  Plus, it’s faster!  I used a pipe cutter to start each cut, and then finished with a hack saw.

After trimming the ends, we cleaned them up with a disk sander to get rid of the sharp ends.

Next came the machining.  Harley’s have dimpled bars wherein the control wires pass between the handlebar and the control’s clamp.  The Biltwell clubmans I bought weren’t dimpled, so I had to machine slots in the bottom of each side for the wires to pass through.  I was going to run internal wiring, but decided against it for fear that the vibration of the bike would chafe the wires through on the sharp, unfinished internal joint of the clubman-style bar.  I measured out where the slots should go, and then pre-drilled the length of the slot to make it easier for the mill to make the final cut.

Once the holes were drilled, it’s on to the milling.  I would LOVE to have one of these machines.  I just need to come up with $600 that I don’t want to spend on my bike!

Now that the slots have been machined, all the edges of the cut have to be filed so that they won’t cut through the shield and insulation of the control’s wires.

Bill had a small plating device, so the freshly milled and filed slots were re-chromed to protect the exposed steel from corrosion.

Back at Spare Parts Co. with the machining finished.  I ended up having to reroute the throttle cables when fitting the new bars – the throttle started tightening up due to a few tighter cable bends than with the stock bars.

Finally, the bars are installed.  I still need to work on routing the new braided brake line and the clutch cable a little better, but I’m definitely into the new style!

I really like the changed profile.  The seating position is all wrong so it’s not 100% comfortable at the moment, but I’m working on designing some rearsets and a seat is on it’s way.

- Justin

So, I recently finished my Honda 919 build, and have been in the market for another project.  I’d like to get into building bikes for a living, so I’ve been cutting my teeth on Honda’s for the last few years – just trying to get the hang of non-bolt on customization and all that that entails – and it’s time for my first serious custom.

I have to admit (and just about everyone knows), I have never been a fan of Harley Davidson.  I always felt that they charged too much, offered too little, and their engineering was contemporarily behind industry standards set in the ‘70s; no one will ever accuse Harley of making a motorcyclist’s machine.  With this said, I wanted to build a proper café racer – a standout café racer that’s reasonably a runner – and I wanted it to be American.  That pretty much leaves one option.  So I set aside the bias, did some research, and traded the Honda 919 for a Sportster 883.

I’ve had the bike for a few weeks now, have put 1,500 miles on her, and I have to say (and I feel like an idiot doing it) that I love this bike more every time I get on it.  The way it delivers power (albeit limited power) is different than anything else I’ve ridden.  When you hit the throttle, the bike just feels like an animal.  It’s raw, it’s dirty, it’s unrefined, it’s heavy, it vibrates, it’s underpowered, the geometry is all wrong, it handles like a three-legged horse, but it is hands down the most fun bike I’ve driven, and I’m really growing into it.

Enough rambling, here’s the plan (or some of it)…

The XL 883 as bought…

A rough sketch of the plan. I’m going to keep the stock tank as the Harley “Peanut” tank is pretty iconic, and it gives the Sportster a really thin profile. I picked up another stock tank off of eBay, and will be using it as a base for a seat cap.

Bill Becker shot this for me. We were thinking about rearset and handlebar position. I ordered some Biltwell Clubmans, but am probably going to fabricate some rearsets.

This is a Vance & Hines Competition Series exhaust. I’m thinking this with black header wrap. I’m not 100% on it yet. I would really be into a nice “pea-shooter” 2:1 style, but I can’t find one. Supertrapp makes something similar, but I’m kind of not into the adjustable exhaust thing.

This is a Roland Sands Street Tracker/Café Sportster. I’m just putting it up here as a reference. I think it’s definitely a badass ride, but it’s not a classic café, and that’s what I’m into.

Another Sportster café example. I’m into this one a little more. I like that its a little rougher around the edges. Also, if I could find that exhaust, it’d be perfect. I’ve scoured the web and can’t find anything on it. This image was taken off of an eBay listing for this bike a few years ago. It’s been passed around all the XL Café forums, but the guy whose bike it is/was hasn’t posted anything about it. I fucking LOVE that exhaust though…

I’m dying to get this thing started, and a lot of parts are already on the way.  I want to be a little slower and more deliberate on this build though, I just want to get it right the first time.  More to follow…

- Justin