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Ever wondered just how far you can go with a Harley basedcustom??? We have, and judging by the phone calls and show requests,a lot of others have, as well. Maybe the easiest route would be tobuild a ground up, with all aftermarket parts, but there arethousands of Wisconsin built bikes out there just aching for somelove. There is also a multitude of mild customs on the streets (youknow who you are) with the basics, like seat, pipes, and bars swappedout. We know lots of you guys are looking for the next level ofcustom without having to toss out all hard earned cash in yourcurrent ride. We ran at a bone stock Softail with you in mind.
Beginning with a rather meek looking 2002 Softail Standard, the PMR&D Department started working out the possibilities. The onlyconstraint they were given was to retain the H-D frame and motor,everything else was up for grabs. The final product also had to becompleted in time for the 2002 PM poster. Plenty of time, as that wasstill six long calendar pages away. It took about a month ofeyeballing and jawboning to finally decide the direction this bikewould take. The one thing we knew for sure, the finished productwould NOT look, sound or perform anything like the originalmotorcycle, yet it would still share many of the same basic pieces.
It was decided to build the bike in stages, similar to the methodmany of our customers implement. To begin with, we assembled a wheel,brake and control update, using PM Rage wheels with design matcheddiscs, differential bore calipers and PM Contour controls. The resultwas a much updated and better braking bike, but certainly nothingthat was going to set the world on fire. We shot some pictures of it,went riding and rolled it back up on the bench. Most riders would behappy with what we had, but being jaded motorcycle industry folks, weneeded more.
The final stage would be the most radical and most time consuming.For us, it was an obvious choice to use our Phatail kit and convertthe bike to a monstrous 8.5 rear wheel. We had already constructedseveral bikes in this format (see Phat Lady buildup<
While all of this motorcycle meditating was going on, time wasticking away and our completion date was suddenly not so far in thefuture. A sense of urgency began to nag at the build team as theymocked-up the bike up with its new hardware. The PM Phatail kit wasgrafted to the rear and a set of billet forks from Perewitz nowgraced the front end. The 21 x 3.5 PM wheel would ride up front, soa new fender was built by steel man extraordinaire, Russ Wernamont.While he was manipulating metal, in the name of PM, we asked for agas tank and watched the sparks fly. The result was an extended,filled and re-capped fuel holding beauty. Using a PM rear fender, JimNassi hand carved a Phatail logo that would eventually become thetaillight. Paul Yaffe stepped in with a stylish oil tank to round outthe new sheet metal.
The Harley B motor is not a bad lump in its stock form, but couldcertainly use a few more ponies if it had any hope of doing anythingsmoky with an 8.5 rear wheel. Several steel and aluminum parts withScreaming Eagle logos on them would eventually find their way intothe motor to solve that dilemma. A Mikuni carb and one-off exhaustwere then drafted to take care of the in and out duties. Just to keepthings distinct, the cases were stripped and sent out for a subtlegloss gray powder coating. The understated look of the motor wouldrequire an equally stately paint scheme to balance things out.
The metal work was done, the motor was nearly finished and most ofthe details had been settled, but summer had turned to fall and nowfall was looking a lot like winter. With only a page or so left onthe ol’ calendar, the frame and body were sent to Damons paintworksin Orange County. Their directive was clear, lay down the richest,deepest, wettest looking blue you can, and do it quick. As it turnsout, painters don’t really do anything quick. Collecting the last fewpieces needed for final assembly and anxiously marking off days, wasall we could do for most of December.
The call finally came, and the parts were ready to be picked up!The PM R&D department was cleared of unnecessary personnel, carefullyprepared with padded stands, white gloves and appropriate rock music.PM’s principal builder knew he only had a handful of days to assemblethe bike and have it ready for the poster shoot, before it would betossed onto the semi and trucked to Cincinnati for the first of twodealer shows.
The good folks at Legends Suspension had supplied an airadjustable rear shock setup, and it was the first piece to bolt tothe sapphire chassis. Brand spankin’ new PM Trinity wheels wouldeventually make their way onto the bike and be accompanied by matcheddiscs and pulley. A state of the art one-piece front caliper and ournew clutch housing would be activated by PM Contour hand controlsthat had been mated to Contour switches and grips. The hand controlgrips rested on custom fabricated bars and were topped by PM billetmirrors. A Corbin seat and Headwinds headlight would be the finalcustom touch.
Several days had passed and most still feared treading within thehallowed walls of the Performance Machine Research and Designdepartment. The din of earsplitting screams had begun to die down. Bythe end of the week a few brave souls had ventured in and were nowtelling stories of a gleaming cobalt motorcycle that looked nothinglike the cheese fed bike that had rolled in months earlier.
Friday would be the true test of man and machine, as the next-doorphoto studio was loaded with photographers, lights and a leggy model.The preparations were nearly completed for what would hopefully bethe 2002 PM poster. A few preliminary shots were handled with a standin bike and then we patiently waited. A profound stratum of tensionhung in the air and threatened to suffocate both model andphotographer. Then, just as hope began to fade, the door on the Northside of the studio suddenly flew open and as if angels wereaccompanying it, the new bike lit up the room with a dazzling indigoand chrome luster. The painters had indeed fulfilled their decree;this was the bluest of blues. The 3-spoke Trinity wheels gleamed,setting off a firestorm of reflections as they rolled past. It wasnow obvious just how far you could go with a Harley based custom.
