“Here I go again trying to make something happen,” said John Grant of Hardtail Choppers. “We designed a replacement solid motor mount kit. It converts a rubber mount 2004 and up Sportster motors in stock or custom frames to solid mounting. Lots of reasons to do this. I won’t name them all, but they do look right when they are solid mounted.”
That was the key issue, but why the hell would anyone want to switch a much improved rubber mounted cycle back to solid mount? “I always solid mount my race bikes,” Ray C. Wheeler, the Bikernet Performance Editor recently said during a discussion about our JIMS Twin Cam streamlined trike project. I had a tendency to run with a rubber-mounted driveline to prevent abuse to the racing chassis. And I didn’t want to slow the trike down with a B-motor for less vibration.
“No slapping chain,” John said. “Back to our roots. Rubber is for Ducky’s.” We offer a four-piece replacement kit. It’s a good solid billet part and precision CNC machined by the master machinist Tyson. “They are strong, not wimpy cheapo import gadgets.” A solid mounted driveline will tighten the handling and remove any rubber mounted flex in the chassis. And alignment will always be dead nuts on the money. The only drawback would be vibration and wear on the chassis, if the owner is a long distance rider.
Easy install, basically support the engine, remove the original rubber mounts and use the stock fasteners to install the new solid mounting system. John also made a solid replacement for the top motor mount.
“Here’s the simple bracket we use to stiffen up the top front of the motor,” John said. “Our bracket just replaces the stock rubber mount bracket. Remove the stock support arm and slide ours in place. That’s all there is to it.”
Made in the USA. The list price for the kit is $375. Write or call john@hardtailchoppers.com 360-750-6780 or click the site for info.
Custom application guys use rear drive chains and coupled with the rubber mounting systems, it causes chains to slap the frame. “Rubber mounting causes too much slack,” said John. “It will hit the frame around the passenger foot peg area when rubber mounted. We just wanted to take the mounting system back to solid like all the bikes we grew up with.”
The factory has their reasons for rubber mounting, but the guys riding chopped bikes don’t require rubber mounts. “We say, ‘Rubber is for Ducky’s,’” John said again. “If you want to shake the shake in your Sporty, here’s the easy way to make it happen. Easy to install, no more time to install than stock mounts. These mounts will fit Sportsters from 2004 to the current model year.
For questions or comments, contact john@hardtailchoppers.com or call the shop at 360-750-6780.
“I am forwarding an e-mail I received yesterday from my first out-of-town customer,” John said. “He is the one who actually pushed me to finish the mounts. I had a bike on the lift ready for solid mounts. Only there were other projects taking all my time. This guy called and said, ‘I need some solid mounts bad!’”
This is Gabe; I got those parts from you that made my rubber mount Sportster a solid mount. I gotta say, I love ’em. You did such a killer job, and my bike runs so much better all around now, from the ride, to shifting, the bumps, and reduced the chain slap. 
Both the guy that helps with my build and I were thoroughly impressed and we wanted to tell you what we thought. He has a custom shop here in Boise, and he’ll definitely use you for that fix when it comes along. So thanks again for everything. Here’s a photo of the bike. Now off to powder coat.
–Gabe Paulson
