This one's for Ivan!

[crazy steve]

Well, Ivan and I had a quite 'spirited' discussion about the merits of HD products a few months ago, and he cast aspersions on all Harley owners when he said (and I quote) "Big deal if a guy can bolt on some screaming eagle stuff and call it a custom. My XS has more hand machined parts on it that carry my own blood, sweat, tears and metal polish on it than I will ever see on a Harley"....

Ivan, here's my answer...

This bike is nearly totally home-built (by me). The only thing I farmed out was the stuff too big to powdercoat at home (frame, handlebars, etc). EVERYTHING else was done, at home, by me.

http://www.sportster.org/thebikes/im...eve-5483-1.jpg

http://www.sportster.org/thebikes/im...eve-5483-2.jpg

This started out as an $1K incomplete '86 Sportster basketcase (most of the motor, frame, electrical, misc, but no wheels, forks, or sheetmetal) and was built over about three years. Mods in these pics are: 20 degrees more rake added, 4" over front forks, 3" stretch in the swingarm, smoothed fork lowers, and hand-built fender struts/covers, sissy bar (made from SS rod, then polished), taillight mount, and shock mounts. Shocks are 11" Progressives. Brake rotors are home-polished later-model units, with home-built spacers to adapt to the smaller older hubs. The rear sprocket was hand-cut out of a solid aftermarket unit to match the rotors. A SE fork brace is used, but has been modded for a smoother look, and custom seal covers are used (again, modded to fit with the brace). A '00-03 rear caliper was fitted, after machining it for shock clearance. Tank is a modified later-model 3.3 gal unit, with the petcock bung moved from the left to right side and the mounts moved 1" back on the frame to clear the bars. Seat is a modified 'leftover' off a '82 that had the cover/padding removed, the plastic pan was 'recontoured' with a torch to fit the new fender location (moved back/up because of the lowering), then the pad/cover were cut down and reinstalled. The fender is a aftermarket rigid-frame unit, altered to fit. The exhaust is aftermarket, the chain guard is scratch-built.

http://www.sportster.org/thebikes/im...eve-6705-1.jpg

http://www.sportster.org/thebikes/im...eve-6705-2.jpg

The motor was a 883, but has been fitted with some '02 jugs/heads bored to 1200. The rocker boxes are BigTwin, with some 'closeout' custom finned covers. A later CV carb has been used. The AC insert is a 70s item, and all the other finned items (timing cover, master cylinder covers, oil cap, and oil filter cap) are scratch-built. The sidecovers have been smoothed and the original mid peg mounts have been filled. The forward controls are pretty much scratch-built (as there's none available that would fit this exhaust), with only the pegs, chrome mounts, and hardware being 'store bought'. The brake rod seen was built out of SS rod, then polished. All the red is powdercoat and done at home. The integrated handlebars/speedo mount/headlight mount is another scratch-built item. The 'flared' cover going from the speedo to the headlight started as a vacuum cleaner wand. The front master cylinder was cut down for a lower profile, the finned cover has the fins angled to match the bars. The mirror stems are handmade (from parts of an old bedframe!). The upper headlight shell is the OEM piece, flipped over, with the back cut out and an old spotlight housing grafted on to extend it (bit of bodywork here). Both trees have been modified; the lower had the 'lock' machined off, and the top has been machined flat on top. The 'flush' fork caps were built from automotive freeze plugs, as was the stem nut cover. Also note the custom-built 'hard' brake line from the master to the bottom tree; this goes into a scratch-built finned 'junction' then a braided line to the smoothed caliper.

The wiring harness was built from several 'partials' and it has turn signals that use the rear brake lights. The ONLY unmodified, original, visible parts (other than a few hardware bits) left on the bike are the engine cases.

Well..... got this many hand-built parts on the ol' XS?

'78E original owner

...and a happy Harley owner too....

[crazy steve]

Oh yeah.... I should also note that my total budget for this was to do it for under $4K including the price of the bike. As you see it, I'm into it for $3902. Dirt cheap for a Harley, and my single biggest expense was the 'farmed out' powdercoating which was nearly $500.... what a rip.

'78E original owner

[oseaghdha]

Cool

I like the tail lights. '59 Cadillac?

I think most folks who bash on Harleys incessantly secretly want one.

[trbig]

I think most folks who bash on Harleys incessantly secretly want one.

Yeah.. that's what it is... I've ridden them and they just don't have what I want.

I guess beauty is definately in the eye of the beholder. While I can see you spent a lot of time in this and it's shiney.. I still have to wonder. WHY?

You're still stuck with a bike that is better suited to either riding in a straight line.. lest you start scraping things off, or being parked so people look at it... than one you can ride... unless that's what you were going for? Think if you bought a 4-500 dollar XS and put $2500 into IT. Park that next to your Harley, and people wouldn't even see that Harley.

BUT... as long as you like it.. that's what counts.

Tod

[crazy steve]

You're still stuck with a bike that is better suited to either riding in a straight line.. lest you start scraping things off, or being parked so people look at it... than one you can ride... unless that's what you were going for? Think if you bought a 4-500 dollar XS and put $2500 into IT. Park that next to your Harley, and people wouldn't even see that Harley.

Tod

Handling (or lack of it) was known before I fired up the first tool. You put this much rake in, and steering ain't gonna be it's strong point. It rides better than expected though.....

This was much more of an exercise in skill building and imagination than an effort to built a 'practical' daily rider; I've got my other Sporty and XS for that. And put $2500 into a 30 year old Jap bike, and you'll still have a $2K bike at the end of the project unfortunately.

'78E original owner

[trbig]

you'll still have a $2K bike at the end of the project unfortunately.

I used to would agree with you, but I've seen nice ones going for 5,6 and one for almost 8k dollars. Just depends on how you spend your money on it. If you did it right, there wouldn't be any problem getting your money back on one. The one thing that doesn't account for.. on the XS or your Harley... is the man hours. You'd have to do it simply because you love it, because you definately aren't going to get rich doing it.


Tod

[Elevener]

Yeah but isnt a sportster a girls bike?

Im just kiddin. (kinda)

[Ivan]

Well..... got this many hand-built parts on the ol' XS?

Possibly, I really haven't counted them. What I do have is an XS that was rebuilt by some of the greatest friends a guy could ever have, while I was down. You can't buy that for any amount of money.

FWIW, I got mowed over about 35 minutes after my last response in that thread, which I never did go back to. Last thing I really remember you saying was that I don't know what the hell I am talking about.

So, trying to add insult to injury (literally so in this case) really isn't all that cool.

[Bigfoot]

These pics prove that you can polish a turd, but now you have one that

1. you can't corner with
2. you can't ride in the rain
3. would get smoked by any XS out there
4. Still has the reliability of a Harley
5. you have almost $4k into

I fail to see where you have anything to brag about here. The quality of your work may be good (pretty hard to tell from a pic) but from a design perspective, it is a mess. The huge rake and peanut tank clash with the lines of the seat and rear fender. It really does look like you pieced together parts of several different bikes that you had laying around. And the tail lights are god awful IMHO.

[crazy steve]

The one thing that doesn't account for.. on the XS or your Harley... is the man hours. You'd have to do it simply because you love it, because you definately aren't going to get rich doing it.


Tod

Boy, you got that part right. If I figured my labor at only $2 an hour, I could have bought almost any new bike for less. But the 'building' is maybe more enjoyable to me than even riding, so yeah, it's a labor of love....

'78E original owner

[Russ79]

Boy, you got that part right. If I figured my labor at only $2 an hour, I could have bought almost any new bike for less. But the 'building' is maybe more enjoyable to me than even riding, so yeah, it's a labor of love....

Wow! all that hard work, and all you have in the end is a Harley. My condolences.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Yeah but isnt a sportster a girls bike?

Years ago, when I used to work in the Underground Construction Dept. for Tulsa Cable TV, I was the "lone wolf" in a den of Harley riders.

They gave me hell every day because I rode a Honda Hurricane 600.

My Supervisor had 2 Harleys, one of which was his wife's... a Sportster.
I asked him one day when he had the bike at work if that was his... he replied..."Hell No!!!! It's my wife's... I don't ride no Sportster... she's here somewhere..."

So I always thought that was the case...

But I can appreciate the hard work & effort, Steve.

(Just thought I'd bust your chops a bit for grins...)

[Wildkat]

Yeah but isnt a sportster a girls bike?

lol




A friend of ours used to ride a sportster... some of the other harley riders always called it piglet
It was kind of funny to watch him on it as he was probably every bit of 6"3"...

[Poprock]

That Harley looks like a job well done. Quite creative and well thought out. Not everyone likes every "work of art" they see, so lighten up, guys.
Some people think our bikes are heavy, ugly pigs. We ride 'em and we like 'em. But I rode a KLR the other day and wow that thing handles easily. I can keep up with him in the twisties, but he's loafing and I'm not. So, it's good to like what you got, but that doesn't mean there aren't other approaches to the motorcycle problem that provide some good answers for other people.
A well-turned XS11 in a crowd of V-twins will attract attention, if only because it's the odd duck.

[fredintoon]

What I hate about your bike

Hi Steve,
OK you poured your heart and soul and untold man-hours into that Harley.
Kudos for that.
But there it stops.
WTF is with that ridiculous rake angle? How can you even steer the bastard?
Where'd the front fender go? You don't ride in the rain you say?
How can you avoid riding back home if the rain starts while you are away?
The peanut tank has lines that clash with every other line on the bike.
And last but not least, those red plastic tits on it's arse.
They raise ucking fugly to an art form.
Kudos for that too, I suppose.