IronWorks Magazine » American Idle

American Idle: March 2010

Bryan Carter — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:29:47 +0000

www.fixmyhog.com

The IronWorks Readers’ Rides section is now called “American Idle” and along with showing four different readers’ bikes in each issue, we’re giving additional information and photos about them here. This is also the place where you can cast your vote for your favorite.

Vote for your favorite American Idle below!

Tim Mills
Charlotte, North Carolina
1989 Springer Softail

We received this email from Tim Mills’ daughter, Tiffany:

“These are pics of my dad, Big Tim, and my uncle Mike. My dad is on the right with his 89′Springer Softail. His “baby” was a total mess when he got it. Two years later it rides like its brand new! My Uncle Mike rides his 06′ Roadking a lot since retiring from the military. My dad’s an avid reader of your magazine and he would love to see his pictures in an article.”

That was a good start, but we need to know exactly what mods Tim made to the Softail, so we went direct to the source. Said Tim:

“Here is what we’ve done to make our baby look brand new! There’s a brand new Springer front end with a new clutch box. Rework has been done on the top end motor and bigger pistons have been added (thanks to Cooper Cycles of Charlotte, NC). We have new chrome back axle covers, chrome inner primary cover, and python pipes from JB Cycles. The dash and seat came from a swap meet in the Charlotte area. My saddlebags came from Ebay. “Big Steve” from Charlotte Harley-Davidson completely rebuilt the transmission several years ago. My son, Thomas, bought and installed a new stater and starter over a year ago and the voltage regulator has been replaced. We have 2006 Road King mirrors from Harley-Davidson. My awesome metallic cherry red paint job was done by Willie Higgins of Charlotte. I also want to thank my loving and understanding wife, Becky, during all the renovations!”

So now we all know. Good job, Tim and Company.

Kevin Henry
Cylde, Pennsylvania
1983 XLS

This bike is a testament to the longevity of the relationship between man and machine. Kevin Henry bought the 1983 XL roadster when it was brand new. “I have just finished rebuilding it, doing most of the work myself,” he said. “I also did the paint job on it.” Kevin admits that the bike has been through a variety of transitions over the years, “but I feel I finally have it the way I want it.”

Jim Gomez
Montpelier, Vermont
1973 XLCH

Here’s another bike and rider with some traction. Jim Gomez has been riding since 1973. Coincidentally, that’s the vintage of this classy XLCH. The 1000CC engine and transmission are mostly stock, though Jim tweaked and cleaned up the whole thing. It’s resting in a rigid Paughco frame with 38-degree rake and has a handmade exhaust and wide glide 20-over front end. Mike at Americanrides painted the tank and Jim pained the fenders.

Jim has owner this bike since 1976 but the funny thing is that bike and rider almost missed each other completely. Explains Jim: “I first saw this at the dealer here but someone else bought it before me. Two years later I saw a Sporty advertised for sale in the local newspaper, so I went and checked it out. To my surprise it was the same bike that was in the dealership two years earlier! I bought it and have owned it since.”

That’s a good story, Jim, and a nice bike, too.

The winner will be seen again in The Works section of a future issue, receive a pair of riding glasses compliments of EyeRide Motorwear, and a set of Fix My Hog DVDs. To get your bike in the running, e-mail 5 high-resolution digital photos plus as much information on the details of your bike to: mstemp@ironworksmag.com

American Idle: January/February 2010

Bryan Carter — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:00:04 +0000

www.fixmyhog.com

Vote for your favorite American Idle below!

Timothy J Bartoszek
Brecksville Ohio
2003 Road King

Looks can be deceiving. At first glance you might assume that this sleek bagger came out of a high-end custom shop. But you’d be wrong. It started out as a salvage bike and was transformed by novice builder Tim Bartoszek. “This is a first attempt at building my dream bike. I have no experience at building motorcycles, but do enjoy riding them,” Tim told us. He bought the crashed 2003 Road King (carbureted) and dismantled it. “This was the easy part,” he said.

He scanned swap meets and eBay looking for parts and deals, and purchased some new stuff when he had to. But he did a fine job working out of a small garage with a very limited toolbox. Tim credits the helpful hints he received from a local bike shop owner, Steve Marzella of A&S Cycle in North Royalton, Ohio.

“The build had a $15,000 budget and took eight months to complete,” he said. “Surprisingly, I came in under budget even with some beautiful custom paint done in Root Beer and Candy Apple Red, extended saddle bags, True Duals, fairing and the chrome work.” That paint, by the way, was deftly applied by Tom Hudach at TNT Custom Paint.

Tim added: “I had a great experience, learned a lot, and know if you take the time to find great deals on used parts you can get the bang for the buck without compromising your vision. Let your bagger fans know you can get the custom look for a budget price if you are willing to do the work.”

Roger that.

Joe Deubler
Sayre, Pennsylvania
2003 FLHTC/F-Bomb

When Joe Deubler is busy at his shop, Bad Company Cycle, he does what his customers want. When he’s not busy, he does what he wants. That’s how the F-Bomb bike came about and it has since served as a platform for products Joe now offers for sale in the shop.

Joe started out like many of us, learning how to work on motorcycles by necessity, making what parts he could and repairing or re-purposing others as needed. The basis for the F-Bomb bike was an ’03 Big Twin bought at auction. By applying his skills in metal fabricating, engine building and powdercoating, Joe gave it a second life.

“I’ve always had an interest in World War II aircraft, particularly American fighters,” said Joe, explaining his inspiration for the build.

Here’s a partial list of the work done on the F-Bomb: Frame stretched 4″ and widened 5/8″; Engine has TSCC Screamin’ Eagle Heads and 45mm carburetor, Andrews gear drive cams, 6-speed transmission, and BDL belt drive primary; custom-built exhaust with LEDs inside the mufflers and primary drive cover; fuel tank stretched 10″, fender widened 1 1/16″, 1932 Ford-style taillights and many custom-built components.”

And finally: “Custom paint by Rich Powell Designs, Rome, PA.”

Jim Gasper
Manhattan, Illinois
2004 FXSTB Night Train

Once Jim Gasper started making changes to his 2004 Night Train, he couldn’t stop until, “The only thing left stock on my bike now, is the frame and engine,” he said, adding that the engine is due for an upgrade this coming winter.

As Jim explains: “I’ve been riding for many years, and have always admired custom bikes. Not wanting to abandon my Harley-Davidson roots, or part with the coin required for a custom bike, I set out to do some mild custom work. Well, things got way out of control.”

He started with H-D Street Slammer bars and braided stainless cables. Next he treated the bike to a Performance Machine Phatail kit to satisfy the wide tire look he liked. While he was perusing PM’s offerings he became distracted by Wrath wheels—with matching pulley and rotor, of course. Next came PM hand controls, an H-D 53mm inverted front end, D&M velocity stack, and necessary black powdercoating to pull it all together. But that wasn’t the end of it.

“After sitting back and looking everything over, the stock gas tank just didn’t look right so I installed a Paul Yaffe Stretch Tank (5” longer than the stock fat bob tank),” said Jim. “This led to the need for a custom seat. With the instrument panel gone, I added a Dakota Digital speedo/tach, and a Digital Guard Dawg keyless ignition system – very cool system by the way.”

“Just about the time I thought everything was done, and my bank account could relax, I spotted a Night Train with an open belt drive,” he added. So, you guessed it, a Tauer Machine 3” belt drive took its place on the bike.

Nice job overall, but will he finally be done after the engine work this winter? I wouldn’t put money on it…

Jeff Westrup
Canistota, South Dakota
1991 FXRS Lowrider

Like a facelift diva whose been under the knife more than once, this bike has been on the shop lift a fair number of times. Freshly rebuilt about a year ago, it was badly damaged in a parking lot so it went back for another round of reconstructive surgery. Jeff Westrup and his longtime riding pal (also brother-in-law) Mike Hagen, took the dependable Evo back to the garage to bring it back to life once again.

They left the frame, 80-inch engine, and 5-speed transmission stock. The gas tank was stretched, a Saracen fender went up front, and an LED taillight was frenched in to the Ness Taildragger fender for the back. BR Customs Daggard Z bars and risers were custom fit just for Mike and a one-off seat pan was trimmed with leather and stingray skin then airbrushed to match the candy tangerine paint applied by Mike. Ultima Lethal Weapon wheels with matching pulley and rotors, Santee Serpents exhaust, braided stainless lines, and Will Powered foot controls joined the line-up. Other bits came from Ness, Doss, Pro One, Dr. Neon, and Dakota Digital. Progressive front springs lowered the front end an inch to match the squatting rear. Sioux Plating handled chroming chores.

After three months of late night garage sessions, the bike and brothers-in-law emerged into the daylight just in time for the 2009 Sturgis rally, which takes place right in their backyard. “Let’s hope this build lasts longer than the last!” said Jeff.

American Idle: December 2009

Bryan Carter — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:21:02 +0000

www.fixmyhog.com | www.eyeride.com

Vote for your favorite American Idle below!

Jimmy Crescenzi
South Plainfield, New Jersey
2006 Sportster XL883R

“I was always into bikes but times were tough back in the day and I couldn’t afford a bike,” said Jimmy Crescenzi, owner of this customized Sportster. So to feed the bike jones he hung around bike and car people, went to charity events and helped his father and some friends wrench on their bikes. Once he got his own bike he simply couldn’t leave it stock (see before picture). And though he would have preferred to give it the old school bobber treatment, time and money dictated a quicker route. “If I could have I would have built the bike up from old junk yard parts,” he said.

Instead, here’s a glance at Jimmy’s parts list: Licks 9” Z bars, Frisco 2” tank lift, Biltwell struts, solo seat from Justified Defiance, H-D forward controls, Pipedreamz Wet Dreamz exhaust, red powdercoated rims from J&P Cycle, red jellies grips, red footpegs, Forcewinder carb. He got rid of the rear brake light, smoothed out the rear fender, and added a side mounted plate, shock booties, and a custom choke knob.

The best part is this: now that Jimmy has a cool ride, he’s working on a ‘76 Ironhead. “I found out that building something from the bottom to the top is pretty damn sweet, he said.

Pat Wheeler
Chiang Rai, Thailand
1999 Custom Fat Boy

When Pat Wheeler took possession of this bike it was an almost stock Fat Boy with Vance & Hines pipes, an S&S breather and OCC brakes—plus plenty of rust and wear from being abandoned by a previous owner. “I test-drove it anyway and thought, ‘this thing runs really good,’” he said. “Then I checked the mileage—well kilos over here—and it had equal to about 6,000 miles on it. So I made the deal, loaded it up in the truck and drove home.”

Harley mechanics aren’t thick on the ground where Pat lives, so he did most everything himself. This included replacing or adding mirrors, grips, oil pressure gauge, foot guard, FL nacelle, FL front fender (“of some sort I found here”), Thunderstar front mag, stainless steel muffler (“but not really muffled”), tombstone taillight, directionals, fender tips, axle covers, swing arm covers, removable back seat and back rest, removable sissy bar, windshield, new tires, etc. The handmade bars are about the only thing he didn’t tackle on his own. About the paint job, “Actually this is the third time I painted it. The first time was some blue flames, second time white ones.” It appears Pat finally got what he liked.

So what’s he doing in Thailand? “My wife, kids and I moved here back in 1996 and started a children’s home.” It looks like rescuing and aiding the forgotten is a lifelong undertaking for Pat. In this case he was able to save one more Fat Boy.

David Fetterley
Muskegon, Michigan
1989 883XL

David’s story starts here:

“I rode my first Harley in April of 2008. In September of the same year I purchased my own, after many, many miles on my mother’s 2005 Super Glide Custom. I bought a 1989 883XL very late in the riding season—had to replace the whole charging system, including the clutch basket—and still managed to put 1200 miles on in the month of October.

“I spent the winter with everything off of the bike except the wheels, frame and drivetrain. I repainted it, put on a lot of goodies and it is what you see now.”

When we contacted David to get the inside track on exactly what goodies his XL was treated to, he sent this impressive list:

Sporty Fatbob tank
Thunderheader exhaust (2 1/4 straight pipes are shown in the pic from Ultima)
10 1/2 Progressive Suspension
Wideglide 41mm front end with Wideglide front fender
Performance Machine 4 piston front caliper with 11 1/2 floating rotor
Ultima wheels
Billet headlight
Milwaukee Twins 1 1/2 fat t-bars internally wired
1200 motor kit with Wiseco pistons and Andrews cams
Billet shock-mounted vertical license plate frame with taillight
Bobbed rear fender with cutout under the seat to achieve lower riding height
Custom Ultima seat shaved down and re-upholstered

Added David: “I wish I had taken some more pics, especially with the new Thunderheader 2-into-1exhaust, before the crash, but unfortunately I didn’t!”

Crash, you say? What crash? Yep, mere weeks before this issue closed David and the XL took a tumble but not to worry, he’s fine and there’s plenty of enthusiasm left.

“I have decided to rebuild my Sportster this winter and I’m going to be doing some major changes. I have decided to go with a bobber look. i.e. 12″ apes, king peanut tank, etc. The whole thing will be taken apart back down to the frame, all aluminum powdercoated black, paint will either stay black or a dark grey (haven’t decided yet). Chrome will be the only accents left!”

You didn’t think one bike accident and another major rebuild would keep David down, did you?

Keith Kennedy
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
1998 Custom Fatboy

Keith Kennedy is plenty enthusiastic about his customized Fat Boy. Nicknamed “Skully,” he also calls the bike, “my baby” and will gladly chronicle the bike’s many attributes. Here’s a start, in Keith’s words:

“Highlights” include:

Oversized 6-gallon tank bought from American Classic Cycles and expertly painted by David Jones of Laurel, MS.
16″ 1-1/4″ Buffalo Bars with custom controls and Kuryakyn grips and skull mirrors that are guaranteed to always draw a crowd.
Kuryakyn footboards and EZ shifter and brakes to accommodate my size 14 boots. And the Kuryakyn zombie shifter linkage just because it’s so cool.
Bodacious pipes by Vance & Hines – pipes that are truly the Thunder of the Gods (apologies to Led Zeppelin)
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful American Wire Wheel Fat Spoke 40′s in whore red with gangster whitewalls by Dunlop.
Corbin seat to park my ass on.
Kuryakyn Hypercharger to help the old Evo breathe better.
Howards Hog Horn and Kuryakyn Panacea integrated taillights to make the coming and goings more memorable. Many other bobbles that didn’t make the list but help make the bike a joy to display and ride.“

Oh, and Keith adds one more bit of useful input he’s learned from Skully: “Benefits of a cool bike: Chicks dig it and I have rolled through three road blocks without incident simply because cops dig cool bikes too!”