1999 Harley Davidson Fatboy - A Really Fat Fat Boy

Just when he thought he was in the clear and ready to put the bike together, Darin bolted up the 1-inch beach bars he had and realized their puny profile didn't go with the beefy look of the bike. "I was messing around in my garage and I came across some foam pipe insulation and put it over the bars. It was crazy, but it fit with the look of the bike, so I hauled over to Colton's and asked him to make me a set of 2-inch bars. Colton was having trouble shaping 2-inch bars out of thick material, so he came up with the idea to use 2-inch thin wall tubing as a cover over Darin's original bars. The tubing was bent and welded to the exact shape of Darin's 1-inch beach bars, then split down the middle lengthwise. Colton then placed the 1-inch bars inside the bottom half of the 2-inch tubing, welded in some internal supports, then placed the top half of the 2-inch tubing over the lower assembly (like a clamshell) and welded it all together. Colton didn't get it at first, but once they were finished he saw what I saw and liked them. They are big and stout like the rest of the bike. Colton did an awesome job with my ideas. If anyone needs an A+ job done, whether it's a tank to a full-on job like this, one I highly recommend him. Colton was able to make all my visions a reality, so give him a shout," Darin said.

Obviously the photoshoot went off without a hitch, and not only did Darin get his first bike build featured in Hot Bike, it also made the cover. But his beginner's luck didn't end there. While in Sturgis he entered the bike in the Metzeler show and Rat's Hole show and rolled away with first prize in his class from each.

"On our way home from Sturgis, Aimee turned to me and said, 'You got first place in two major bike shows and had your bike photographed for Hot Bike, what are you going to do now?' I just looked at her and said, 'You don't want to know, you better watch what you are asking me.'" Sounds to us like Aimee may have spurred Darin's interest to build another bike. If so, we can't wait to see what he comes up with next.