It's interesting how sometimes a simple phone call or comment can lead to a series of astounding events. This past August we were in the middle of putting this issue together when we had to cut bait and put our computer keypads on a two-week hibernation so we could blast out to the Black Hills of Sturgis for The Rally. For the next two weeks we had only two tasks at hand: Have a good time and find a cover bike.
When you've got 1,500 miles of pavement between you and your destination you have a lot to think about, and one thing that kept coming to mind was a phone call we had received a few weeks before from Colton Hardison of Hardison Metal Shaping in the Portland, OR, area. Colton had taken photos of some tanks he'd made and wanted to know if we'd be interested in some tech pieces utilizing his photos. During the discussion he also mentioned a '99 Fatboy he'd done some metalwork on for Darin Yoerger from Yakima, WA. Colton forwarded a couple of photos of the finished bike and gave us some insight as to what he did.
"Darin saw my metalwork at a show and brought his bike to me to build a tank for him. I mocked up a full-scale tank in foam on his frame to get a look. I feel extra time spent at the design and mock-up stage always pays off later. We tweaked the first design a bit and I got started shaping. The tank was fairly complex; it was recessed on the bottom for engine clearance and has the Dakota Digital gauge flush-mounted on top with a pocket hidden below it to house its electrical box. It's a big tank, but it really works well with everything else that's oversized on this bike," Colton said.
"I heavily modified the rear fender, adding a passenger seat, license plate box, and reverse curve areas to blend into the newly fabricated side covers and seat area. I was a bit unsure about his idea for the bars, but I really ended up liking them, especially how they ended up flowing with everything else that's fat on the bike. I shaped the air cleaner cover with stainless mesh inserts and a mounting system that uses no external fasteners. I really enjoyed working with Darin, and I have become good friends with him and his wife in the process," Colton said.
Before we got off the phone we told Colton we might be interested in the bike, but would have to set up a photoshoot with Darin when we got back from Sturgis. Ten minutes later Colton called and said Darin was so excited about possibly getting his bike featured in HOT BIKE that he and his wife Aimee had made the last-minute decision to head out to Sturgis.
We arrived in Sturgis on Saturday at the beginning of the rally, and spent Sunday evening checking out the amazing display of bikes at the AMD World Championships. While we were drooling over all the bikes, Darin spotted us in our HOT BIKE duds. After a quick handshake, the conversation quickly turned to more important matters. We wanted to see the bike in person, and Darin wanted to know when and where we could shoot. Darin and Aimee led us outside to the bike, and we were not disappointed; it was an awesome display of what a Harley-Davidson can be transformed into with the right vision, the right parts, and the right people working on the project. From front to rear, this was one portly, yet elegant Fat Boy. The bike commanded respect and instilled intimidation like a raging bull ready to charge. Burly 2-inch bars, a rotund 9.5-gallon gas tank (that's right-almost 10 gal. of fuel capacity), and a meaty 240 bringing up the rear, just about every aspect of this bike is big, yet its lines are still graceful and fluid.