Attention Hot Bike Readers!
We would like to start by asking you, the reader, to help us with your ride submissions. There is no shortage of Readers' Rides coming across the editor's desks; however, only about 1/4 of them can be used. The reason: bad photos, little or no info about the bike, and even worse, no contact info to get better photos or the needed bike specs. So before you put a stamp on that envelope or send out that e-mail, make sure that you have filled out the basics: Your name, phone number and/or e-mail, where you're from. Then fill out a spec sheet-all you need to do is copy the info from the magazine: Motor, tran, frame, wheels, and so on. Last, a brief history about you and your bike. Now that you know exactly what we're looking for, we can't wait to see what you're going to send in. Thanks!
Night Train Upgrade
Mike Thompson of Janesville, Wisconsin, fell in love with the H-D Night Train so in '04 he rolled out of the dealership with a new bike. Over the next two years, he kept the bike stock for the most part, but added a few pieces of chrome here and there, until he saw a Night Train at a Milwaukee bike rally almost identical to his but with a 200mm rear tire. That was it, the look he was after. But after looking at the cost to do all the work to his two-year-old bike, Mike started to look into a new bike. He went back to the dealer and found a '06 Night Train already with a 200mm rear tire. Sold! He then spent the next two years adding new paint, Joker Machine pipes, H-D seat, stage-one air intake and Progressive Suspension shocks. Mike is still in love with the bike and plans to change the wheels next.
Sinking in the Sand
Tim Small lives in Lansing, Michigan, and had been a Harley owner for years, but he hurt his back so he had to take some time off from riding. Tim needed something to do to pass the time as his back was healing, and he saw a story in HOT BIKE about Big Bear Choppers and how anyone can build a bike. Tim had never built a bike before and said he never really even changed his own oil before, so he felt this was the best way to get better and learn something. Over the next eight months doing little steps at a time, he learned a lot, Tim said, "nothing was easy and fitment was a lot of work." About the same time he finished the build and was ready to have it registered, Tim got the OK from the doc to ride. Good timing.
Needed New Tires
Philip Simeonidis of Hamilton, Ontario, loves to travel. One of his trips to the United States got him his '06 Street Glide. From that point on, every trip to the States was a reason to work on his bike. Philip needed to get tires so he also bought RC Components wheels at the same time. The same goes for the exhaust and louder speakers; with louder pipes he would need a louder radio--makes sense to him. Phillip's next trip to the States is to Ohio to see the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Can't want to see what he gets on that trip.
Race Inspired
Jim Sharkey is not the first guy that wanted a bike that was fast and handled like a race bike, but what bike should he get he asked? A good friend recommended a Dyna, so he got his hands on a used '01 Dyna that needed a little work. Jim lives in Alberta, Canada so once the cold days started so did the work on the bike. He stripped the bike down to the frame and powdercoated it to match the newly painted sheetmetal. The motor was also stripped down to the cases and pushed to 103ci. Once the bike was back together all Jim had to do was wait for the roads to dry up and start riding. He was glad he went with the Dyna; he said it handles like a race bike.
Black Betty Bam-Alam
Bob Davis of Ft. Myers, Florida was in the market for something really radical and he found it in a '08 BBC Athena Pro-Street that was for sale at a local shop. Once he got the bike home he started changing things to make it his own. The BBC pipes were swapped out for a set of FMJ from Street Walker Customs. The trans was swapped for a Baker six-speed and the bike was painted black. The kind of black that is so deep that it looks like a mirror. At one of the local bike nights, Bob took First place and overheard someone call the bike the Black Betty of the show. Bob liked the nickname so much, he now calls the bike the Black Betty Bam-Alam.
The Thug Bike
Andre Willis of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts, purchased this '89 Softail which had according to him, the ugliest paint he had ever seen. Knowing that as long as it ran well the paint was the last thing he worried about. After freshening up the topend, the sheetmetal was sent to Andre's good friend Johnny at Blowsion Paint. Andre told Johnny that he wanted the paint to look nostalgic and have people unable to tell what year it was painted. He named the bike the "Thug Bike" because every time he is out for a ride he said it feels like he is getting beat up, but he looks good riding it.