1956 Harley-Davidson FL Hydra Glide - Panafina

Ferry Clot has been stunning the masses at just about every bike show he participates in and usually rides away with top honors. What's that, the name doesn't ring a bell? That's probably because until recently, Ferry had spent all his time entering his creations in bike shows in his home country of Spain. Based out of Marbella, Spain, Ferry has been customizing bikes for around 25 years and has been doing it as a profession for the past 15 years with his shop Hot Dreams Marbella.

The front hub was handmade to accept old Jaguar hubcap knock off spinners.

While the custom motorcycle scene is popular in Spain, and competition is tough, Ferry wanted to see just how good his bike building skills were. So he decided to branch out and see how his bikes fared against those from other countries and eventually go head to head with the top US builders. At the 2007 AMD World Championships of Custom Bike Building (AMDWC) not only did Ferry reach his dream of competing against all the US builders he'd seen featured in magazines, but his bike won top honors in the Modified Harley-Davidson class. To convince himself the win wasn't a fluke and that his skills were definitely on par with his US idols, Ferry vowed to compete in the event again with an even better bike.

The bike you see here, Panafina, or as Ferry translated as Narrow Panhead, (I would have said Fine Panhead, but I'm just a gringo) was his entry into the 2009 AMDWC Modified Harley class. I guess we are both right because the bike is definitely narrow, and absolutely fine!

To abide by the Modified H-D class rules, which stipulate that, the engine case and frame numbers have to be original (but can be modified), Ferry utilized a 1956 Panhead and added two of his own stipulations to the build; Spend as little money as possible, and like the Stones said, Paint it Black. "The extra rules I applied to myself helped keep me focused because I had to pay more attention to the hand made components and minor details on the bike," Ferry told us. Keeping the bike mostly black, Ferry knew he'd really have to put a lot of style and creativity into the build. "With the bike painted black I knew I was going to lose that head-turner effect that the bikes with loud flashy paint and extreme airbrush seem to get. So I had to really work in little details that you only see when you get closer and closer till you're on your knees 5 inches away from the engine. I worked on the finer points like handmade axles with hidden bolts, one-of-a-kind hubs, unique sweeping handlebars, forward controls made with drill bits (smaller than the ones used in the frame of course!), and a long list of one-off components and modified original parts."

Now we know what you're probably thinking, "Did he say, drill bits in the frame?" Yes he did. Looking at the downtubes and rear section of the frame, at first glance you might think in a nod to the late Indian Larry, Ferry did the old heat and twist the frame trick to get the spiral look. But no, the frame was actually cut up and drill bits were welded in. To get that narrow "Fina" look, Ferry decided to use dual 23x3.3 inch wheels wrapped in 130mm rubber. And to keep the bike low with the tall 23s, a 1998 H-D Springer frontend was modified (read: bent up) and the rear axle section of the frame was raised 2 1/2 inches and shortened 2 inches.

In the US we use bells to ward off road gremlins, in Spain they use devil heads.

Skinning the bike consisted of slicing and splicing a set of H-D fenders and tightly wrapping them over the tires like on an old Schwinn bicicleta. The gas tank was a custom piece fabricated to sit low on the backbone and taper into the seat area. Housed in the back section of the gas tank is the oil tank with all the lines exiting off the left rear side. And to keep the sleek profile of the bike, both have flush-mount caps.

After combing through the engine and getting it in top running shape, Ferry modified the Linkert M74 carb and installed a custom velocity stack with a little devil in the center. The H-D exhaust was chopped and a Chica brass tip was added. The transmission case was updated with a hydraulic clutch side cover and the trans was raised 1 inch to help reduce the angle on the chain final drive.

Now Ferry isn't one to hog the spotlight and act like he's a rockstar, he admitted to us that without his team he wouldn't have been able to pull this bike off. "Alex helped me a lot doing the welding and understanding how important this project was for me. Klaus, the bike jeweler, did some of the details like the brass and leather Hot Dreams banner on the cam cover, and the brass spark plug caps, and Jordi kept me free of the phone and took care of the customers so I could work on the bike. Thanks to my team and thanks to HOT BIKE for letting my bike be in the mag I grew up learning how to chop with."

And as to whether or not that 2007 AMDWC Modified Harley win was a fluke? Well, Ferry rolled into the AMD tent this past August with Panafina, and rolled out with yet another First place finish in the Modified Harley class. Now he says he's ready to move to Florida and take on the industry head on. All we can say is, ¡Buena suerte!