Eitor's note: Lex Rivera walked into Dave Dupor's Custom Cycles after buying this '05 Softail Deluxe. Lex wanted to clean up and streamline the Softy and he knew Dave's reputation building sick customs would allow just that. Lex decided Dave was the right man for the job. Dave was so excited about the build process that he broke down the rundown for us.
I met Lex a few years ago, and like all my new customers, he's now a friend for life. He and a lot of my clientele make it a point to ride to all the big events with me to support the shop at the shows-truly a great bunch of guys.
This one tiny strip of LEDs provides plenty of light for indicating braking and turning.
Lex is the kind of guy that is a tad anal about cleanliness. After I put whitewalls on his bike he took a ride one hot summer morning, and when he returned he asked if it was OK for him to clean the whitewalls. I said sure, then I looked over 10 minutes later and the bike was on a center stand with the front wheel coming off. I asked what he was doing and he said it is easier to clean them when they're off the bike. After that, he removed the tires from the wheels! So is he anal? 1,000 percent yes!
The bike has gone through three sets of bars; H-D Beach Bars, Carlini Gangsters, and the most current Carlini Chinos that were heavily modified with the ends cut and flipped to eliminate the dimples and slots, that way nothing is visible anywhere under the controls.
Dave has a knack for running everything internally on the bars for a sanitary appearance.
"I named them "Ghost Bars" for a reason because you can't see any of the cables, wires, etc"
Dave has a knack for running everything internally on the bars for a sanitary appearance.
The sheetmetal was stripped to bare metal; all the holes, trim, and tips were all removed and welded up. The front fender was lowered and the rear fender was stretched 6 inches and I installed my flex LED in the very bottom. The stock taillight hole was filled and all the passenger seat holes were filled as well. If it is not used, I remove it or fill it.
I do my internal wiring and plumb the hydraulics on almost every single bike I build. Lex's Softail got the same treatment. I named them "Ghost Bars" for a reason because you can't see any of the cables, wires, etc. Once all connectors were installed, the lines were left longer for final fitment and the throttle cable was left long with the barrel end to be installed last. Lex was more than pleased with the outcome since he likes to keep things clean.
When I say the bike is never done, I mean it. Just when I think it looks unreal, we have to change something. Now we're converting his Deluxe into a bagger by adding extended bags and custom fillers (top and bottom). We're going to tear the entire bike down to the frame to have it painted pearl white, along with the swingarm and all brackets, trees, mounts, etc. A huge stereo system is now being installed with four 6x9 Alpines in the bags with an Alpine four-channel amp, and two 5 1/4 fronts in the custom headlight buckets face the rider mounted on the Lindby bar. We are getting it ready for the 2010 show season - we think it will drop some jaws!
As mentioned earlier, Lex is a freak when it comes to clean and simple. If he could, he would ride with a Simple Green holder on the bars. He keeps the bike in pristine condition and it looks like it is never ridden. I really appreciate how he takes care of it. It has over 10,000 miles on it and it looks like it has 10.