The Long Haul Test Ride | 2005 Harley Davidson FLHT

The stock analog gauges were swapped out with digital units from Dakota Digital and the bars were replaced with a set of RSD Convoy bagger bars.

The stock analog gauges were swapped out with digital units from Dakota Digital and the ba

One of the benefits of owning a custom motorcycle shop is you get to test ride everything you work on, and build. Eric Jones of LE Customs out of Bakersfield, California, knows first hand the spoils of building bikes. One of his latest builds, this here '05 FLHT, is owned by his friend Lyn Gudmudson.

Eric had built Lyn a full-blown ground-up custom several years ago, but with the changing market, Lyn thought it best to pick up a stock bike and build from there. Wanting something a little more for the long haul but still with all the go and show of his ground-up bike, Lyn started searching the classifieds for a used bagger. And with a mere 12,000 miles on the ticker, he got a smokin' deal on the Glide from some jilted ex-wife out of Palm Springs, California.

Not one to roll around on a stocker and with a plan to head out to Sturgis for the 69th Annual Rally-which was only six weeks away-Lyn dropped the bike off at Eric's shop for a complete makeover.

Mmmm...Ms. Heather. Now that's one passenger we'd love to take for a ride.

Now, while bike builders may have the privilege of test riding everything they work on, it often seems their personal bikes are never complete or they're neglected in the corner of the shop. And that's exactly where Eric found himself-on a six week deadline to transform his buddy's bike so they could go out to Sturgis, but Eric would have no bike of his own to ride once out there. With this knowledge in mind, Lyn told Eric that if he finished the bike in time, Eric could take the Glide and Lyn would take his ground-up custom.

So with that motivation looming in the back of his head, Eric jumped into the project neck deep. He started ordering parts, stretched fenders, gas tank, and saddlebags from Matrix Cycles, PM wheels (23-inch front, 18-inch rear), RSD handlebars, Dakota Digital Gauges, and a load of new audio equipment.

While the parts started trickling in, Eric tore the bagger down to the bones, blew the engine apart and sent the heads and throttle body to Lambert Ent. where they machined the heads for larger valves, and did some porting and polishing work. Eric then reassembled the engine, and mocked up the skin. With the fender modified to fit the 23-inch roller up front, Eric decided he really wanted to show off all that chrome so he pulled the fork legs, shaved off the right side caliper mount then mocked up a 13-inch rotor and six-piston caliper on the left. Once the mock-up was complete, the sheetmetal was sent to Ron Beam for paint.

Wouldn't you know it, but as final assembly was coming together, just like one of those nail-biting, suspense-filled, biker build-off shows, everything came together at the last minute; the bike was finished on Monday and they were on the road to Sturgis on Wednesday. While in Sturgis Eric spent every minute he could in the saddle "test riding" the bagger through every back road making sure it was fit for his friend.