Softail Springer
Year: 1996
Make: H-D
MSRP: $14,030
Mileage: About 6,000
Rider: Eric
I picked up this Softail a couple years ago from one of our local shops, Lifestyle Cycles, in Anaheim, California. Junior, the owner of Lifestyle, had picked it up at auction, so I am assuming whoever owned it previously didn't make the payments and it got repo'd.
This has been one of those long, drawn-out project bikes, where I'll put some miles on it, put it up on the lift, tinker around, use it for some tech articles and then it would get put aside for months at a time as other bikes or projects would come up. I call it the WIP- work in progress. It's like the old adage, a roofer's roof usually leaks, and a mechanics car is usually broke down. It seems whatever your profession or specialty, everyone else's projects or jobs come before yours.
When I bought it, the bike was almost completely stock; I think it even still had the stock exhaust. The only things I recall being non-stock components were the gold eagle Live to Ride, Ride to Live gas caps and derby cover. They were the first things I ditched, though I have become kind of fond of the derby cover even though it doesn't really go with the bike's current black and chrome scheme.
Other mods I have done include swapping out the stock spokes for a set of black and chrome Ride Wright 50-Spoke Fat Daddys. In the rear, the stock fender horns were cut and a Heartland USA 180 conversion kit was installed along with the company's 8.5x20-inch Wildheart fender, black Bullet LED turn signals, and a side-mount license plate holder. Up front I ditched the fender for a more minimalist look.
The stock Buckhorns looked as bad as they were comfortable, so I replaced them with a set of Biltwell Keystone bars and installed PM hand controls and Battistini/Ness Round hole grips. I dig the look of the chrome grips on the black bars as the grips allow the black to shine through the holes. The PM controls have micro switches so I ran the electrical through the bars and man it was a pain in the ass. It looks clean but getting the wires past those tight bends without ripping them to shreds takes a lot of patience, pulling, and lube.
The stance has been lowered front and rear with a Burly Springer Fork Lowering kit and a set of Progressive's 422 adjustable shocks. And if you were paying attention last issue, you'll remember I got rid of the stock dash/speedo/ignition switch setup and replaced it with a Dash Cover from Washington Choppers and relocated the ignition switch to the horn mount via Klock Werks Ignition Mount.
Now being a project bike, there's always something on the backburner, and right now I am waiting for Buck of Buck Wild Designs to wrap up a custom paintjob on a second set of tins. The other sheetmetal consists of a front fender, another Heartland fender, and a set of split Sportster tanks that I picked up from Kustom Culture Cycles. With this other set of sheetmetal and some 12-inch apes I have hanging in my garage, I'll essentially have two different looks for the bike and could change back and forth relatively quickly and easily.
Of course there will always be other changes and parts to swap out, but my plan is to spend the rest of 2010 making up for lost mileage on this bike.