With the major portion of the build set in stone, Kirk and Kevin turned their attention to the centerpiece. “Our idea was to build the bike around a high-output engine based on a 80ci Evo,” Kirk tells us. “So I took the engine and trans I had over to Hillside Cycle and Machine in Munnsville, New York, where for the past 20 years brothers Scott and Craig Palmer have been building my drivelines.” Between the skilled hands of the Palmer brothers, they massaged the heads giving them their Stage II treatment. The heads were then combined with new Megasphere pistons and a Woods #9 cam, Daytona Twin Tech ignition, and an S&S carb that was outfitted with a ThunderJet setup. The engine was topped off with a set of polished stainless steel pipes that Kirk’s friend from the UK sent over, a Sumax composite glass air cleaner, and Thundervolt Taylor 10.4mm spark plug wires combined with Extreme Duty two-gauge battery cables to fire and handle the starting power. To help transfer the power to the rear wheel, Kirk’s friends at Primo-Rivera sent him one of their open beltdrives and a hydraulic clutch setup.
When it came to adding some color, many of the parts were sent into the Sumax powedercoat facility where they were baked in a heavy dose of Sumax’s specially formulated Candy Purple, which keeps it’s deep rich color by being highly resistant to fading. The parts that weren’t powerdercoated were handed off to a local painter who simply goes by the name, RIP. RIP laid down matching purple paint set off with some silver diamond plate graphics outlined with blue pinstriping with a few skulls mixed in for good measure.
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If you look closely, you can see some skulls that were subtly incorporated into the paint scheme.
If you look closely, you can see some skulls that were subtly incorporated into the paint
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The key to Kirk and Kevin Starke’s FXR-FXST was a rubber-mount setup in a Softail-style frame.
The key to Kirk and Kevin Starke’s FXR-FXST was a rubber-mount setup in a Softail-style fr
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Kirk was very pleased to tell us that after Hillside massaged the engine, the bike puts down around 98 horsepower and about 93 lb-ft of torque.
Kirk was very pleased to tell us that after Hillside massaged the engine, the bike puts do
After a year of fabrication, modification, and assembly between Kirk and Kevin Boyle, and spending more than 15 years tucked away on a shelf, Kirk and Kevin Starke’s FXR-FXST idea finally came to life and, more importantly, hit the open road. “Kevin Boyle had fun putting this project together,” Kirk comments. “He is a master for detail as he hid all the wires and lines in the ape hangers. The bike is very sanitary from front to back. This bike makes an entrance just by the thunder it creates. Then the heads start scratching as they see the motor shaking in the frame. It truly is a blast from the past.” HB