Last issue we showed you a basic stage one upgrade on an ’11 Street Glide using Fuel Moto’s Jackpot stainless steel 2-1-2 head pipe, 4-inch Touring Mufflers, Stage 1 Air Cleaner kit, and Power Commander’s new Power Vision EFI tuner. A simple bolt-on affair, that install made for a great performance improvement over the stock 65.34 hp and 78.16 lb-ft torque numbers with the bike putting out 80.28 hp (nearly 23 percent gain) and 94.41 lb-ft of torque (21 percent more torque) with a nice torque curve above 90 lb-ft from 3,000 to 4,500 rpm. The owner really liked the sound and noticeable seat-of-the-pants gain in power the upgrade provided.

The Sweet Tracker is getting closer and closer to the finished product. I started this project with a bone-stock 2000 XL883 Sportster Hugger in hopes of transforming it into a dirt track racing replica. So far, it’s coming along as I anticipated. In the last issue of HOT BIKE, I installed the Biltwell Tracker handlebar, Whiskey Throttle Assembly, Slimline Risers, and Kung Fu Grips; however, I wasn’t sure what kind of hand controls I wanted to use. I wanted something unique that encompassed a racey aesthetic. After scouring the internet, I found the yin to the bar’s yang in the ISR Hand Controls from LA County Choprods.

In the never-ending quest for more power, there are many options available. A noticeable addition can be had from a high-flow air cleaner upgrade, and high-performance slip-on muffler swap. That’s exactly what we were thinking for the ’10 Dyna Wide Glide (WG) in our test bike stable.

Soft, leather saddlebags serve their purpose, but a set of hard saddlebags have the edge for multiple reasons: cargo capacity is larger, latches are lockable, and they look much better than a set of soft bags. A friend of HOT BIKE, Mat Virgil, has a ’00 Softail Standard that was in dire need of a hard saddlebag conversion.

If you ride a cruiser but are looking to break into the bagger world without dropping the cash on a new Touring model, Cycle Visions in San Diego has the cure-all for your plight.

Chopper Design Services of Longwood, Florida, manufactures a very unique accessory for touring bikes. The LegUp LandinGear system is aimed at riders with any sort of difficulty keeping their motorcycles upright when coming to a stop or at low speeds due to physical limitations. When riders are considering a trike conversion, LegUp may be the perfect alternative.

It’s a no-brainer that Harley will never launch a CVO Sportster, but with the company’s new H-D1 factory customization program, who needs one? The Sportster 1200 Custom (starting at $10,299) has lived in Harley’s stable for years, yet this incarnation is the first to fully live up to its name. Previous models were only custom in the sense that they came with a few different parts than other XLs. H-D1 factory customization lets prospective Sportster Custom owners choose from several options on seven aspects of the bike—wheels, handlebars, seats, paint, foot control position, security system, and engine finish. H-D1 factory customization is the newest element of Harley-Davidson customization that allows customers to build the 1200 Custom from a selection of options that are installed as the motorcycle is assembled on the line by Harley-Davidson’s factory workers. H-D1 factory customization enables personalized fit, function, and style. By selecting different wheels, seats, handlebars, paint, and engine finishes, the customer can dramatically alter the look of the motorcycle. Different combinations of foot-control location, seats, and handlebars can be selected to adjust the fit of the motorcycle to a rider’s stature. With H-D1’s factory customization Bike Builder tool, the customer will have the opportunity to order a 1200 Custom in more than 2,600 combinations.

Things are moving along nicely with the Sweet Tracker project. My goal is to convert a stock ’00 XL883 Sportster into a badass dirt track racing replica. I’m getting closer and closer to the end result, and so far, I likey.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is home to all things free. Freedom from your job, freedom from the grind, freedom to feel like an American and party ’til the cows come home and the bars close. For some, Sturgis provides the freedom for bike owners to buy and bolt on that new accessory to their Harley-Davidson.

Located in Little Chute, Wisconsin, about 120 miles north of Milwaukee, and 25 miles south of Green Bay, Fuel Moto is becoming known as a premier performance shop with extensive product knowledge and tuning skills. While the winter months might shut down the riding season for most of the country, Fuel Moto owner Jamie Long takes advantage of those months by logging thousands of hours on his Dynojet 250i Chassis Dyno tuning bikes, creating precise EFI fuel maps, and experimenting with various power combinations. In fact, it’s with all those hours of testing and experimenting that Jamie was able to use his knowledge of what works to create his own line of Jackpot brand bolt-on power components. From mufflers, head pipes, air cleaner kits, and custom precision EFI maps to support those components, Fuel Moto has a developed a line of parts that were designed to complement each other to achieve the best results. The parts not only perform well, but they look and sound good, are made in the USA from US materials, have a lifetime warranty, and are reasonably priced.

There aren’t too many companies in this industry that can state they are a family-owned and -operated business that has been providing US-made motorcycle parts and accessories for the past 75 years. But National Cycle Inc. (NCI) in Maywood (suburb just outside of Chicago), Illinois, proudly stands behind that fact. Founded in 1937 as Nation’s Cycle Center Inc. by Gordon Willey, the company began by offering mirrors to the motorcycling community. Now three-quarters of a century later, the company is owned and operated by Gordon’s sons Barry (President) and Gordon (co-owner) and Barry’s wife Ann, and the parts line has increased exponentially covering everything from mirrors to exhaust pipes, saddlebags, fender tips, light bars, and much more.

While the stock, enclosed, chain-driven Harley primary is a reliable setup, when it comes to customizing their bikes, many people prefer to swap out the stock assembly for the more mechanical look of an open, belt-driven primary. Years ago when the wide-tire trend was in full effect, beltdrives were reaching near treadmill-like proportions. While a 5-inch beltdrive might have complemented the look of a wild one-off custom with a 360mm rear tire, it didn’t do much for the ridabilty. In fact, it actually hindered the bike by reducing the lean angle. Thankfully the “gotta go wider” trend has nearly disappeared and tire and open beltdrive sizes have come back to more manageable proportions.

In the never-ending quest for personality, customizers search far and wide to make their bikes stand out from the pack. In a lot of cases it’s the little things that go a long way.

Riding a Harley outfitted with a set of ape hangers epitomizes cool. We’ve had a ’10 Wide Glide in the bike stable for quite some time, and we felt that the only thing missing was taller bars. Once we put our finger on it, we ordered Harley’s chrome 12-inch Fat Mini Ape Handlebar Kit with Riser ($299.95). The feeling of stretching out your arms while blazing down the road is something that can only be experienced while riding with apes. It just seemed like a natural step for the Wide Glide.

When you go through all the trouble of installing new pistons, throwing on a new set of heads, and swapping out camshafts, the worst thing that can hamper your “happy ending” is getting a less-than-expected horsepower gain. Don’t let that make you reconsider all the time and money you’d just spent, ’cause what it all really boils down to has nothing to do with what you’ve done—it has to do with what haven’t done: exhaust.

A few issues back I dedicated my monthly column to converting a stock Sportster into a street tracker, a dirt track racing replica (picture Harley’s XR-750), but able to be legally ridden on the street. The Harpoon drew up a rendering of what the bike was to be, with the only instructions being that I wanted a black and gold theme. He nailed it. I got to thinking though… A street tracker limits you to only being able to ride on the street. I wanted the option to ride around the oval at Costa Mesa Speedway in Orange County, California, with proper dirt track tires as well. I’ve become a huge fan of flat-track racing, and it has been a goal of mine to race flat track. Why not have both? I struck a deal on a 2000 XL883 Hugger Sportster at Skip-Fordyce Harley-Davidson in Riverside, California and once I got the bike home I stripped all the crap off that would inhibit its ability to haul ass and look cool.

Moving forward with our friend Ron’s ’11 Dyna, last issue we discussed some of the main components that make up the Trask Performance Turbo kit. In that article we also showed you some of the modifications that were made to the lower end of Ron’s bike to help it withstand the additional power upgrades that would eventually be added (new cams and bumping up the displacement). Those modifications included welding the three-piece crank assembly and converting the straight roller bearing in the engine’s left-side case to a more durable tapered Timken roller bearing setup. While not required when installing one of Trask’s bolt-on turbo kits, taking care of the lower end will help Ron keep his peace of mind when he’s finished hopping up the engine and really starts flogging the bike.

On one beautiful, sunny day as we prepared for an enjoyable ride from the coast into the local mountains, our steel steed picked up a gremlin. After riding to a friend’s house to meet up, our ’04 Fat Boy suffered a sudden starting issue. A quick diagnosis was performed and the cables, battery, switch, and relay were tested and cleared mechanically. After doing the dreaded running bump start and finding the engine lighting off without a hitch, we relegated ourselves to requiring a new starter. That fact was compounded as the machine was bump started at every stop along the way. Shoving a 700-pound Harley down the street is no picnic.

Last issue in “Dyna Suspension Upgrade,” we introduced you to Ron and his ’11 Dyna. In that article we mentioned that Ron likes to ride hard and push his bikes to the limit, which was the reason for upgrading the rear suspension with the Progressive 970 series shocks. Not one to tread lightly, Ron also likes to beef up his bikes with added horsepower and torque and he’s had it all, from big bore kits to strokers. So when it came to hop up his new Dyna, he figured why not try a different route and start out with a power-adder like a turbo from Trask Performance.

Compressed air and air-powered tools are very useful in any shop. When we upgraded our air compressor, we also installed a RapidAir compressed air piping system. With the RapidAir system’s convenient air drops, we won’t be dragging hoses across the shop and more than one mechanic can tap into the system. This is much better than our old hose reel setup.

In the never-ending quest for the right motorcycle wheels for your ride, there are a wide variety of custom billet wheel manufacturers out there to choose from. Colorado Custom in Anaheim, California, has a massive collection of forged billet aluminum one-piece and multi-piece wheels for all Harley models and custom applications ranging in size from 16 to 30 inches. Of course matching rotors, sprockets, and pulleys are all available to round out the installation package and wheels are available in chrome, or black and chrome.

For all of you who get excited when you see vintage iron, understand that it probably didn’t look that pretty when the owner took on the project. Most vintage enthusiasts have to complete some form of restoration to their old steed before he/she will allow it to hit the pavement. Here we will lightly examine what it takes to put some new life into an old gas tank that has been beaten and abused after many years of trustworthy service.

We’re not sure if it’s the influence of Sons of Anarchy, people taking a liking to the mean look of a club-style bike, or riders realizing the performance potential of the Dyna models, but whatever it is, Dynas are hot. A friend of ours, Ron, has been hip to the styling and performance capabilities of Dynas for a while now, and the recent purchase of an ’11 Street Bob makes for his third Dyna. Ron is a hard rider who rides long distances really fast and likes to push his bikes to their limits. So when it comes to making modifications, one of the first things he does with his Dynas is upgrade the rear suspension.

So you’re in the market to have your bike painted. Choosing the correct representation of you is tricky. It takes a lot of thought and a lot of planning to decide how you want your baby to look. Harley’s Core Series-Grind collection is a cool no-brainer way to get a custom look. It’s relatively inexpensive too when compared to custom paintjobs; Paint Only Sheetmetal Exchange Program is $1,899.95, but a brand-new set of Core Series–Grind tins can be had for a starting price of $1,999.95 depending on model.