Inspiration often comes from unexpected sources. Most enthusiasts will impart muse credit to another bike, a car, or even a girl. The inspiration for this bike came from handlebars. Yep, bent tubing with a slathering of chrome set off what quickly became a bobber on a budget. Why the "Bobber on a Budget" moniker? Well, it turns out I'm just an average guy, with average skills, a set of average tools, and quite likely a below average wallet. With that said-and with a fresh set of Burly ape hangers on my workbench-I set off on a quest for the other parts I would need, the first of which was a motorcycle.
I've always had a soft spot for Sportsters, especially older examples, which are very reasonably priced. With a weekend of surfing the net and calling on potential donor bikes, I bought a pristine '86 XL 883 for $2,500. This early generation Evo was in good condition and included an S&S Shorty carb and a brand new Vance & Hines Pro Pipe. It ran great and I could always bump the slugs up to 1200 at a later date.
I had the bike parked in my garage with a list of intended purchases drawn up. However, my significant other saw my list and I had to cut it short, but it did not impact the enthusiasm for the project (damn voice of reason). The Burly bars sat nicely on the bike and I could already see the transformation coming together. The next call was to Sam at Ride Wright Wheels. Sam knows his stuff, so we decided to go from the stock 19-inch to a 21-inch, and from the squatty 16-inch rear wheel to an 18-incher. Corona Harley-Davidson supplied the new rubber and balancing. Surprisingly, a lot of the crew members at Corona H-D were Sporty bobber enthusiasts (walking through their service area was sort of like a preview of coming attractions).
Ten days into the project, the bike was virtually unrecognizable. The big wheels now demanded a lowering kit. Burly makes a full line of low-buck lowering parts, so they seemed like the obvious go-to. Seems the Burly guys have been burning the midnight oil, and they had a prototype of their new Slammer Kit, which includes 10-1/2-inch shocks and a fork lowering kit that doesn't require the frontend to come off of the bike. The whole package fell under $300. The tattered fork lowers would require I pull the forks apart anyway, but the ease of the Slammer kit was much appreciated.
1. First of all, I ditched...
1. First of all, I ditched the stock Sporty bars and went with this set of Burly Apes.
2. Test fitting the Ride...
2. Test fitting the Ride Wright Wheels only added to the excitement. These things bolted right on and looked fantastic. The same could not be said for the fork legs.
3. H-D forks are not terribly...
3. H-D forks are not terribly complicated and come apart with only a few bolts. Lowers were sent to the powdercoater and the springs were swapped for a Burly Slammer Kit.
4. Fresh from paint and now...
4. Fresh from paint and now sporting a 2+ inch drop, the frontend was ready for final assembly. Also note the short risers. No reason to have extended risers and tall bars.
5. Hand controls as well...
5. Hand controls as well as other bolt-ons were sourced from J&P's extensive catalog. This complete set of chrome hand controls is a perfect example.
6. Even without bodywork,...
6. Even without bodywork, the red wheels, dropped suspension, and tall bars truly define the bobber look. A little elbow grease and polishing compound had the motor looking good, too.