Operation Bag A Fatty | Transforming A Soldier's Softail

07. As the bike was torn down, new parts from our supporting contributors began arriving at the shop. The first to arrive was a Sport Touring Vintage Solo Seat with Driver Backrest ($449) and a Sport Touring Vintage Recessed Rear Seat ($169) from Mustang. This seating setup would not only meet Adam's desire of having the ability to go solo or two-up in a matter of seconds, but it would also allow him to do so in style. The seats are slim and sporty-looking but also provide plenty of padding for all-day comfort. The addition of Mustang's adjustable driver backrest will allow Adam to adjust his riding position to further enhance his comfort.

08. With the new seat fitted to the bike, Derk used a Cycle Visions BaggerTail Kit he had on hand and started to mock up Adam's bike with some Bad Dad bodywork. As stated before, Bad Dad offers parts for baggers, but it also provides parts for Softails as well. From front to rear is a Slammed Fender ($240) made to fit without any spacers, a Stretched Headlight Nacelle ($260) made to fit the larger Touring-style 7-inch headlight assembly ($115), Stretched Tank Shrouds ($365) and Stretched Dash ($175), Shaved and Stretched Saddlebags ($2,150-lids, hinges, weather strips, and assembly included), an All-in-One Fender ($285), and an All-in-One Taillight with wiring harness ($295). All of the body pieces are made from hand-laid fiberglass and come gel-coated so they are ready to paint. The good thing about these parts is that they are easy to modify to suit your needs.

09. Installation of the stretched tank shroud is pretty straightforward and doesn't even require removing the tank from the bike. You can simply remove the emblems and sand the top of the tank with any sandpaper from 80-220 grit, and this can be done by hand or with a dual-action sander. Once the top half of the tank has been sanded, you can apply the adhesion material, either two-part epoxy or silicone, then install one of the tank halves. Next, you would use some tape to secure the half while the adhesion material dries. You'd then repeat the process for the other side, and once both sides have set, you can cut the tail section to fit your stock or aftermarket seat.

10. While the bodywork was being mocked up, the Avon tires showed up. Instead of sticking with the stock wheels and tires, we decided to add a little more rubber and metal between the fork legs and swingarm, and stepped up to 18 inches front and back. Up front we ordered a Venom AM41 130/70-18 ($208.95) and out back we picked up a Venom AM42 150/70-18 ($242.95). The Venom line is geared toward heavyweight cruisers to provide long mileage, low noise, and excellent traction in all conditions with its aggressive tread design. The multiarc tread design on the Venoms is countered for light, neutral turning and steady cornering. All of these characteristics will greatly benefit Adam as he logs mile after mile.

11. Right behind the tires were the RC Components wheels. While everyone likes chrome, and RC has one of the top chrome warranties in the industry (seven years) we thought he'd like something a little more sinister, so we opted for RC's Czar ($2,690.21-wheels, rotors, pulley) design in its recently added Eclipse Series. The Eclipse Series features a black powdercoated finish with certain parts of the wheel left raw, this really helps draw attention to the wheels. RC offers matching rotors and pulleys as well as the option of either chrome or black hubs; we went with chrome. The Czar wheel is a six-spoke design with the outer edges of the spokes machined down to a knife-like edge.

12. With the wheels and tires on the bike, the Bad Dad team fine-tuned the rear of the bike so that the new rear fender and extended saddlebags would all line up evenly. The Bad Dad All-in-One rear fender fits right over the stock fender and fills the gaps between the fender and saddlebags. As you can see, the rear fender was heavily trimmed to allow the new fender to fit in place. To ensure the new bags and fender line up at the rear and between the bags and fender, Bad Dad incorporates its own brackets into the BaggerTail setup.

13. Here you can see the mock-up was almost complete, the dash was cut to accept the stock speedo, indicator lights, and ignition switch, and the bags and fender were properly aligned. No, those saddlebag lids are not magically floating in midair. It turns out that Adam's bike was the test bed for Bad Dad's newest product: Shaved Saddlebags. There are no latches on the outside like typical bags. What you can't see is at the front of the lids (facing the fender) is a lockable push button which, when pressed, allows the lids to pop up then slide outwards (away from the bike) so you can get inside. It's a pretty trick setup and provides a nice clean and custom appearance.

14. After everything was dialed in, the bodywork was pulled off the bike one last time and sent over to the in-house paint booth to get doused in several coats of black with matte clear. While we don't want to reveal too much and spoil the surprise, we'll leave you with this last shot of Adam's newly bagged Fat Boy being loaded up into the Keyboard truck before it makes its way back home. Check back next issue, as we show you the final results.