Tech | XLRCR Project Part 1

04. The proper amount of fork oil was poured into each leg. With the fork legs fully extended, the spacers were then inserted. The tops of the spacers were shaved to keep them flush with the top of the fork tube.

06. A straight edge was used to check that the spacer was flush or below the top of the fork tube then the cap was tightened down.

07. The Works Performance Pro Piggyback shocks are easy to adjust. A flat-blade screwdriver was used to adjust rebound damping.

08. An Allen head wrench turns the compression damping knobs that are located at the base of the shock body.

09. The threaded preload collar allows for precise spring preload setting. It's important to make sure both springs have identical settings.

10. To have more cornering ground clearance the XLRCR's Pro Piggybacks are half an inch longer than stock.

11. I wanted to add some details to the side covers. I located stainless steel wire mesh at the local scrap yard, and used it for some faux air vents on the side covers. The mesh was cut into ovals then Tommy Leonardo cut stainless steel plating into oval frames to hold the wire mesh inserts. The frames were later polished smooth.

12. Tommy welded the seams on the frames then welded four threaded studs to the backside so the vents could be mounted to the side covers.

13. We double-checked the length of the vent's studs to make sure they cleared the oil tank on the right side.

14. The side cover is ready for paint. The original finish was flat black; I used Eastwood Company's gloss black to match the bike. After the covers were painted, the vents were secured to the side covers with four ny-loc nuts.

15. Here's a glimpse of what the XLRCR is going to look like. The guys at Rock & Roll Custom Paintworks rocked with this paintjob. We'll show you the café racer seat and a few other features next issue.