Lifelong rider and shop owner Al Raposo’s take on cleansing doesn’t involve juice; it’s all about oil, rubber, and metal. None of which aids in repairing the damage from years of smoking cigars, guzzling booze, and munching burgers, but all of which are pretty good at fixing a broken bike. You could even say they’re necessary, in fact. Al’s Hot Bike Tour custom came into the world in 1993 as a Harley-Davidson FXR. It would later suffer a tragic wreck that left the bike a mess with a jacked frame—and Al with an opportunity.

RELATED: 2018 Hot Bike Tour Invited Builder Big Al Raposo

“I think about riding it.” Al Raposo’s first consideration on approaching a build.

Jeff Allen

Raposo got the wounded hog from a friend and gave himself the high challenge of not only fixing it in a month but also making it a full-on custom in the process. That’s not such a big deal if you have a ready supply of Red Bull (or stronger, less legal stimulants) and all kinds of free time. Doing it while running a custom shop and actually wanting to sleep is a tad more difficult. Having an understanding family and a great crew made the build possible though, and the shop got the job done.

If you’re going to use parts lying around the shop, having an S&S engine in the corner isn’t a bad setup. That FXR has a lot more pep than it did in its stock Evo days.

Jeff Allen

Repairing the frame was the first task, but once that was done, Al still needed parts and to make the time crunch, he used as many bits and pieces he already had on hand as possible. The bike was a serious team effort completed under the gun, with Jordan De Souza hand polishing much of it in-shop. To top off all that hard work, Taylor Schultz really did the build justice with a sweet melding of blue, silver, and white paint.

Dual four-piston Performance Machine Vintage calipers with floating rotors up front slow that S&S mill down in a hurry if needed.

Jeff Allen

The T-sport fairing was a nice touch to keep the bugs out of Al’s teeth.

Jeff Allen

Sometimes inspiration hits as you go along on a project. The blue paint on the frame is a color Al saw on cars around town.

Jeff Allen

Those saddlebags are a variation of the kit it has been making for a couple of years for Dynas. The bags are now available for the FXR and the prototype is on this bike.

Jeff Allen

Short time didn’t stop Al Raposo from personalizing the FXR. It packs a radar detector with GPS since he’s not one to shy away from breaking the speed limit. This vintage car cigarette lighter on the primary-side handlebar end was another personal touch.

Jeff Allen

Collect parts long enough and you’ll land some pretty hard-to-find pieces for a project. In this case, it’s the old aluminum Chopper Guys FXR side panels and oil tank.

Jeff Allen