American-V 34 Preview

Issue: 34 £4.95

AMV.34.COV.indd 1

7/4/09 1:01:55 pm

0'9 <1&+#% 740689 PM CALIPERS are known for their tremendous stopping power, perfect fitment and great looks. Your Zodiac dealer has them for almost every Harley model to present. Four piston calipers start at £ 413.70

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Fits 1993 thru 2008 Touring models. £ 183.60

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Internet: www.zodiac.nl E-mail: sales@zodiac.nl Original Zodiac parts and accessories are only available through a Zodiac retailer (not directly from Zodiac by mail-order).

Check out http://www.zodiac.nl/en/locator/index.html for your nearest Zodiac dealer. Suggested retail prices include VAT. Prices can be subject to change without notice.

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16-03-2009 10:35:45

American-V: Issue 34

Editorial Slip the anchor and ride out the storm.

Welcome to the brave new world: our glorious leaders have all got together round a table and worked out how to mend things that they watched go horribly wrong from the sidelines: still, live and learn eh? But then what can you hope for from the G20+2.

Was that poor advanced planning or too hard a sum?

Maybe it’s algebra and G represents a random variable, but even then it’ll just be any number in existence … plus two. Even an O’level maths student could probably get that.

We can only hope they do get it right this time, but whether they do or not, it won’t do us any harm to get creative: think of it as a wake up call.

Time to use our imagination.

Actually, we’re incredibly lucky because we have the perfect device for taking us out of ourselves, and the only sensible thing to do is to use it for that very purpose. Ride!

I don’t want to hear anyone say they can’t afford to put their bike on the road, unless it’s something like a half-assembled, three-quarters complete, pre-war J-series.

At times like these you can’t afford NOT to put your bike on the road. Surrounded by 24-hour rolling news telling you every hour, on the hour that we’re all going to hell in handcart is depressing. Half an hour in the hills on a bright summer’s day will clear your head and put a different complexion on things.

Road tax, an MoT and fuel are relatively cheap in terms of what they offer in return, and while I don’t want to kick the pub trade while they’re down, for the price of a night out down the boozer, listening to the same people trotting out the same tired BS, you can have a decent day out, get a lungful of clean air and really lift your spirits.

Sheer escapism.

You don’t necessarily need anywhere to go: just get on your bike, pick a fluffy white cloud picked out against a blue sky and try to follow it ... or on a typical English summer’s day, pick a black one and try to out-run it.

Put yourself back in your teenage mindset with your first bike outside.

Your passport to freedom.

Your first chance to go just about anywhere you wanted to go, when you wanted to go there.

It pushed back your boundaries so far that you didn’t need a reason to go out, the act of leaving the restrictions of the only life you’d known was incentive enough, and I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that’s why most of us still ride bikes: some of it will be performance, but most will be freedom.

We still remember that tangible sense of freedom even if we haven’t necessarily exercised it recently because we tell ourselves that we haven’t got time.

In reality we never did have time, but we found it or else we made it or, occasionally, we stole it from the people who had bought it, and couldn’t work out why such a healthy person had so much time off sick, but the less said about that the better.

It defined us and it continues to do so, and perhaps there’s never been a better time to remind ourselves of that sense of freedom, because while there’s a lot to be said for battening down the hatches in tough times, there’s more to be said for locking them from the outside: the view’s better to start with.

And don’t go making daft excuses because they won’t wash, and it’s only yourself you're kidding.

Of course, it’ll take a while getting back into the habit: you’ll be escaping from a world that you’ve made for yourself – which will be more attractive for some of us than for others – but even domestic bliss can’t compare to the majesty of the great outdoors, and there are few better ways to put yourself into the middle of that than on a motorcycle ... and those other ways usually involve walking.

What we really need, to get back into the habit, is somewhere to go and a reason to go there: we need a shepherd to round us up and point us in the right direction.

It’s something that HOG does exceptionally well for its members, and that the more active Victory Riders’ Association groups have taken on-board.

And I’m going to suggest that dealers in the independant sector are the right people to take a leaf out of Harley’s book too, and give their customers a reason to get their bike out.

It needn’t be ambitious, or even formal, just somewhere to go and a time to leave: their business premises are the perfect departure point, which could cynically be interpreted as a way of getting people through the door, but when was the last time you just went to a bike shop and talked, when the boss and staff weren't trying to get on with work?

Make the most of the opportunity: to show off what you do as a dealer, or to see what that dealer does, as an existing or prospective customer.

There’s no question that Harley dealers will get a benefit from HOG’s activities if only because puts miles on bikes that will need servicing more frequently, but there’s no reason at all why the independent sector shouldn’t have those same opportunities: profit isn’t the same as profiteering, and businesses need to pay overheads and wages out of something.

And there’s an addtional opportunity here, which is to be broad-minded in terms of the bikes that can join in. Sure, it would be great if they were all Harleys, Victorys and Buells, but it shouldn’t matter that much, and it’s a great way to let them know what they’re missing: they could be your next generation of customers more quickly with encouragement.

Build bridges, enourage younger riders to stick with it. Be tolerant of them, as the guys we looked up to were with us. If you get a big enough hard-core group, you can arrange more specific stuff for them, but start humble and inclusive: this isn’t the time to be aloof.

I’m not suggesting you buy the beer or anything, just give them a reason to ride: it’ll give you a reason to go too.

If you want to develop it further, talk to other dealers you get on with and do some shop-to-shop runs, or meet centrally to make more of an event out of it. Maybe see if the local Riders' Club region want to get involved?

For our part, we’re cordially inviting you all to Thundersprint, in Northwich on the 9/10 May. We’re not doing anything there this year because we really haven’t got the time, manpower – or the organisational skills to do it properly – so we’ll find a friendly hostelry or cafe between now and then and use that as a focal point: keep an eye on the website, or send us an email and we’ll let you know where.

I’ll be taking my Buell Cyclone round the track this year, but will take the time off between qualifying and the sprint itself.

In the meantime, as a thank you to our advertisers, we’ve been thinking about how we can make their advertising work better for them: we’re always up for consultation and ideas, but have come up with a couple of simple, but hopefully effective things.

As of this issue, we'll be putting all advertising pages into our on-line previews, accessed from the website: they’re submitted to search engines too, which will help raise exposure.

We’re also running a draw after each magazine to upgrade the next advert to twice the size for the same price – to provide an opportunity to get a stronger message across.

And, of course, if any dealers start to run regular ride-outs, we’ll find a way to help promote them, in the magazine and on-line. And if we’re in the area, we’ll probably even tag along: any excuse for a ride!

Andy

American-V.co.uk

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Contents 34

Issue Thirty Four

Harley-Davidson “Performance Tee”. IronHeart 32oz Jeans DVDs: Harley Pilgrimage, The Road to Shipley; Aussie biker flick ‘Stone’; An Ace Day; US independent Free To Wander.

18: CONFEDERATE FIGHTER

The Art of Rebellion is alive, well and continues to push the boundaries wherever it finds them

22: 2009 FXDFSE CVO DYNA FAT BOB An astonishing combination of P&A ‘show’ and Screamin’ Eagle ‘go’, and surprisingly subtle with it: the best factory Dyna ever made? That’d be telling.

34: PHIL’S PAN

A ’49 Panhead from the first year of telescopic forks, chopped in ’69 at the birth of the chopper boom.

41: PADOVA & VERONA

66: TECH: INSIDE THE FREEDOM

46: NESS LOWLINER V

70: QUICKSPIN: HOGBITZ XL1200 CAFE RACERS

A pair of shows on the same weekend make too good an opportunity to miss for Steve Kelly.

The V stands for Victory: the first non-Polaris production bike based round the 106/6 Freedom engine.

50: THE RISE OF THE BAGGER?

Nick Gale thinks so, and he could be right: the pragmatic chopper for the long haul biker.

56: AMERICANO

MV might have been headline news last year, but it’s all been done before: we look at Harley’s last attempt to diverify: the Aermacchi Ala Azzurra – or the Sprint as it was later known.

60: SELF-INFLICTED EXILE

The custom world’s favourite ex-pat has been working on a clever range of DIY, mix and match solutions for Softails.

Looking over Edge’s shoulder while he strokes the Victory motor, revealing its remarkably simple internals.

An affordable, exhilarating way to realise a Sportster’s potential: from nought to 1964 in a heartbeat.

79: COLIN’S 1999 FAT BOY

The last of the Evo’s, and probably the last new bike that Billy Whiz will ever buy.

84: CLASSICS AT DAYTONA Simple, stunning shots

86: BOBBED STREET BOB

Europe’s oldest Harley dealer puts a retro spin on the FXDB

89: MAINZ 2009

The goings-on at Custom Chrome’s Trade Expo

88: 2009 CALENDAR The next installment.

98: RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS The bros strike a dodgy deal.

Editor: andy.hornsby@american-v.co.uk Features Editor: rich.king@american-v.co.uk Contributors this issue: Steve Kelly, Horst Rosler, Casie Hodges, Andy Malham. Warrs. Confederate.

Proofing: Amanda Wright.

Design: Erika McAston All editorial enquiries to: editorial@american-v.co.uk Advertising Manager: Emma Howl EmmaHowl@warnersgroup.co.uk 01778 392443 Advertising Sales: Andy Fraser 01778 392054 Advertising Production: Joanne Osborn: 01778 391164 joanneo@warnersgroup.co.uk

Trade Sales: Natalie Cole: 01778 392404 nataliec@warnersgroup.co.uk Subscriptions: 01778 392484 Annual Subscriptions UK: £24.75 EU: £36.75 RoW Zone 1: £38.55 RoW Zone 2: £42.75 (all include postage) Published by American-V, PO Box 336, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 7WY. Tel: 0207 993 8002 Printed in the UK by Warners (Midlands) PLC, Bourne.

Distribution by: Warners Group Publications Plc West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH Tel: 01778 391135 Copyright 2009 American-V.

This issue was brought to you by the the skin of our teeth: we’ve got an excuse, but not a very good one

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www.american-v.co.uk

6: NEWS & NEW PRODUCTS 12: REVIEWS

8/4/09 11:42:20 pm

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WWW.RADICALBOOTCO.CO.UK Radical Boot Co Advert (US) 02.indd 1

1/4/09 19:55:32

American-V American-V # ONE

News & Products

THE BIG BANG THEORY When Custom Chrome was baled out by the company who makes its RevTech range of products it was a fairly safe bet to suppose that their engine development plan wasn’t going to suffer under the new regime.

What I don’t think many were expecting was a very bullish CCI raising the stakes in that department quite so quickly or emphatically, although in truth it wasn’t so much a quick recovery as an eventual launch as these have been under development for several years.

Announced just ahead of the Mainz show, and shown in situ in two bikes, one each by Marcus Walz and Fred Kodlin, the new motors will replace CCI’s Evo-styled engines – which I take to mean the Series 3 RevTech family – but will still fit directly into most aftermarket frames designed for an Evo style motor.

It’s still based on a single camshaft – an Andrews EV72 to be precise – and uses an Evo-style oiling system with the addition of the internal piston oilers from the previous generation, to aid cooling, and it isn’t so much a radical overhaul as an natural evolution of the excellent work already done on the 110-inch and the Series-3 4x4 100-inch motors.

There are a few easy styling cues you can use to tell the new motors from the old – quite apart from the dirty great big 115 and 125 on the Mikuni air filters – notably the loss of the fake points cover on a new-shape nosecone, and the lack of a RevTech logo on the visible castings, which could be to overcome market reaction harking back to difficult times with the Series 2 100-inch motor – then an overbored 88 rather than the destroked 110-inch.

That clean outward appearance and single cam familiarity coupled with a 20,000 mile / 2 year limited warranty, is an enticing combination, but what’s in it?

The press details seeping through to us largely relate to the 125-inch, probably because it has already gained Euro 3 approval, but the 115-inch spec is available through the US site, and is offered here only to set context ... and to ask ‘but why?’, because in dollar terms the extra 10 cubic inches adds $130 to the cost of an engine that retails at $5k.

Actually ‘but why?’ is very simple: power characteristics. Get to this sort of size and to be frank, numbers mean very little. The torque of 115 cubic inches on

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a solo motorcycle is enough for most mortals and the 125-inch exists as a flagship. The suggestion from the US is that the 115 is a rider’s bike while the 125 is just their ultimate engine.

So, the 115-inch is a 4.125 x 4.3-inch motor: a long stroke, which they reckon has been designed to make power early with a broad power band.

Meanwhile the 125-inch has a 4.25bore and 4.410-inch stroke for high torque, high horsepower and I suspect it will work out lazier, or just effortless.

In case you were wondering, 125ci is over 2-litres.

A quick digression (sorry) an easy way of converting cubic inches to cc is based on knowing that 45-inches is 750cc and that 61ci is a litre (both well-established Harley capacities): anything else requires more complicated maths than I can muster on an empty stomach.

Other than the bore and stroke, the technology is much the same – hence the modest $130 difference.

Like the Series 3, it is built up from a pressed-together crank, and there have been some material changes inside the motor but let’s not get bogged down in those numbers, and kid ourselves that we have the first idea what they mean.

Like the series 3 it’s in a set of cases produced as one piece and then split to ensure a perfect joint, and with

blind case bolts for a cleaner external appearance, rather than through-bolts and nuts; but it does appear to have lost the sump plate.

Like the Series 3 it has forget pistons as standard, although they’re JE’s slipper skirt pistons this time.

And like the Series 3 – well the 110inch version at least – it’s running a Mikuni HSR45 carburettor, on a manifold matched to the heads for ideal flow efficiency, and it still gets through Euro 3 testing.

In terms of that evolution, it has got revised roller rockers, more fin area, new ‘D’-shaped intake ports and comes with manual compression releases for easy starting – all of which can be easily seen as building on the strengths of the earlier motor, rather than a ground-up build which CCI seem determined to put across ... together with the ‘Assembled in America”, which means only one thing: that a lot of wasn’t manufactured there.

Do we care?

Probably not as much as our American friends do because they’re not our jobs that are being outsourced: we just want the torgue of its power delivery and that’s what RevTech want to give us.

Do we need that power?

No, but we’ll want it. www.custom-chrome-europe.com

American-V.co.uk

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Warr's Ad-09_American V_Issue-34:Warr's Ad-09_American V_Issue-34 10/03/2009 16:14 Page 1

Chelsea Embankment by Bazalgette Jacket and boots by Harley-Davidson Bobbed Springer by Warr’s

EUROPE’S OLDEST HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALERSHIP Bike featured: Harley-Davidson Springer King’s Road 020 7736 2934 South East 020 8857 9198 www.warrs.com Delivery & Collection Licensed Credit Brokers Training Programmes

Does a concept bike cease to be a concept when it is put into production? And if so, is there such a thing as a production concept bike?

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American-V.co.uk

8/4/09 5:22:12 pm

Lateral Thinking: Confederate Fighter

CONFEDERATE FIGHTER

It could be seen as the ultimate contradiction in terms: an oxymoron on a par with the notion of a ‘factory custom’, but that doesn’t mean it can’t exist. Indeed, the word “can’t” might just be the catalyst to make sure that it must, because deep in the south of the USA is a manufacturer of motorcycles for who the word “can’t” appears to have no meaning.

That company is Confederate: a small scale builder of the most exquisite of production motorcycles that frequently push the boundaries back further than the million dollar concept bikes of major manufacturers’ R&D departments; and barring one that hasn’t yet made it off the digital drawing board – the Renovatio project – have managed to do so using that most familiar of American engines: the 45-degree OHV V-twin.

Except, of course, Confederate don’t call it anything as mundane as a V-twin, it’s a radial engine. And do you know what? That’s exactly what it is, with its barrels radiating out from a central crank. It’s another way of looking at it, and that’s what Confederate have been doing with motorcycles since 1991 when founder, Matt Chambers, first set the company up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

They haven’t always been so avant-garde. They started off producing performance cruisers, but they have been getting increasingly radical in recent generations, capturing the attention of those who share Chambers’ celebration of ‘The art of rebellion’.

Confederate as it exists today is a brand new company forged out of the adversity of the total destruction of their New Orleans factory when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Now based in Birmingham, Alabama, they continue to produce an evolving version of their Hellcat, have completely redeveloped their Wraith from the bike that was just months from launch back in 2005, and have added a third model that is as radical as anything that has carried their logo previously.

All are based around a patented founding engineering principle of the Confederate marque which is a vertically stacked, close ratio gearbox that provides perfect alignment of the crank and the swing-arm spindle to ensure a level of structural integrity unknown on any other pre-unit power-train.

The redeveloped Wraith replaced the original XL-derived engine with Confederate’s big twin solution, and from somewhere

»»

American-V.co.uk

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Complete Workshop Facilities inc: • New and Pre owned Bikes for Sale • Full Custom Bike Design and Builds • Customisation • Custom Paint and Repaint • Crash Repairs & Insurance Quotes • Servicing & Parts Fitting

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Tel: +44 (0)20 8998 6775 or +44 (0)79 51 74 13 52 E mail; Nick@nickgalecustoms.co.uk Unit 5 Montague Works, 250 Water Road, Wembley, Middx HA0 1HX

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2/4/09 15:56:01

FXDFSE CVO FATBOB Harley-Davidson were initially slow to recognise the benefit of customers modifying their motorcycles, but having done so you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accuse them of not capitalising on it.

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American-V.co.uk

8/4/09 5:44:07 pm

Roadtest: Harley-Davidson FXDFSE CVO Fat Bob

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Cheltenham Harley-Davidson

599 Princess Way, Cheltenham GL51 7PA. Tel: 01242 240570 www.bladegroup.co.uk

Dockgate Harley-Davidson

Heritage House, Second Avenue, Southampton, United Kingdom SO15 0LP 02380 571200 dg202006.magicgroup.us

Guildford Harley-Davidson Portsmouth Road, Peasmarsh, Guildford, GU3 1NA 0845 388 9643 www.guildfordharleydavidson.co.uk

Lincoln Harley-Davidson

8 Tritton Road, Lincoln LN6 7QY Tel: 01522 850098 Fax: 01522 850088 leydavidson.co.uk www.lincolnharleydavidson.co.uk

Norwich Harley-Davidson

Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3ES 0845 224 0419 www.norwichharleydavidson.co.uk

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Oxford Harley-Davidson

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Preston Harley-Davidson

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Silverstone Harley-Davidson

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37-43 Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton WV3 0UF. Tel: 01902 371 600 www.stratstone.com/harley-davidson-bikes.html

Thames Valley Harley-Davidson

Windsor House 121 Yarmouth Road Slough, SL1 4HY 01753 515500 www.thamesvalleyharley-davidson.co.uk

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Warr’s Harley-Davidson

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Warr’s Harley-Davidson

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Waterford Harley-Davidson

611 Kings Road, London, SW6 2EL Tel: 0207 736934 Web: www.warrs.com

16 – 20 Mottingham Road, London SE9 4QW Tel: 0208 8579198 Web: www.warrs.com

Ozier Park, Waterford City, Ireland Tel +353 51 844200 Fax +353 51 857206 www.waterfordhd.com

Corner House Garage, Whitecross, Wootton, Oxfordshire OX13 6BS Tel: 01865 735121 Web: www.bladegroup.co.uk

West Strand Park, Strand Road, Preston, Lancashire PR1 8UY. Tel: 01772 551800 Web: www.harleydavidson-preston.com

170 Watling Street East, Towcester, Northamptonshire NN12 6DB. Tel: 01327 353444 Web: www.silverstoneharley-davidson.co.uk

Stratstone Harley-Davidson

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Waterlinks Motor Village, Lichfield Road Aston, Birmingham. Tel: 0121 335 70 43 www.stratstone.com/harley-davidson-bikes.html

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2 Loxam Road Chingford London E4 8SE Tel: 0208 5319026 www.stratstone.com/harley-davidson-bikes.html

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Stratstone Harley-Davidson

Stratstone Harley-Davidson

To advertise your Harley-Davidson Dealership on this page, call Andy Fraser now on 01778 392054 or email andyf@warnersgroup.co.uk

2/4/09 16:40:19

4 ’ 9/’69PAN There’s no disputing that the Knucklehead marked the dawn of the modern age for Harley-Davidson, introducing a massive number of new technologies, but it was Harley’s Panhead that provided the style to which factory retros and old school chops pay homage.

With its aluminium cylinder head and simple elegant rocker covers, it looks familiar to anyone who’s ever looked properly at a big twin, and while the Knucklehead’s heritage can be pointed out in every generation since 1936, the Panhead’s seeps from every pore and retains a direct link to the modern day – even surviving the permanent linking of engine and gearbox on their first Dyna Glides.

Beyond the motor, the Panhead’s rigid-frame provided the inspiration for the Heritage and Springer Softails, although the Springer – and indeed the Cross Bones – are aimed squarely at the narrowest of windows in time, for the marriage of a Panhead motor and Springer front end only lasted for the 1948 season: you could argue that the black painted cylinder heads on the Cross Bones pay homage to the cast iron heads of the Knucklehead, but as a stylistic trick it’s only fooling the same people who thought the standard silverpainted cast iron barrels on Panheads as they left the factory meant they were aluminium.

1948 marked a cross-roads in Harley’s design evolution: the year earlier was a very traditional-looking Knucklehead, still firmly rooted in the style of the forties with a highmounted headlamp above the massive horn set in front of the mechanically complicated but

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American-V.co.uk

9/4/09 2:50:12 pm

Custom: Phil’s ’49/’69 Panhead

American-V.co.uk

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Event: Padova and Verona Shows

THEITALIANJOB

Right from the start I want you to know that I am not a great fan of indoor bike events. That said, however, I found myself really looking forward to the trip to Northern Italy.

The Padova Bike Expo has been running for fifteen years, and is something I’ve been meaning to attend for perhaps the last ten, but the fact that it is held in January is probably the main reason that I haven’t until now, having always been too broke after Christmas. By contrast, as a bonus, the Verona show – also held on the weekend of 16-18 Gennaio – was in its first year, but more of that later …

Double bonus: I had a customer picking up the tab this year, so all I had to do was pack a bag and get to the airport.

I flew into Marco Polo Airport, Venice, and then took a short taxi ride to my hotel which was located in the Mestre district: I’d read an Italian thriller some years past that was based in Mestre and it sounded a suitably sleazy environment for me to feel at home. And the hotel, the ‘Golden Tulip’ was cheap! It was also conveniently located opposite the train station, which provided

the method of transport I proposed to use to get to each of the shows. I had four nights booked in Venice, and spent two and a half of the days at the Padova show, only relinquishing half a day for Verona.

Trashed from flying in from Los Angeles, I checked in and uncharacteristically went straight to bed. Better for sleep, and fortified by breakfast the following morning, I took the Mestre-Padova train the twenty kilometres to the event. As my Italian is non-existent even such a simple task was fraught with difficulties, but that, as they say, is all part of the fun of travel.

Micke, the son of the editor of Italy’s number one custom bike magazine, Bikers Life, had arranged for my press credentials, so at least those forms had been completed correctly, and still amazed that I’d caught the right train, and had been given my press pass without any fuss, I entered the Padova show.

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American-V.co.uk

8/4/09 5:56:35 pm

New Production Bikes: Ness Lowliner V

ARLEN NESS LOWLINER V Never underestimate the contribution to motorcycling made by free-thinking creative individuals.

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MOTORCYCLES CUSTOM • PERFORMANCE • SERVICE

PARTS REPAIRS SERVICING BUILDS Shovels : Evos : Twin Cams Carb or Injected weekly orders on major suppliers, all catalogues stocked

01782 332430 www.shd-stoke.co.uk

Regent Works, Lawley Street, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent ST3 1LZ

krazyhorse.co.uk 01284 74 96 45

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B & H Motorcycles Ltd Harley Davidson & Custom Specialists Wide range of Harleys for sale Servicing & Repairs Mail Order specialists - wide range of parts in stock Custom Bikes Built

Tel: 01726 891777 Trezaise Garage, Trezaise Road (A3274), Roche, Cornwall, PL26 8HD www.bnh-motorcycles.com e-mail: bnhmotorcycles @btconnect.com Cornwallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mail order specialist for:

To advertise call Andy Fraser now on 01778 392054 or email andyf@warnersgroup.co.uk

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2/4/09 17:05:38

REDRESSING THE BAGGER

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American-V.co.uk

8/4/09 6:49:15 pm

Custom: NGCC Baggers

Old bikers never die, they just finally realise that suspension, a backrest and a screen means they can spend longer in the saddle. But that doesn’t have to mean a ‘Geezer Glide’.

» American-V.co.uk

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LITTLE WING Welcome to Italian Single magazine … err, no that doesn’t sound right.

Don’t worry folks, we’re not going to make a habit of straying from American V-twins but when the chance to shoot one of the more unusual bikes ever to bear the bar and shield logo came up, it was too good a chance to pass up.

Actually, we know where there’s a second one but we’ve been rooting through Steve’s garage so many times in the past that he’s starting to get embarrassed, and as there’s still stuff in there that’s well-worth a visit, we went with this well-used example of an Ala Azzurra. It’s not going to open up the floodgates to a panoply of odd models – we’ll draw the line at seventies Italian two-strokes, unless Rich’s past comes back to haunt him – and I can’t see HarleyDavidson-owned MV Agusta models being of much relevance to our readers, but this does give us chance to briefly dig into a frequently forgotten part of Harley’s history.

Aermacchi, like MV Agusta, started off in the pioneering days of Italian aviation. SA Nieuport Macchi of 1912 started production of aircraft in 1913, changed their name to Aeronautica Macchi shortly afterwards, making competition aircraft before producing a fighter plane for Mussolini’s military machine ... at least they did until the factory was bombed flat in the second world war.

The rebuilt factory turned its attention to two wheeled vehicles post war, capitalising on their excellent engineering reputation

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American-V.co.uk

8/4/09 4:15:00 pm

CHD March '09 American Twin Ad

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Since Exile Cycles’ inception in the mid-90s, has enjoyed a worldwide reputation for building high quality, hardcore custom motorcycles with owner Russell Mitchell constantly developing and refining the parts that make up these minimal machines, to the point where it is now possible to order a complete Exile custom bike in kit form.

EXILE

What you may not know, however, is that you can bolt many of these parts straight onto your stock Harley-Davidson to toughen it up, Exile style. While he’s been kept busy focussing on his ground-up builds, Russell’s business brain has long known that the smart money is in bolt-on parts for stock Harleys, and so wheels, brakes, yokes, handlebars, forward controls and a lot more from the Exile range can easily be fitted to your factory ride.

The bikes on these pages represent a full year of Russell’s efforts, having spent the majority of 2008 designing parts to fill all the gaps in his stock-bike arsenal: his objective being to offer all the parts needed to deliver a total bolt-on makeover for a stock Softail, and I reckon he’s more than achieved that.

These three Twin Cams are Russell’s personal steeds, created to show three distinct ways that a stock Harley can be easily transformed, and while he’s used a Softail Standard and a pair of Night Trains, due to their muted palette and lack of chrome, most parts will readily fit some of the glitzier models and earlier Evo models, and are even – despite Russell’s well documented allergy to the shiny stuff – available in chrome! The bikes were carefully selected to cover a wide range of applications, with an ’05 TC88 Night Train with its skinny rear wheel and 5-speed box, an ’07 TC96 Softail Standard with a 6-speed transmission and a 200-section tyre straight from the factory, and finally, the ’09 Night Train which features the slightly wider swing-arm and removable fender struts.

And the transformation from stock is absolutely incredible. Each of these machines shows what can be achieved with, in Russell’s words, “around $10,000 in parts and a weekend’s work”.

Admittedly, the ’05 has a cool paint-job, and the ’07 has some trick leatherwork, but everything else is bolt-on, leaving you to choose how much you do and when. It is worth noting that if you do want to tackle it bit-by-bit, that there’s a full 10% discount on orders that hit the $10k mark, which would effectively mean that the final $1,000 of finishing touches are free.

If you get the chance to speak to Russell, you’ll realise that he couldn’t be happier with the way he spent last year: having to design so many parts for one specific goal took him right back to the early days of Exile Cycles, and it was clear to me that he has been just as excited about the Softail makeovers as any of Exile’s ‘Biker Build Off ’ projects, or indeed, pretty much anything to ever come out of Exile!

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8/4/09 4:57:27 pm

Bolt-On: Exile

PLAYS THE STOCK MARKET

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Tech: Victory Freedom 106 Conversion

To get a Victory motor out of its frame, you’ll need more than the classic bike lift. Ideally you’ll have a full bike ramp, but at worst you will need a dedicated corner of the garage: in either event you’ll need to account for not using it until the whole lot is back together because the frame has no structural rigidity without the motor.

Without the motor, the chassis looks terrifying spindly – especially with the massive airbox removed – and it is, but that’s the benefit of using the engine as a stressed member and keeps the overall weight of the bike down. The benefits of a full bike ramp rather than a corner of the garage means you’ve got something to strap the bike down: a wheel clamp is very useful.

And you will be taking the motor out: in fact even for top-end work you’ll have to remove the motor because there’s no way you’ll get those OHC heads off any other way.

There are two schools of thought relating to Victory motors: take them out in one piece or strip off as much weight as is possible. For this job the motor is going to have to be split anyway, so you might as well save yourself a hernia and do it now: like a Sportster, you’re lifting an engine and gearbox in one go. Note: the lower frame rails and the footrests that disguise the union are removed separately, leaving the motor hanging from its heads and the back of the gearbox.

With an engine lift taking the weight of the motor, and a second beneath the suspension linkage to take the weight of the chassis, you can prepare for dropping the motor out. This shot clearly shows why putting a Stage 1 air filter on a Vic means slotting a new filter into a perforated cover: the only way that filter will come out is with the motor removed or with a hacksaw.

Aftermarket filters are designed to be removable without going to such extremes in the future, and there’s a fair range of choice now.

With the motor out, you’ve got much easier access to everything you need to get to and even the quickest glance will show you just how different the Freedom motor is: and this is the relatively conventional side.

The gear-driven primary uses a transfer shaft to allow the crank and gearbox mainshaft to spin in the same direction, and that middle shaft both drives the oil pump and is the balance shaft too.

There’s plenty of lateral movement in the unbraced front downtubes defining the engine bay. That mess of wiring and lines in front of the swing-arm pivot that go to make up the services of a 21st century motorcycle, most of which is the harness heading to the front of the bike

The stroker kit is actually a lot simpler than you’d expect: a new crankshaft with a 108mm throw, a pair or rods – showing Victory’s use of plain shell bearings – a new balance shaft tuned for the changes in weight within the crank, a pair of pistons, a pair of new cams, a stiffer diaphragm spring for the clutch, a set of gaskets and a new badge for the dummy air-filter cover, if you want to be up-front about what’s inside the motor. It’s worth knowing that the S&S stroker kit covers bikes up to 2007 – including the 92/5 Freedom with the big bore conversion – but there were some major changes inside the motor for 2008 that require this: Victory’s own stroker kit.

You’ll need a puller to separate the crankcase halves: there is a special tool, but universal ones are available Spin the motor round and you see that it’s not a crankcase and gearbox shell in a common casting but a genuine unit construction motor with the crank and gearbox sharing an oil-bath, and all the clever engineering is contained in the primary-side case.

Internal oil pipes feed the filter at the back of the case, and the splines on the gearbox mainshaft are obviously for the final drive pulley: all Vics have RSD final drives, which allowed them to be the first to fit a fat 250section rear tyre on their Hammer models.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS y r y r e v e i v l i Deel D s s s s e r e r p x p ! x E r !

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We have a rich motorcycle culture in Britain which has been based on making the most of what we’ve got since long before the motorcycle became a symbol of rebellion in the hands of disaffected youth, because street racing is as old as the arrival of a second motorcycle in town and a chance meeting at a junction.

With the arrival of the teenager and rock ’n roll it became a subculture and much more visible, but in those austere times it wasn’t quite as romantic as our twenty-first century, rose-tinted spectacles might suggest – any more than the dawn of America’s emerging youth culture would have been. Back then, motorcycles were utility transport, and while not commonplace they were much more affordable than four wheels: if you needed inexpensive transport that’s what you got. They were perfectly respectable, socially acceptable and improved your standing in the community.

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And then young men got hold of them, and a new type of young man: a teenager. A kid that had ambitions beyond the social straitjacket of his parents, and in his hands the workaday motorcycle started to be more than just what the factory offered and hadn’t fallen off since it left the showroom.

The motorcycle became the bike, which became a statement of intent and individuality, as well as a means of quickly getting from meeting point to meeting point – typically the then-popular milk bars and café’s – pronounced Caff, with a snarl and lip curl.

American-V.co.uk

9/4/09 3:38:36 pm

Quickspin: Hogbitz Café Racers

ROCK ’N ROLL RETROBATES

And its teenage rider, getting his jollies racing from cafe to cafe, grew in confidence and developed an attitude: he became a Rocker.

That the bike was more likely to be a staid big single or basic spec twin rather than the beloved Norton/Triumph hybrid is obvious: it was an evolution (nb. check with Legal, see if that needs ‘TM’ after it? Don’t want to get sued by Darwin’s family).

Even when Tritons, Rocket Gold Stars, Bonnevilles and Dominators were available – never mind the serious exotica from foreign factories or established workshops – the bulk of riders

steeped in the emerging Café Racer culture were smoking around on anything they could get their hands on, lightened and fitted with clip-ons and rear-sets because anything is quicker than standard when you’re carrying less weight and have less wind resistance. They weren’t as quick as the proper kit, but they were faster than their dads’ bikes, and better still, their dads didn’t understand them.

Changing fashions captured the imaginations of new generations of teenagers. Some continued to don the black lancer jacket,

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Service Directory 1

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THREE SPIRES CUSTOMS FIXED PRICE SERVICING/SPARES/ REPAIRS/CUSTOM BUILDS Unit 20, Salisbury Road Business Park, Salisbury Road, Pewsey Wiltshire SN9 5PZ 01672 569 200 www.threespires.org

Kenny Harley Motorcycle Repair Centre 11 Woodgate Way, South Eastfield Industrial Estate Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland KY7 4PE khmrc@blueyonder.co.uk tel/fax: 01592 773950 www.custombikebuilder.co.uk

6 Station Yard, Hospital Road Haddington, EH41 3PP Tel: 01620 820377 Mob: 07836 229973 Email: allan@customizedchoppers.com www.customizedchoppers.com

Buckskin Leather Craft Custom Seats 46 Danebury Drive Acomb, York YO26 5EG Tel: 01904 791557 Mob: 07710 303559 sales@buckskinleathercraft.co.uk www.buckskinleathercraft.co.uk

2

3

13 Taylors, Gravel Lane, Chigwell, Essex IG7 6DQ

020 8500 9025 www.hogbitz.com 4 UK Tel. No. (029) 2036 9420 The Trike Shop (UK) Ltd Unit 10, Waterside Business Park Lamby Way, Rumney, Cardiff CF3 2EQ haydn@trikeshop.co.uk www.trikeshop.co.uk

5

Rebs Motorcycles Unit 11, The Maltings, Millfield, Cottenham, Cambridge CB24 8RA

40F Lindisfarne Court, Bede Industrial Estate, Jarrow, Tyne & Wear NE32 3HG Call for more details on (0191) 430 0060. www.twincitymotorcycles.com

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www.rebsmotorcycles.co.uk jim@rebsmotorcycles.co.uk

Unit 1, Tenter Lane, Mansfield, Notts, NG18 5ST

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01623 632266 info@le-rock-ltd.co.uk

boothill motorcycles 9b johnsons way west london nw10 7pf

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+44 (20) 8838-2238 sales@boothill-mc.co.uk www.boothill-mc.co.uk

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AMERICAN-V / CUSTOMIZED CHOPPERS COMPETITION This month, American-V have teamed up with Customized Choppers to offer our readers the chance to win a stylish Sportive Motorcycle Leather Jacket, with embossed logo on the back. It’s got all the things you’d expect...

• Size – Large (chest 46” waist 36” sleeves 39”) • Reinforced seams in critical areas • Straight cut • Made from 1.2mm smooth Anilinleather • Padded collar • Two front pockets • Inner pocket with zipper • Zipper air vent openings on shoulder • 100% polyamide liner For your chance to win, log on to http://competition.customizedchoppers.com/ and register your details. While you’re there, those nice folk at Customized Choppers are also offering AmericanV readers a 10% discount off anything purchased from their website (www.customizedchoppers.com) before the end of May. Just enter AMERICANVSAVE10 at the checkout and your discount will be automatically applied.

Don’t be fooled by the name, Customized Choppers aren’t just about choppers, with a whole range of custom parts and accessories for Harleys and other cruisers.

Prize Draw to win the leather jacket closes at midnight 31/05/09.

See http://competition. customizedchoppers.com/ for full terms and conditions.

2/4/09 16:19:23

Custom: Colin’s Evo Fat Boy

There wasn’t a hell of a lot wrong with the Fat Boy when it rolled off the production line way back in 1990, which is probably why it survived for as long as it did in its original form.

COLIN’S FAT BOY Colin’s perhaps as good a judge of why as anyone, because by the time this 1999 model rolled off the assembly line at York, PA, it as good as had his name on it, and it’s been on the log book since.

We’ve been half-waiting for this to roll out of his garage for two years now, since we shot his other half ’s, Karen’s, Springer-forked Sportster, having met them both at Americana in 2006.

The Sportster had taken all their time and energies and had been quite a complicated build, and when that was complete, Colin had promised himself that he was going to give his Fat Boy a bit of a make-over. Nothing radical because he actually liked it as it was, but just freshened up.

And that’s just what he’s done.

It’s still very much a Fat Boy in every recognisable sense, but it’s now Colin’s Fat Boy, and anyone who has ever changed so much as a pair of grips will undertand the importance of that.

There is something a little bit special about 1999 Evos as they were the last of their line. Storm clouds were gathering. The Twin Cam 88 was already fitted to the Dyna and Touring ranges, and the balanced version – the TC88B – would bring the Softail into line the following year.

That makes this the last of the traditional Fat Boys if you like, and the most evolved Evo, which also makes it the last of the last

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Matt’s Machine Shop Specialist Motorcycle Machine Shop mattsmachineshop@btopenworld.com

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6/4/09 09:34:32

Event: Custom Chrome Europe Show, Mainz 2009

CCE MAINZ ’09

Despite all evidence to the contrary, we can’t be everywhere all at the same time, which is a crying shame because when the big trade shows come we frequently find ourselves slaving over a hot typewriter, rather than enjoying the hospitality of our European colleagues.

In March, it is the turn of Custom Chrome Europe to greet the new season in Mainz, Germany, and while it does have a public day on the Sunday, it’s a long way for a day out for most Brits, so we do try to nip over to try and give you the heads-up on what’s heading our way for the next year.

And when we can’t?

Well, sometimes we drop lucky and someone volunteers to cover such things for us. And when they haven’t got a specific agenda of their own – it is a trade show, after all – they come back with the goods.

So without further ado, I’ll hand you over to our intrepid cub reporter, “Scoop Hodges”, a first time visitor who managed to escape the usual debagging – she’ll have been pleased about that – but upheld the American-V tradition at such events by perhaps having one sherbert too many …

My weekend got off to a rather delicate start after an inevitable, eventful ‘quiet drink’ at the traders bar on the night before: the array of paintwork on show was rather vibrant, causing me some particular pain in the morning, although by the afternoon – after a few cautionary glasses of water – I was better able to fully appreciate the show bikes and was thoroughly impressed. After taking a few laps of the show arena to get my bearings, I was able to home-in on a few specifics which grabbed my attention. As is often the case with competitive bike building, there were plenty of bikes that seemed to be more of a feat of engineering than designed for the street, but then this is a professional showcase for talent, and this

year the custom builders on show spanned all four corners of Europe and covered all four points of the design compass.

One bike that really stood out for me was the innovative ‘Seppster 3 – Speed Junkey’ from Germany’s TGS Motorcycles: an interesting build based around a Gilroy Indian Powerplus 100 engine snuggled into a custom built TGS Fat Tube frame, and with a clear evolutionary path from Guckel’s previous builds; notably The ‘Seppster 2 – Ice Racer’ which took third here last year, and went on to take third at the AMD International Championship in Sturgis: and which was also on show here again, in the Trade section. In contrast to the Ice Racer’s industrial look, the ‘Speed Junkey’ has a much more futuristic aesthetic, taking the classic racer look to a new level, being quite a low ride with a nice line throughout. Its single-sided suspension, front and back, gave it a tidy and uncluttered look, especially on the right hand side.

This show also saw a return of the old school choppers with slim tanks, ridiculously long forks and skinny tyres, reminiscent of those in the 70’s bike mags that we’ve all got stored away in boxes in the attic or the shed, to take a flick through when we want a glance at our youth again.

Well, my friends, you would’ve been

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2/4/09 16:12:23

AMV.34.RB.indd 98

8/4/09 10:17:52 pm

Thundercity Motorcycles Authorised Dealer for Big Bear Choppers Arlen Nessand S&S S&S Trained Technicians For allyour Harley andVictory needs

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