American-V 42 Preview

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American-V: Contents 42

www.american-v.co.uk

Issue Forty-Two

52: 1924

A good year for Captain Frederick J Warr, if not for a jailed Hitler or a dead Lenin. King Road Customs mixes retro with heritage.

56: HEAD-TO-HEAD: THE FLASH AND THE FURYOUS 4: NEWS AND REVIEWS 16: 2011 HARLEY MODEL NEWS

It might not be a landsmark year in terms of new models, but there’s more to the new range than meets the eye.

20: 2011 VICTORY MODEL NEWS

The Cross-series broadens the range, but there’s some serious detail changes too.

22: ROADTEST: 2010 FXDWG DYNA WIDE GLIDE

Harley’s original Apes and Flames factory chopper is back, with the flames intact but a new style.

30: XR750

The best known Harley-Davidson racer of them all, the longest lived, and the most successful and it’s on the street!

34: XR1200 TROPHY

The teams are settling down, the riders know the bikes now, and the competition is hotting-up ...

40: BATTISTINIS OPEN DAY

High-season hi-jinx at the seaside ... well, very near.

42: BESAME EL CULO

With apologies to sensitive Spanish-speakers, the Sickboyz roll out their reform school gangsta chop.

48: CHOP AND ROD

This’ll put the cat among the pigeons, but sometimes blind prejudice just isn’t enough: how does a metric American compare against the most radical offering from the Rising Sun’s favourite son?

67: CHILLING IN THE NEW FOREST

Fun in the sun just north of Southampton ... cold cider and sixth form hockey practice: what more could a boy want.

70: LONG TERM FAT BOB

The FXDF goes convertible with a range of QD luggage, to give the best of both worlds: the ideal street bagger.

75: HDRCGB INTERNATIONAL

Rescheduled and relocated, the Riders’ Club party in the clouds at the temporarily renamed Lakes Rally.

78: QUICKSPIN: PREDATOR

The fabrication on Nick Gale’s Build-Off Bike was enough to pique interest, but the auto-clutch was the trump card.

83: AMERICANA

Bigger, better, brighter, bolder ... and dryer: the ultimate alternative American-oriented weekender where a change is invariably better than a rest.

86: X HITS THE SPOT

Victory launch their Cross-series in style, picking up the challenge in the Road King / Street Glide sector.

98: RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (WITH ADDED NOB) Retribution takes on many forms, but a scrubbed-up RnB?

Mid-summer party on the busiest weekend of the year.

Editor: andy.hornsby@american-v.co.uk

Subscriptions: 01778 392484

Features Editor: rich.king@american-v.co.uk

Annual Subscriptions: Six issues, inc Patch

Staff Writer: Amanda Wright Contributors this issue: Hazel Jackson, Graham Gabriel, Gold and Goose, Proofing: Amanda Wright.

Design: Mini Ha-Ha and Erika McAston All editorial enquiries to: editorial@american-v.co.uk Advertising Sales: Andy Fraser 01778 392054 Advertising Production: Sue Ward: 01778 392405 suew@warnersgroup.co.uk Trade Sales: Natalie Cole: 01778 392404 nataliec@warnersgroup.co.uk

UK: £29.70 EU: £44.10 RoW Zone 1: £46.26 RoW Zone 2: £51.30 (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 2010 American-V.

Late? Us? Okay, so maybe a little: see the American-V Facebook page for the reason ... we might be going monthly

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American-V # ONE

News

RSD Project 200

We haven’t gone out of our way this issue to hit Victory hard, but sometimes that’s the way things work out: this, for instance, came to light when I was making sure I knew what Roland Sands was up to, immediately before heading off to Mallory Park to meet him and Shaw Harley-Davidson’s XR1200 race team as they practiced ahead of Brands Hatch, and – well, to be honest – it made me late.

It’s not news because it’s a Victory, or because it’s Roland Sands, or because it could be a world record holder by the end of the year. Not even because it’s cool.

But because it’s all of the above.

Sands has pushed the boundaries again, and that he has chosen to do so with the 106/6 engine – which he reports as being very strong – is likely to do Victory’s stock

Editorial:

A long-time reader is in some pain having come unstuck on a stretch of road where the tarmac had melted during a very hot spell. And while the police attributed the accident to the road surface, he’s looking at where he can make his Wide Glide safer, unsure of how much his 1550cc upgrade might have overwhelmed the front brake that he relies on more than he knows he should.

He’s suggested running a piece outlining why performance upgrades should go beyond the motor, but while it’s never a bad idea to uprate brakes, throwing money at them in isolation is no substitute for using what we’ve already got properly: and maybe appreciate the upgrade more.

I know this from bitter experience having laid my Shovelhead down at the back end of winter: its front-end

4

no harm at all among the wider custom community, not least because he has worked with a huge amount of the original bike to create a stunning motorcycle that would stop traffic if it were parked up, without needing to turn a wheel in anger.

But, of course, it’s not only going to turn those wheels – a pair of prototype SLAMs – but spin ’em as Roland attempts to take a “Modified Partial Streamlining” record.

The actual goal is to take it to 200mph, but if that bags a record, then so be it.

It’s been said by one visitor to his blog that ‘nothing that goes 200mph looks that good’, and I’m inclined to agree. He has dropped the back end way way down by replacing the rising rate linked suspension with a solid bar, but he has retained the aluminium swing-arm; there’s not much

travel in those USD forks at the front end either, and he’s wrapped the whole front of the bike with an all-enveloping streamlined fairing to produce a very clean design.

It is complemented beautifully by the PM brakes, the contrast cut wheels – which are more than cosmetic niceties here, their reduced weight aiding performance though a reduced rotating mass – and the one-off aluminium seat.

As it sits here it isn’t far from completion: it’s heading off to Victory performance specialists, Lloydz, for the addition of a turbo to give it that extra boost to pull the taller gearing – achieved by a one-off chain drive conversion – and then it will be testing, tweaking and testing some more.

They’ve seen 147mph out of it so far, and you can expect to see a full feature on the finished bike in a future edition. www.rolandsandsdesign.com

washed-out, on a roundabout in an emergency. I should have been more aware of a crossing at the roundabout’s exit, but I should also have balanced my brakes better: that I’ve got a pair of excellent twin 4-pot Billet brakes on the front is reassuring, but I should have used more of the Grimeca twin pot at the back – and would’ve done if the crap 1970s forwards hadn’t been so poorly designed.

It’s been off the road since its roadtax ran out, and will be until I can find the time to refit the original mid-sets that will allow me to cover the rear brake, and I have consciously changed my riding habits enormously.

On top of that, a respected friend and time-served rider, frustrated at a rally having messed up his ankle, explained he’d be riding home in the absence of any alternative course of action,

confiding in anyone within earshot that he didn’t use the rear brake on his Road King any more, anyway.

I’m glad to say he got home okay, but there was a frank and heated exchange of emails afterwards, and I’ve promised to send him the review copy of ‘Maximum Control: Mastering Your Heavyweight Bike’ and will let its authors hammer the points home that I have failed to do.

I’ll do that just as soon as I’ve finished reading it thoroughly, at which point I will be looking at some advanced training for myself, which has surprised my inner child: what can they teach me?

Actually, a hell of a lot.

I’ve come to realise that there is much I’ve forgotten, and much that I didn’t know in the first place. I just hope I can be as humble as Amanda was, in recognising my failings. / Andy

American-V.co.uk

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» PROGRESSIVE IAS AiRTAiL 440 The aftermarket world continues to embrace twin shock models, and these air-ride suspension units are another example of Softail trickery becoming available to Dynas and Tourers.

A combination of a conventional coil shock with an air shock, Progressive’s Inertia Active System uses two air chambers to provide the ultimate in suspension tuning, allowing spring rates to be modified separately from ride height to provide an uncompromising ride quality.

Both sets are adjustable by air pumps, and Touring models can be fitted with an on-board compressor.

W&W 16-416 AiRTAiL 441 for Dyna models €1194 W&W 16-415 AiRTAiL 441 for ’97-2009 Touring models €989 W&W 16-417 on-board compressor for Touring models €729

www.wwag.com

Confederate Gets The X

Don’t know why this should be any major surprise, but Confederate have adopted S&S’ new X-Wedge motor as the engine of choice for their new C3 Hellcat, and it really is looking very promising.

Said to be the lightest, fastest, toughest and smoothest Hellcat to date, the same precise – and patented – crankshaft to wheel spindle powertrain from previous models will continue to be a feature, and the wider angle S&S V-twin will be fully integrated within the new chassis to produce a stunning new look, to the advantage of both companies. It will also be the least expensive Hellcat to date, with a sub-$40k price ticket.

Production signals a return to new premises in Confederate’s spiritual home of New Orleans, after leaving in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

www.confederate.com

Marshall Gauges

We’re told that these oil gauges are new to the EU, bringing a new range of options – visually – for those looking to keep an eye on their oil pressure.

Each is available with increments up to 60psi or 100psi, they are the regular 1½-inch diameter, are liquid filled to damp vibration, and have a standard 1⁄8-inch NPT thread.

Can be used anywhere where a pressure reading in their range can be taken: nitrous or fuel pumps spring to mind, but not turbo boost where 14psi is ambitious.

Too many part numbers to list: see dealers for full details. www.motorcyclestorehouse.nl

COOLER RUNNINGS

A clever combination of an oil cooler and filter made by ‘Wrecking Crew” of Holland, that fits the empty space in front of an aftermarket ‘generator’ Shovel or Pan motor, and looks more than a little like the generator that would live there on an original motor, thanks to the finned end cover.

Available in an as-cast or polished finish, the finning round the body improves cooling at the right time: when it’s just come out of the motor, and each kit is supplied with a Perf-Form oil filter element.

W&W 63-275 Wrecking Crew Oil cooler and filter: Natural W&W 63-276 Wrecking Crew Oil cooler and filter: Polished

€327.00 €365.00

www.wwag.com

BRIGHTONA 10.10.10 In aid of The Sussex Heart Charity, make it a date. Entry: £5 per bike.

Black Light

Nobody wants the clutter of indicators, even if we are more used to actually using them these day, and few have made as big a contribution to reducing the impact of big orange lenses as Kellerman.

And they’ve just made them less obtrusive with a dose of black, in both their regular ‘Micro’ and asymmetrical Rhombus designs, which now get a ‘Dark’ suffix to identify them. All fully E-marked.

MCS 934709 MCS 934716 MCS 934717

Micro 1000 Dark.

Micro 1000 Rhombus Dark LH Micro 1000 Rhombus Dark RH

www.motorcyclestorehouse.nl

Chronoclassic Dark Edition

We’ve looked at the motogadget Chronoclassic before, but it’s such a good looking all-in-one that it’s worth looking again now that it’s available in black on black. With a tacho round the outside, digital speedo and all information in the centre, it’s a cool piece of kit.

W&W 11-246 motogadget Chronoclassic Dark Edition (8000rpm)

€479

www.wwag.com

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American-V

Hippy Killer Grips

SPORTSTER SOLO

Everything I said last issue, but replacing the words ‘footrests’ (actually fooptrests if we’re being strictly accurate: bugger!) and ‘gearshift pegs’ with ‘handlebar grips’.

Everything else is covered by the listing below so I won’t bore you any further.

W&W W&W W&W W&W W&W W&W W&W W&W

21-139 21-141 21-142 21-143 21-145 21-147 21-164 21-183

Hippy Hippy Hippy Hippy Hippy Hippy Hippy Hippy

Killer Killer Killer Killer Killer Killer Killer Killer

Grips: Grips: Grips: Grips: Grips: Grips: Grips: Grips:

Red Clear Ruby Purple Blue Green Orange Yellow

€49.60 €49.60 €49.60 €49.60 €49.60 €49.60 €49.60 €49.60

www.wwag.com

There’s something about a solo seat, beloved usually of those who aren’t familiar with them at their worst, when they slew horrifically on knackered springs and a worn pivot at the nose.

Of course, there’s no reason why they should be like that, and certainly this one won’t – largely because it’s not sprung and so won’t wear.

Produced by Easyriders in Japan, it’s supplied with a cover to hide the battery, and all fittings, and will keep a lot of people happy unless they want the look of a sprung seat, in which case I’m sure there must be a means of attaching a pair of springs, even if they’re purely cosmetic.

And on the bright side, you won’t have to account for bouncing into the rear mudguard so can mount that seat really low.

MCS 961177 Sportster Solo Seat Conversion

www.motorcyclestorehouse.nl

RADIUM FAT BAGGER KIT Everything you need to stuff a 200-section rear tyre on a 5½-inch rim into the back of your ’95-’06, 5-speed FLHR/T ... except the 135-tooth 20mm belt, required gaskets and seals, and your new wheel and tyre.

You’re limited to the oem 5-speed gearbox by the supplied extended mainshaft, so if you’re running a six-speed check parts availability before getting too excited.

So, you get a 14-gauge steel rear mudguard drilled for the original lighting and with a new fender tip, new swingarm, new saddlebag support kit and a complete primary drive offset kit.

It should work with your original

or aftermarket seat and exhaust system – apparently it works with most – as well as your detachables hardware.

Additional options – a range of seal kits and that belt – are available to make life easier, but the choice of wheel and tyre is yours, and worth taking care over if you want to use your stock rear brake.

It is possible to cut down an original belt, widthways, to save a few quid, but ideally talk to someone who has done it before.

Zod Zod Zod Zod Zod Zod

396101 750660 700290 700268 231647 396011

Radium Wide Tyre Kit for 1995-2006 5-speed Touring Models 135 tooth 20mm final drive belt Primary drive gasket and seal kit Transmission gasket and seal kit, fits 1993-1998 Transmission gasket and seal kit, fits 1999-2006 Extra O-ring for inner primary chaincase to engine spacer

FL WINDCHEATERS You’ll read a lot in these pages about wind buffeting on bikes with screens, and the simple truth is that when Harley’s batwing fairing was evolving, speeds were slower, and a wind-tunnel was something that NASA had, not Harley.

Now, of course, we have screens that are substantially better at moving the air past our

heads if we’re prepared to forego that classic upright screen, so just like compromising the look of the bike by fitting a comfortable pillion seat, you can choose to stick with buffeting and tradition, or opt for a more relaxed ride and a modern screen.

These are National Cycle’s ‘Wave’ screens, and they’re not just aerodynamic. Made from ‘Quantum hardcoated polycarbonate’, making them 30-times more scratch-resistant and 200-times more impact resistant than acrylic , they have a smooth radiused edge and carry a 3-year, no quibble warranty against breakage.

€2227.00 €365.00 €365.00 €365.00 €365.00 €365.00

www.zodiac.nl

They come in three sizes, and range from clear to dark as they get shorter, as you’ll be looking over, rather than through them; and they are available for both 1996 to present FLHT and 1998 to present FLT models.

More radical still are the V-Streams, which split the air either side of the rider, and which we know are available from Custom Cruisers – who are champions of National Cycles in the UK – but I haven’t got any decent pictures of those yet.

Price through Zodiac dealers: from €108 Zod Zod Zod Zod Zod Zod

731125 731124 731123 731128 731127 731126

5¼˝, low dark tint FLHT/FLHX 7¾˝, medium mid tint FLHT/FLHX 10˝, low dark tint FLHT/FLHX 6¼, low dark tint FLTR 8¼, low dark tint FLTR 10½, low dark tint FLTR

www.zodiac.nl www.customcruisers.com American-V.co.uk

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American-V # ONE

» NEW ADJUSTABLE LEVERS FOR VRS

In fact for all Harleys that use the oem hydraulic clutch master cylinder fitted to V-Rods.

Made by Oberon, as requested

by DASH Custom, they complete the range of current model Harley levers and like the rest of the range incorporate Oberon’s radial cam system that gives a range of eight settings covering 30mm of adjustment between the two extremes.

Machined from billet, and with an optional ‘vent’ detail at the end, they are available in a range of colours for both levers and adjusters, and use stainless steel fasteners throughout, and quite apart from allowing instant adjustment – in the event that two riders with different sized hands share a single bike – they offer more flexibility than a simple short-throw lever, and provide an enhanced grip when compared to the stock levers in their normal positions.

Prices are £69.99 each for anodized or £84.99 polished: all prices inclusive of VAT.

5 X TOUGHER THAN STEEL

That’s what John Doe is saying about their Kamikaze range of jeans and cargo pants, which suggests there’s more to them than meets they eye. And there is.

Windproof, waterproof, Kevlar-reinforced, breathable, stylish and very nicely put together – as anyone who saw them on the Abercoed Trading stall at SofER will confirm – they might just be the perfect spring/summer/autumn riding pants for day to day riding.

The downside seems to be that the machine-washable waterproof outer layer reverts better to it’s original impregnable form when ironed ... I knew it would come in handy one day! Expect a full review imminently ... and not of the iron.

www.ridejohndoe.com .

FAAK!

www.dashcustom.com www.oberon-performance.com

Ludicrously short notice, I know, but if you’re going to Lake Faak, remember that the 8th annual Custom Chrome Ride-In BIke Show is being staged on Saturday 11th September with entries wanted for Stock, Radical, Chopper, Old School, Bagger, and Sportster-engined, with a Best in Show prize to top it all off.

In this case ‘Ride-In’ means precisely that, and the judging will be by specialist jury: the European bike press and custom bike specialists.

It also marks the end of the CCE Bolt-On and Ride Tour, that has taken Custom Chrome’s management and a selection of modified Harley-Davidsons round Europe, demonstrating the credentials of their road-proven accessories.

The show opens at 12 noon, judging starts at 3pm and the prize giving starts at 5:30.

www.custom-chrome-europe.com

BILLET ALUMINIUM AIR SUSPENSION FOR SOFTAIL Having offered a Dyna and Touring air-ride kit, it’s only fair that we include this new system from Zodiac designed for Softails.

It has been put together by a top US automotive air-suspension manufacturer, and they’ve used all their knowledge and expertise to develop this price-sensitive kit that comprises everything you’ll need to fit and operate it. It uses their own billet shocks, and includes a compressor, check valve, all switches and a pressure gauge, as well as all lines and fittings, and once fitted you’ll be able to pump up the back end by an inch or drop it by up to four.

You just need to work out whether you need the kit for the 1987-1999 Softail, which covers most custom Softail-style frames too, or the Twin Cam 2000-on ... and, of course, fit it.

Zod 745320 for 1987-1999 Softails / custom frames Zod 745321 for 2000-on Softails

€789.00 €789.00

www.zodiac.nl

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16/8/10 14:22:46

Reviews Roadside Toolkits

Economy Harley Toolkit £29.99 Roadside Harley Toolkit £39.99 http://www.roadside-toolkits.co.uk “The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain”, “of course I’ll respect you in the morning”, and “modern motorbikes don’t break down”: three common lies.

They presuppose, in turn, that Spanish clouds don’t follow regular rules regarding convection; that anyone who feels the need to confirm ongoing respect actually commands it at the time of asking; and that technology has solved all of the problems of engineering, metallurgy, external factors and Sod’s Law. Take sunglasses to Spain, exercise more discretion, and – if you know what to do with one – carry a toolkit.

Trouble is what should that comprise?

You will only know precisely what you need when things stop working as they should, so the best thing to do is to put together a toolkit that covers most simple tasks, or one that will take care of most running repairs if you’re pretty handy with the spanners.

On recent experience, a plug spanner, a screwdriver, a 7⁄16 and 10mm spanner, and a book of common prayer would have told me it was more than a roadside repair. And don’t go getting your hopes up about motor factors or DIY stores having what you need.

To save you wondering what you might need, Roadside Tool-Kits have put together three kits specially designed for HarleyDavidsons, and we’ve got two of them here.

The simplest “Essentials” kit is built down to a size: the size of a Harley toolbox.

The “Economy” kit is a wider-ranging but still compact get-you-home set of tools.

And the “Roadside Toolkit” is just about anything you’re likely to need before you start needing a bike lift – not included.

The components of each kit have been selected by a Harley technician, so represent the stuff that you’re actually likely to need rather than carrying too many passengers, and with drop-forged spanners you won’t want anything you don’t need.

Taking the “Economy” as an obvious starting point – small enough for almost anyone to carry – you’ve got the most useful six allen keys, imperial

10

obviously; a full fold-out Torx set; a pair of plug spanners for Sportster and Big Twin; the right size imperial spanners to shift anything smaller than a wheel spindle, as well as a 10mm combination spanner for battery terminals; a mid-sized self-grip wrench: a ratchet screwdriver set with six bits and a tyre pressure gauge. And then you’ve got the sensible add-ons that you forget about: like a few zip-ties, electrical tape, a plug-gap tool and even some mechanics wire.

The big bonus is that it’s all self-contained in an excellent quality textile/nylon zip-up case, with holding straps for everything inside, because the real bugger with tools is keeping them together.

It’s called the ‘Economy’ but I’d be inclined to regard it as the compact, measuring just 9˝ x 5˝ x 2˝ when closed (230 x 125 x 50mm), and its weight is more of an issue than its dimensions: it might just about fit in a big pocket, but you wouldn’t want to carry it in one all the time.

You certainly wouldn’t be carrying its bigger brother, the full Roadside Tool-Kit in anything less than a poacher’s pocket More a comprehensive tool roll than a kit, this has fewer compromises for the satisfaction of a proper mechanic. Well, mainly that the handy ratchet screwdriver and bits are replaced by a selection of screwdrivers, which have a longer reach and can get into tighter spaces than the kit’s big grippy handle would ever manage; the plug spanners get a ratchet for easier operation.

There is also one of those hated adjustable spanners, because there are times when you can’t be too fussy

and just need something holding, a more complete 9-piece allen key set with the smaller sizes included too, and a small multitool that is almost like a bonus gift, that gives you a couple of smaller screwdrivers, a minisaw of questionable merit, a small blade and a pair of pliers but which will prove invaluable because it’s also got a super-bright LED flip out torch, because vehicles only break down when it’s dark, wet and blowing a gale.

As with the Economy kit, the detail is everything, and the full kit adds a spare taillight and a couple of small blade-type fuses in a 35mm film can for protection – you’d be sensible to make sure they fit your bike, because Harley have been messing around recently, so replace them with the right types if necessary because a spare is always useful to have – plus a syphon hose, a length of electrical wire, a small bottle of Loctite 270 and a slightly bigger one of WD40, and a cloth to wipe the polished and plated spanners to keep everything clean.

It comes in a compartmentalised carrier as well, in this case a well thought-out roll with a place for everything, which, in turn, is inserted into a weatherproof outer bag. And while it’s a good looking outer bag, Roadside Tool-Kits offer a selection of very reasonablypriced thick leather tool rolls, because they’ll always look better.

It’s a no-brainer – assuming you know one end of a spanner from the other – and is sure to make you the most popular camper on the site, if you go public.

More than anything else, however, it’s peace of mind: even with a card for a breakdown service, you’ll have an hour or so to kill while waiting for the cavalry ... and Sod’s Law states that you’ll never break down when carrying a toolkit.

If you’re procrastinating over the price, because we all know that things can be too cheap, they are reassuringly warranteed against failure in normal use, which is on top of the offer to refund your money on return of the toolkit if you’re not absolutely happy. / Andy

American-V.co.uk

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22/8/10 16:58:00

CHD_OHD July Launch Ad Amer V

14/7/10

10:39

Page 1

The 2011 model range is available to order now

?

Cheltenham Harley-Davidson® Princess Elizabeth Way Cheltenham GL51 7PA Tel: 01242 240570 www.bladegroup.co.uk

Do you know which one you will choose?

Oxford Harley-Davidson® Corner House, Wootton Oxford OX13 6BS Tel: 01865 735121

© H-D 2010, Harley, Harley-Davidson and the Bar and Shield logo are among the trademarks of H-D Michigan, LLC.

Installed in over 60,000 Heritage Softail Classic Saddlebags around the world.

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Reviews FXRG Ladies Riding Gear

98366-09VW Women’s FXRG Textile Jacket £515 98525-09VW Women’s FXRG Leather and Textile Pant £412 Not content with demonstrating that Harley could put me into some flattering riding gear in the form of the Functional Jacket tested last issue, Harley UK’s Allan Brownridge, sent me back to Chester Harley-Davidson with a view to seeing what the FXRG range had to offer, to try out the Textile Jacket and matching Leather & Textile pants: female sizing.

Andy’s been wearing the FXRG kit since the beginning of the year, and I foolishly expected the ladies to be a direct copy with a different cut and ladies sizing, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The jacket oozes chic style and quality from every stitch, and the same goes for the matching ‘Pants’ Aesthetically, I find it much more attractive than the men’s, with a subtle grey-fleck in the weave, the odd bit of orange stitching here and there, and all punctuated by the addition of a few matt black stretchy panels and reflective piping. It really is some excellent looking kit, and so much classier than the base black of Andy’s but probably too pretty for the typical bloke.

The FXRG ladies jacket is made from lightweight windproof and waterproof Airguard nylon with a Coolmax lining and a further, temperature-sensitive, wind and waterproof Schoeller c-change membrane to make sure it breathes when it’s hot and shuts down when it’s cold. And then there’s the Primaloft removable liner that you can (and I do) wear as a jacket in its own right: it’s so light and yet warm in cold weather, but cool in hot weather and beautifully shaped to fit any number of curves you may have – whether they’re in the right place or not – to give you a feminine shape, even if you are on the large side, like myself.

Even going to the loo has been accounted for, both the outer jacket and the removable liner having two-way zips, so there’s no need to fully unzip the jacket if you’re caught short. The only flaw is the c-change membrane’s lighter-duty zip doesn’t undo from the bottom for some reason, rendering the other two zips capabilities redundant.

Sorry?

The ladies version of the FXRG jacket comes with all the same neat little extras as the mens: these being the removable internal kidney belt, armour at the elbows, shoulders and the back, labelled inner pockets galore for any number of gadgets you wish to hoard onboard and more vents than a Screwfix trade catalogue.

My three favourite aspects of this jacket, in order, are: 1. The flexible shoulder seams that allow you to reach forward and grip handlebars without your sleeves riding up: the reason why I gave up on womens bike jackets was that the sleeves were always too short and I couldn’t get anything to fit my broad shoulders, until now that is.

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2. The zips at the waist that open vertically a few inches to allow the v-shaped expansion flap to give you more room if necessary: same as at the wrists too.

3. Its light weight and the flexibility of the material that allows it to move with your body so easily and naturally.

I’ve found the jacket to be extremely functional and practical, as well as attractive, snug and versatile. It’s light, easy to wear, very wellproportioned, subtle in its branding, and of reassuringly superb quality in both its material and construction.

In short, this jacket excites me in the same way as a leather bike jacket I bought

years ago excited me. I fell in love with everything about it and I knew I was wearing quality gear each time I wore it: the same is true of the FXRG kit.

It’s a bit like the difference in quality between cheap cotton and Egyptian cotton bed sheets: you know you are being enveloped in quality goods and you can’t beat that feeling! Pure, unadulterated selfindulgence at its best ...

The matching trousers are a radical combination of leather and stretchy textile Cordura panels, and marrying these two materials together makes for a great flexible piece of clothing that lacks the stiffness of textile and the weight of leather bike gear.

Windproof and waterproof they are ideal for year-round weather conditions, worn on their own in summer and autumn, or with a pair of thermal cycling leggings under them in winter/spring: ideally lycra-based as it is the only material that co-exists with the ‘grippy’ lining.

They’re shaped like a pair of bootleg cut jeans, to give them a cute sense of style which won’t go out of fashion, and makes them chic enough for visiting the Ritz for

afternoon tea. They have two front pockets, two zipped air vents in the upper leg and expandable lower legs to help in getting them on and off easily.

You can’t fail to be impressed by a quality of construction that justifies the same five year warranty as the jacket, with light armour at the knees and hip and stretchy panels in all the right places, and the fit is excellent, being as comfy on the bike as off, allowing you to walk around all day in full bike kit.

Ranging in size from 2XS to 2XL with three additional ‘plus’ sizes, they come in two different leg lengths: 32-inch and a very welcome 34-inch which are plenty long enough and don’t rise up over my boot tops, like some that I’ve had.

My experience of wearing these pants to date is great overall with just the one niggling downside which is that in very hot weather they have stuck to me when I have been sweating, which has restricted my movement: but this is easily cured by wearing some very thin lycra cycling shorts / half leggings underneath. / Amanda

American-V.co.uk

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Ever gone out for the day in a pair of high quality, shatterproof sunglasses, got waylaid and ended up heading home in the dark?

It’s not good, but most of us will have done it and got away with it, but how much better would it have been with a second pair of clear glasses?

They’re not hard to get hold of, because many states in the US have a compulsory eye protection law, and with improvements in optically perfect, scratch-resistant polycarbonate lenses, there’s a massive range of choice now, and a number of different ways to do the same job.

These are just two of the available options.

Global Vision Freedom24 Davida WRS74 Kit Photochromatic Padded Rider Glasses £49.95 inc case, elasticated strap and cloth (£65.00 with prescription lens frame) http://www.fatskeleton.co.uk

Rider Goggles System £ POA inc. soft pouch, elasticated strap and smoke, yellow and clear lenses http://www.davida.co.uk

These are the ultimate weapon in Global Vision’s arsenal and the name says it all: Freedom, 24 hours a day. You need nothing else if you’ve got a pair of these, the quality is superb and they’re modular.

Based on a pair of photochromatic sunglasses with anti-fog lenses giving a good range from clear to very dark covering midnight to mid-day, these simple-looking shades can have their firm but flexible arms replaced by an elasticated strap, and switching from the arms of the sunglasses to the elasticated strap of the goggles is straightforward enough with easily released clips. The foam facemask, too, is easily removed, simply clipping onto the bridge, and it does keep the wind down well when they’re tight to your face, which will be easier to achieve if you use the strap with some helmets.

Moreover, they have an optional insert, which is held firmly in place between the foam and the glasses frame, which can be glazed with a prescription lens, holding it far enough away from the eye and lashes to not be irritating.

They are optically excellent with no discernable distortion, and they coped with the sunshine / monsoon / midnight return leg that was our Bulldog Bash trip this year as only photochromatic lenses can.

The hard case, complete with a plastic clip to secure it to your person, and that I’ll be replacing with a steel carabina when I find the right one, is the icing on the cake ... well that and the 12 month warranty, which will reassure anyone with experience of the arms of lesser shades snapping. / Andy

A very different principle and much more tailored to riding with a degree of usability as sunglasses built in, Davida’s 74 is the perfect compliment for their snug-fitting, high quality helmets which can – and do – snap the arms of lesser glasses.

With a streamlined design, with foambacked eyepieces to keep the wind down, they are definitely for riding more than promenading in, when the windproofing elements that make them excellent for riding make them awkward ... at least to me.

With clear lenses for night, yellow for low light conditions through to sunshine and smoked for sunglasses duty, the spare lenses take up little space in the soft pouch and if they’re with you, you can deal with just about anything.

Changing them is a bit of a chore: you need to remove the eyepieces before swapping over the lenses, and you’ll leave fingerprints everywhere, but then you don’t swap lenses anywhere near as often as might think and tend to plan in advance.

You certainly need to plan switching from arms to the headband, because you’ll want patience or something strong, blunt and metal to release the catches – certainly while they’re new.

They can be a

bitch and they’re certainly not going to come undone by accident, and you’re advised to strip the eyepieces from the frames before starting, but you’ll soon realise how strong and flexible they are.

That flexibility means they’re a loose fit when worn as sunglasses but then with padded eyepieces they have limited use as shades – even with anti-fog coatings – but they are better at keeping the wind out of your eyes than shatterproof shades at speed, and I know where my priorities lie.

Additional lenses are available in orange, green and brown from Davida, and reactive photochromatic and prescription lenses can be fitted to the eye pieces by a third party optician: see Davida’s website for full details of that.

While the WRS74 kit is a clever and inexpensive solution, and haven’t yet yielded to pressure of my Davida over protracted use, I would actually recommend the Aviator Retro goggles from Davida’s range more strongly for fit, comfort and windproofing. / Andy

American-V.co.uk

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22/8/10 16:58:37

American-V # ONE

Reviews Time Flies

The usual advance calendars have come through early and they are the usual suspects: a twelve month dip into the archive, pulling pictures from the excellent book, ‘The Archive Collection’, and two sixteen month calendars from David Blattel and Michael Lichter: they’re almost a collectable range and I’m sure there will be some who’ll be framing choice images: they’re certainly worth framing, if you can live with the punched holes that will have hung it as a calendar.

All calendars are available at special prices to readers of American-V, saving £2 off the RRP by ringing Grantham Book Services (GBS) on 01206 255777 and quoting the GBS ref given below.

Harley-Davidson 2011

David Blattel ISBN 978-0-7603-3887-2 RRP £9.99. GBS ref “Harley 16 month calendar” The calendar your kids will buy you, and an excellent selection this year. Combining perfectly captured images of current and classic models – alternating between the two – and combining that with a brief archive piece to set a context of sorts: the obvious one being the ad for the flamed FXWG in 1980 alongside the reintroduced, and dramatically flamed 2010 Dyna Wide Glide, and obviously making the link between the XR750 and the XR1200, although you’d hope they might have given him the heads-up on their concentrating on the XR1200X for 2011.

Choppers + Bobbers 2011

Michael Lichter ISBN 978-0-7603-3903-9 RRP £9.99. GBS ref “Choppers and Bobbers” S&S’ 50th Anniversary might be a distant memory for some now but that doesn’t detract from the quality of the fifty bike produced to mark the occasions, and Lichter’s Choppers + Bobbers calendar for 2011 takes thirteen of his favourites, as photographed for the book that he and Howard Kelly, put together, and reproduces them for your extended appreciation, together with a picture of its builder and a brief critique of the bike.

I confess that I couldn’t foresee any circumstances when this would ever be written down, but Mr January is our own Nick Gale together with ‘Little Miss Dynamite’, rubbing shoulders with the Teutuls, Chica, Donny Smith and Zach Ness to name but a few, with an amazing array of bikes based round S&S’ extensive range of engines from the Panhead to the X-Wedge in this case.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection 2011 Calendar.

Randy Leffingwell ISBN 978-0-7603-3927-5 RRP £8.99. GBS ref “Harley Motor Archive Collection” Always the challenging one of the three, I confess that I love the eclectic mixture of popular models and weird stuff, which this year focuses on ‘firsts’: including the only known remaining example of the first, unsuccessful V-twin; the Boy Scout and ‘Motorcycle’ bicycles; the 1975 OHC 1100 V-Twin that didn’t get far beyond this mock-up, and a 1927 Model S ‘Peashooter’ that bears more than a passing resemblance to this issue’s cover bike ... or vice versa.

Meanwhile, in the ‘safe’ section, is the 1936 EL Knucklehead representing the first OHV big twin, Harley’s Captain America replica as the bike that launched a thousand choppers, the ’84 FXST was the first Softail; the 1949 FL Panhead got Harley’s first hydraulic forks, and the first , from 1957.

I’ll let you work out the rest.

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An Indian design, made to be used on 4-speed H-D® Big Twin frames 193684. But not another quick and dirty copy with u g l y w e l d i n g s e a m s a n d w r o n g r o c k e r g e o m e t r y.

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Styled after the classic accessory Springer handlebars, but designed for use with conventional risers.

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Oil cooler and filter combination which mounts in lieu of the generator. Fits generator alternator crankcases.

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W&W# 71-263 W&W# 12-173 W&W# 72-194

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Replica of the Destroyer Series exhaust. For maximum performance and increased ground clearance.

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Add some vintage flair to your bike!

Brass plug terminals & braided wires for DIY cables.

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Drilled steel heat shields for Ø 38-50 mm pipes. Chromed or black.

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For S&S carbs, made from brass. Alow for quick and easy jet changes.

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1.384 pages with 24.466 parts for Choppers, Bobbers, Ratsters, Dragsters and Dressers. Available in German, English, French, Spanish or Italian. For € 10,- + PP.

W&W# 93-449

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These pliers replace a complete set of spanners with their parallel jaws, which allow for gripping of all widths up to the maximum size.

W&W# 72-188

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Stainless steel heat shields for Ø 38-50 mm pipes. Brushed or polished.

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CT19 6DD Folkestone, Kent, Grizzlys Custom Bike Shack, ☎ 013 03 / 24 04 40 IP33 1HE Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk, Krazy Horse Customs, ☎ 012 84 / 74 96 45 CH62 3QL Bromborough, John Wynne Automotive, ☎ 077 84 / 95 44 23 OL3 5JS Oldham, Dobcross, Harley Trading Post, ☎ 014 57 / 87 36 56

BS5 6PR Bristol, Matt‘s, ☎ 011 79 / 51 76 09 SW6 2EL London, F.H. Warr & sons, ☎ 020 / 77 36 29 34 NE32 3HG Jarrow, Twin City Motorcycles, ☎ 01 91 / 430 00 60 SO50 6AA Eastleigh, Hampshire, Steve Piper Motorcycles, ☎ 023 80 / 64 12 80

16/8/10 15:43:53

Harley-Davidson 2011

A beleaguered Harley-Davidson in exceptional trading conditions was never going to especially bullish about their new model ranges, and they will be accused of a degree of deckchair rearranging with the news for 2011, but it’s more than we perhaps should have expected ... and there’s more to it than meets the eye.

We’ve always had a subset of the full product range on these shores but the big change in the 2011 fleet is that the US model range is very close to ours now.

Gone are the regular Super Glide and the Electra Glide Standard, the hard-bagged Road King us still absent and the axe has fallen on a number of Sportsters where one of the newer models can replace them.

So, to the plot.

It’s a story of smoke and mirrors, but they’ve pulled it off nicely. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but then these are strange times. Placing a lot of faith in technical upgrades and paint schemes, there is but a single new model and two reintroductions.

A big favourite this year is White Hot Denim, plus a massive roll-out in Harley’s favourite colour which appears to have been renamed Sedona Orange for this year; Chrome Yellow is back with a vengeance and is being used heavily, and with no sense of irony, across the dark custom models. And, of course, there’s the usual rollover of colour hues, with a slight emphasis towards the blue.

Technically speaking, the big news stories are ABS across all Softail models except the Cross Bones – which continues to break the mould in braking terms – a major wiring upgrade across Softails and the roll-out of the 103 motor seen in last years Electra Glide Ultra Limited across the FLHT range, and as an option for the last remaining Road King, the leather bagged, whitewalltyred Classic.

16

The only real loser is the Ultra purchaser who will now have to stump up for the Limited’s higher price, although they could just as easily save fifteen hundred quid and opt for the reintroduced Classic.

In terms of the models themselves, the new kid on the block is an accessible Sportster in the ‘SuperLow’. Pitched as being easy for a novice to get to grips with, and nimble enough to keep a competent rider amused, this could be seen as the Sportster 883 Low with the 1200 Low’s tank, but it’s more than that: short throw shocks keep the seat height down to 695mm, which is a piece taller than the Low, but on the positive side there’s an extra half an inch of suspension travel front and back. It’s fitted with radial tyres, 18-inch front and 17-inch rear on brand new wheels, for less rotational mass, and these are matched to a trail adjustment in the 31-degree steering head to give a 29.6-degree fork angle to improve the steering feel. The tank graphics are new, so you should know when you’ve seen it, and we’re told that one ride on the new bike will be enough to show the difference.

The Iron gets Chrome Yellow paint to contrast starkly against the black motor, as well as the original black denim, but is otherwise unmolested: the equally familiar 883R completes the range of smaller Sportsters.

There was no need to mess with the Forty-Eight – aka XL1200X – because they were barely able to supply enough to meet demand in 2010 so there wasn’t any point in changing it; and the Nightster in a wider range of colours presses the buttons for those who want more conventional wheels in their XL, but no 1200 Low or Custom.

The third bigger 4-cam is the sole XR in the range: the higher spec XR1200X now in a choice of Black Denim or White Hot Denim, but sadly not Sedona Orange Denim.

American-V.co.uk

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

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Preston Harley-Davidson

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

Guildford Harley-Davidson

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4

3

Portsmouth Road, Peasmarsh, Guildford, GU3 1NA Tel: 0845 388 9643 www.guildfordharleydavidson.co.uk

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

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Newcastle Harley-Davidson

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9 5

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5

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3 Dinsdale Place, Warwick Street, Sandyford, Newcastle NE2 1BD Tel: 0191 2327174 www.newcastleharley-davidson.com

Norwich Harley-Davidson

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

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Oxford Harley-Davidson

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

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Plymouth Harley-Davidson 9/6/10 09:24:12

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7

216 Queens Road Beeston, Nottingham NG9 2 DB Tel: 0115 811 4215 www.robinhoodharley-davidson.co.uk

Lincoln Harley-Davidson

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Robin Hood Harley-Davidson

Langage Business Park, Eagle Road, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon PL7 5JY Tel: 01752 332775 www.plymouthharleydavidson.co.uk

Silverstone Harley-Davidson

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

Warr’s Harley-Davidson

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

Warr’s Harley-Davidson

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

Waterford Harley-Davidson

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

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www.on-bike.com p19_avaug10.indd 1

16/8/10 15:45:33

Victory 2011

There’s no major scoop in what Victory were always going to be launching as a 2011 model, because we all saw it at last year’s NEC Bike Show: the brand new Cross-series touring bikes – already known as the X-series in popular shorthand.

Those full details are on pages 86 to 92, because Polaris Britain used the UK’s MSVA test to short-cut the EU Type Approval and introduced them to the European press just as we were closing this issue and we actually got to ride them, but it’s worth giving a quick heads-up, seeing as we’re here.

The gap between the flagship Vision Tour and the Vegas-derived street bikes has been plugged by a mini-range of four bikes: the X-Roads with leather bags and no screen, the X-Roads Tour which has lockable hard bags and a Lexan screen, the X-Country with a cockpit fairing and a more comprehensive set of instruments, and – a bit of a cheat in a way – the limited edition Cory Ness Signature X-Country. And what a gap filler!

As ever Victory haven’t launched a direct assault on a Harley-Davidson model but have chosen to develop their own modern, progressive solution, rather than borrowing from the Motor Company’s traditional, retrospective platform, but you can’t help but draw comparisons.

The plain X-Roads is a screen short of a Road King Classic, the X-Roads Touring squares up against a Road King – or would if Harley still made one – while the X- Country is in Street Glide Country.

That puts the Cory Ness against the CVO Street Glide, and it stands comparison.

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With the new baggers’ launch, the Street version of the Vision is rendered obsolete which consequently only lives on in 8-Ball form, but the full Vision Tour, and the Arlen Ness Signature version still top out the range of touring models.

Of potentially more interest to a new generation of riders, however, could be the Zach Ness Signature Vegas. Simpler than his father’s and grandfather’s offerings, it puts the diamond-cut 106/6 Freedom engine at the heart of an inherently younger street bike.

And then of course there’s the continued development of that 1731cc, 4-valve, 6-speed, fuelinjected engine which has had a major revamp of its gearbox for 2011.

Featuring larger gears for a longer life it has an allhelical cluster now, all of which has lead to a 66% reduction in lash in what they described as a 100,000 mile transmission.

It also gets a clever feature that makes neutral selection easier: changing up from first gear at standstill, it’s impossible to overshoot into second. The icing on that particular cake is that the maintenance schedule is now centred round a 5,000-mile oil change.

American-V.co.uk

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THE RETURN OF THE

WIDE ONE When the 1980 FXWG Wide Glide was presented to an incredulous world, the ‘Factory Custom’ came of age. Contradiction in terms or not, the evolution from the Super Glide via the Low Rider and the Fat Bob was complete, and with its apes and flames, Harley-Davidson could claim ownership of the first proper factory chopper.

It had its roots in the FXE/F Fat Bob, which was effectively a Low Rider with 5-gallon Fat Bob fuel tanks, but it introduced a number of firsts. Taking its name from the first Wide-Glide yokes in an FX, it also had the first bobbed FL-style rear mudguard from the Motor Company, the first undressed FL forks, the first twenty-one inch front wheel in a big twin in place of the previous FX models’ nineteen-inchers, the most radical paint job to date, the first factory apehangers and with its two-piece seat and sissy bar, it was ready to have a tent strapped to the back and ridden off into the distance on an arrow-straight desert road: looking for adventure in whatever came its way.

It worked, stylistically, and cast the mould for many generations of Harley’s FX customs through the ’80s and ’90s. It could be most clearly seen in Harley’s FXST Softails, influenced the most radical FXR customs, and resurfaced recognisably in Dyna form as the FXDWG, although its more radical elements had been softened. The bars were lower, the seat more luxurious: it was altogether more sophisticated, but it was still very much a Wide Glide.

Minor evolutions aside, it retained that silhouette as the twenty-first century dawned, when the Twin Cam 88 replaced the Evolution engine, but the last classic Wide Glide rolled out for the 2005 model year, when it lost the sissy bar, sensible pillion seat, and its USP. The 2006 Dyna models were the first of the 6-speed, Mk2 Twin Cams, introducing a new version of the Dyna frame complimented by the 49mm VR forks. They signalled a change in the fortunes of the Dyna, sacrificed such sacred cows as the headlamp eyelid, inherited from the Sportster – the ‘X’ of the FX designation – and successfully relaunched the twin shock streetbike range.

»

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16/8/10 15:47:47

Roadtest: Harley-Davidson FXDWG WIde Glide

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XR 7

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Classic: XR750

R 750

It takes just five characters to name the most successful racing bike of all time, and that’s no idle boast. With a racing career that started in 1972 and continues today, no bike has taken as many championships or has remained as competitive as HarleyDavidson’s evergreen king of the oval track.

To get under the skin of the XR750 it’s necessary to nip back to the late 1960s, and a time when Harley-Davidson’s then all-conquering flat-tracker – the side-valve KR – was starting to lose ground to the upcoming British twins in AMA’s Class C racing: a series that Harley had focussed on since its inception in 1934 when it was created to provide an inexpensive alternative, using readily available street bikes with 750cc side-valve or 500cc OHV engines and regular fuel, as opposed to the very specialist Class A bikes.

The KR had been launched in 1952 alongside the K-series forerunner to the OHV Sportster. A stripped-down, hardtailed, hot-rod version of the docile K, it shared its bore and stroke so as a 750 flathead was eligible for AMA Class C racing. Harley’s racing department replaced the bushes and roller bearings of the road model with low-friction ball bearings, ran hot cams and big valves, a magneto and a tuned exhaust producing something like 40hp – about 10hp up on the street bike – originally, but making a creditable 62hp by the late sixties.

In 1968, British influence on the AMA board got Class C changed to be a level playing field of 750cc for the 1969 season: Tridents, Rocket 3s and Bonnevilles rather than Speed Twins and Gold Stars ... and an OHC 750/4 from Honda. It wasn’t the best time for that news to break: Harley were in trouble and were in the process of being rescued by AMF, who didn’t include racing in their list of priorities.

The KR still won Daytona in 1969 but the writing was on the wall.

The race division needed time that they didn’t have to come up with a new race engine, so in the short term took a de-stroked version of their 883cc XLR race bike that was already winning American TT races. They gave it new cams for it, slotted it into a swing-arm frame based on the KRTT’s, fitted with Ceriani forks – a bonus from Harley-Davidson’s ownership of Aermacchi at the time – and Girling shocks, and pitched it into the fray. Christened the XR750, it was a disaster on the oval tracks, largely because flattrack demands full throttle running from start to finish and the iron engine produced more heat than it could get rid of. Many of those that didn’t melt at Daytona in 1970, suffered from a self-destructing crank that should have been welded but apparently wasn’t in some cases. The first Harley home that year came in sixth place, and it was a KR750.

While that first XR750 has gone down in history as a disaster – the “Waffle Iron” as a result of the heat it generated – it’s worth pointing out that this was also the engine that secured the XR in the hearts and minds of British race fans, as the bike that turned Cal Rayborn into a legend in the 1972 Transatlantic series, winning three races and finishing second on the other three: a dead heat with Brit Ray Pickrell on a Trident, and on home ground.

The solution to the overheating problem was a largely a change in materials, but there was much more to the second generation XR750

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FAST AND FURIOUS Back in June, the XR1200 race teams had a busy fortnight ahead of them - with one race at Mallory the last weekend in June and two races at Knockhill in Scotland the first weekend in July.

As it turned out, there was a stark contrast between the two events.

Knockhill Qualifying: Jeremy McWilliams (Warr’s) leads the charge to take pole position

First off: Mallory Park. Bathed in glorious sunshine, the XR men went out onto hot tarmac and delivered a fantastic race that was great to watch, hugely exciting and with action all the way down the field. Not only that, but the bikes looked amazing on the grid with the sun glinting off metalwork!

Not all the teams had a great start to the fortnight’s racing. A couple of days before, we heard that the Robinson’s Foundry team had disbanded, leaving James Webb without a ride. I’ve been a fan of James Webb for some years now and he certainly impressed at Oulton Park, and this was massively disappointing news for him and the team behind him.

The Black Bear team had a different sort of problem: with Warren Scott still injured they called in Darren Fry to ride the bike, and were on their third rider of the series and it was only the second race!

There was a shock in store for the Rider’s team too, when Sean Emmett didn’t show up and then announced he’d quit. This was a shame for the series as Emmett is always popular with the traditional British SuperBike fans and his presence on the grid would ensure an attentive audience. So, we were two bikes down before the weekend even started.

Once things got underway at Mallory,

34

McWilliams dominated free practice and qualifying, with Mike Edwards hot on his heels and it looked like we would get a repeat of the Oulton Park race. But there were at least six riders behind them on the grid who reckoned they had fast enough times to be competitive, and they knew they were in with a chance: the Stratstone team looked particularly menacing with Lea Gourlay, Alex Gault and new recruit Ed Smith (standing in for the injured Dave Wood) lining up 3rd, 6th and 7th on the grid, proving that the pace they set at Oulton was no fluke.

Behind them, the grid had thinned even further. John Robb had broken a couple of ribs with a nasty crash in qualifying and Darren Neal also missed the race start – he jumped ship after the morning’s warm-up session, leaving Gary Byrne, who is riding the bike to raise awareness of Great Ormond Street hospital and the team there who saved his son’s life, to fight for the Blade team’s honours.

As soon as the race began, McWilliams, predictably, pulled away from pole position and was a clear second ahead of Gourlay and the rest of the pack after a couple of laps, but the early part of the race saw some interesting tussles mid-field with Darren Fry and Alex Gault – in 5th and 6th place respectively – torn between

getting their heads down to try and catch Edwards and Paterson ahead of them or just trying to outdo each other.

Further back Compton and James were trying to lose journalist Rob Hoyles who was guest riding on one of the Harley UK bikes. I have to say Hoyles did himself proud – he finished the race in eighth place: the highest-ranked guest rider in any of the rounds to date.

While all this was going on, Gourlay was making ground on McWilliams and by lap eight he had caught him with Edwards and Paterson close behind. Gourlay was almost grounding the foot pegs on the bends in his effort to get past McWilliams – a common problem for the racers, who get the XR1200 leant over at angles you’ve got to see to believe – but chased him doggedly and then, in a breathtaking move, overtook at the hairpin – on the outside! He then nipped into the Bus Stop chicane just ahead, and then had a bit of a wobble that forced McWilliams to flinch, preventing him from coming straight back past. They held position for the next few corners – then McWilliams sneaked back into the lead.

Seconds later Darren Fry had a nasty looking crash and the race was redflagged and with the ‘count back’ rule, the positions over the finish line on the

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BATTISTINIS

OPEN HOUSE

New premises, new mission, new business model.

We don’t tend to do a lot of dealer stuff, largely because there are too many of them and we’d never get round them all, and very seldom revisit them, but with huge new premises on one of the main approach roads into Bournemouth, and a very positive approach to doing

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LOST IN

TRANSLATIO

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Custom: Sickboyz ‘Besame El Culo’

ION The delight in small boys’ knowledge exceeding that of their parents is seldom better realised than in the secret we all shared in the full name of Shane MacGowan’s band.

Innocent times.

To be honest, they probably hadn’t noticed us sniggering behind our hands, too engrossed in the tribulations of an ill-informed Hungarian tourist.

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ADD THAT FINAL TOUCH TO YOUR BIKE WITH OUR BEAUTIFULLY MACHINED PUSHROD TUBES Available in aluminium & brass in a range of finishes and Chrome (Please ring for details) Prices start at £190 Direct replacements for & XL & XR Sportsters ‘91 to present and all Buells

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16/8/10 17:05:49

CHOP & ROD The Fair Mile, Cobham, Surrey

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s ' t a h W e d i s e t a t S We might be British but our motorcycles aren’t and America produces the overwhelming majority of accessories that fit the bikes we choose to ride: this growing section will showcase just some of the stuff coming out of the United States that might otherwise pass you by.

To include your American business/products, contact Andy Frazer on 0044.1778.392054

Thundermax for ’08-up H-D® Touring models New from Zipper’s Performance!

ThunderMax with AutoTune for Fly-ByWire Touring model Harley-Davidsons®.

The ThunderMax system replaces the factory ECM with the user-friendly ThunderMax ECM and supplied wideband oxygen sensors to provide real-time Air/Fuel Ratio feedback for automatic AFR corrections under all ambient conditions.

As well as auto AFR tuning, the ThunderMax allows the user to simply adjust the bike's idle speed, rev limit, ignition timing, deceleration pop control, starting and accelerator pump fueling, speedo calibration and more.

Incredibly versatile, the ThunderMax allows live tuning, monitoring and recording, reads and logs diagnostic codes and is even compatible with nitrous, a turbo or supercharger!

ZIPPER’S PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS 6655-A Amberton Drive - Elkridge, MD 21075 Phone 001.410.579.2828 - Fax 410.579.2835 www.ZippersPerformance.com - www.thunder-max.com www.ZippersPerformance.co

Exile xile Cycles This year marks the 15th Anniversary for Exile Cycles, Cycles and not only are they still producing the toughest ground-up customs known to man, but they also offer Complete Bike Kits and a full range of parts including perennial favorites like the Sprocket Brake Kit and Internal Throttle Assembly. Their Twist Clutch Assembly and foot-clutch forward controls are also very popular with those folk trying to sanitize their ride.

Last year they launched a line of parts to transform your stock Softail and this year they are developing a similar line for the Dyna range: check out the photo of the newest beast from Exile Cycles – a SuperMoto StreetBob no less!! To see more, check out www.exilecycles.com

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SaggyBags™ Motorcycle Saddlebags Restoration System SaggyBags™ Motorcycle Saddlebags Restoration Systems use unique form-fitted and shape-retentive parts, precise in size and shape, to preserve the looks of your leather saddlebags.

Edges are finished on a CNC Router to ensure consistency of size, shape and fit, which is the only way to provide a good fit, with ease of handling for self-installation.

SaggyBags™ Motorcycle Saddlebags lid inserts can be easily adjusted to fit the entire surface of any lid regardless of condition or size – which is especially important for lids which may have shrunk with age – and a special adhesive that will not be affected by heat or cold is supplied for their installation: it is the only adhesive covered by our warranty.

SaggyBags™ Motorcycle Saddlebags employs special engineering to make sure your lower bag retains its shape when bumped, banged, or even if it attempts to shrink in the future! Each piece of the kit must be carefully integrated into the structure of your bag to create a seamless whole but will ensure that the bag will always look good, regardless of extreme stressing which is sometimes encountered.

The support rail is 1½˝ tall and made from 1⁄8˝ thick material, and runs the entire length of the bag’s edge, end-to-end. It is

a clamshell design that extends 13⁄8˝ down both the inside and outside of the bag – no adhesive required – providing a straight, rigid edge that cannot be bent or distorted.

You can put a SaggyBags™ Motorcycle Saddlebags restoration system in your Heritage Saddlebag and we will help you do it.

Bottom line conclusion: Quality, total performance and durability with a warranty, customer service and tech support.

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Custom: Kings Road Customs’ “Silent Grey Fellow”

SILENT GREY FELLOW?

LOUD WHITE BLOKE! It was a landmark year, was 1924. Ramsey MacDonald became the UK’s first Labour Prime Minister, Lenin was officially declared dead, a young Adolf Hitler was locked up for his part in the Beer Hall Putsch, Mercedes-Benz was formed, MGM was founded, and Captain Frederick James Warr opened a motorcycle shop on King’s Road, becoming an agent for the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in the same year.

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THE

FLASH

But yes, this is a Honda you see before you, and not even one that was built in one of Honda’s American facilities, which makes it a tough one to justify, but it’s here for a very good reason: when the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer launches a factory chopper that is heralded as brilliant by the sort of journalists who’d rather push a Sportbike than ride an American motorcycle, we’d be failing in our duty to see how good it really is.

That, and because enough people expressed an interest in how it compared from the standpoint of people who understood what a Harley-Davidson was. In short, you asked for it!

And? A quick hatchet job and move on then, eh?

Errr, no: it’s complicated.

Both the bike, and the answer, that is, and having had it for three weeks to really get under its skin, here’s the full AmV treatment for what has been called the world’s first factory chopper: the VT1300CX, or the Fury.

In fact it’s so complicated that we couldn’t run it by itself.

It needed a frame of reference, and on the basis that it has absolutely nothing in common with a Rocker C, and deciding that comparison with a Dyna Wide Glide was grossly unfair on the Honda, we had a chat with Victory and blagged their flagship custom bike, the Vegas Jackpot.

First up, the Fury isn’t the first factory chopper but that’s irrelevant: what’s a chopper? Is it different to a choppa? Don’t really know, and probably care less. What we do know is that Fantic’s moped predates Harley’s Wide Glide by a number of years and that’s as far as we’re pursuing that line of enquiry.

Secondly, what were Honda thinking? A chopper? Does that fit with the ‘nicest people’ that you’re supposed to meet on a Honda?

Can’t see Twiggy on a Fury somehow, unless M&S became dealers.

Can’t help but think of a current ad campaign with Twiggy as Fabienne alongside Bruce Willis’ Butch in Pulp Fiction: “It’s not

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Head to Head: Victory Vegas Jackpot vs Honda VT1300CX Fury

AND THE

FURYOUS A Honda? Are we mad?

Well, probably certifiably so, otherwise we’d be producing a celeb-based magazine that appealed to the widest audience and required the minimum of effort to produce, in between Caribbean Holidays and society weddings.

a motorcycle, baby, it’s the all new Honda VT1300CX Fury from Marks and Spencers”.

And thirdly, how much? We’ll let you know that later.

The Victory is simpler. We know the Jackpot well. Joint possessor of the “World Fattest Tyre On A Production Bike” award, an honour it shares with the Hammers, it’s a radicalised Vegas with a high-status paint job and high-rolling wheels. Anything that is visible is polished, plated or painted with a lustrous metalflake paint, with the odd exception of the belt pulley and lower belt guard which seem to have come from the wrong shelf in stores.

If it had a smaller fuel tank, it might have been considered more of a chopper, but that brings us back to the circular argument regarding classification, so we’ll move on.

The Fury is, without question, a brave departure for Honda, representing an even bigger seismic shift in embracing the motorcycle subculture than Harley’s FX range in the seventies.

It’s one thing to make a socially acceptable lazy American-style highway cruiser, which they’ve been doing with their VTX1300 and 1800 models, but choppers aren’t socially acceptable.

They’re nasty. They demand respect, commitment and a degree of compromise from their owners: it’s part of their appeal. You don’t just climb off a motorcycle onto a chopper, and while you quite probably will meet the nicest people on one, that does presuppose that you feel inclined to make that first approach: they are the most menacing of motorcycles, and cast a long shadow upon those who ride them.

By that definition alone, the Honda is not a chopper ... and neither is the Wide Glide or the Fantic. It is that wonderful oxymoron, a ‘Factory Custom’.

Ignore the hoots of derision. Many things marked ‘custom’ have emerged from factories and there’s a difference between custom and bespoke. The Fury is certainly a custom: it is what someone

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19/8/10 11:45:43

Event: New Forest Rally

HDRCGB NEW FOREST RALLY REGION 19, TROJAN SPORTS CLUB, EASTLEIGH, HANTS

There’s no shortage of rallies these days that make the most of the facilities offered by rugby clubs, but rolling onto the New Forest’s site – a full-on Sportground with the sound of leather on willow competing with the potato-potato of the Fat Bob’s muted mufflers – was a new one.

And it wasn’t just the echoes from the pavilion either, but a match in session creating the sense of an English village green in high summer – aided by the blue skies and sunshine that was rapidly cooking a record-breaking number of revellers beneath: bright enough to pick out the unseen effects in a CVO Fat Bob’s paint.

Not that there was much revelling going on in the late afternoon as I arrived: the ride-out to Battistini’s in nearby Bournemouth had returned, folk were still arriving and the long term visitors were either sleeping off an over-indulgence at lunch, or else wearing themselves out watching a hockey game being played on one of the hard courts adjacent to the camping area ... not for any interest in the game itself, but because it was either a senior schools tournament or a casting session for the next St Trinians film.

There was some activity at the bar near the control point, but most seemed to be based round the shade of the chill-out tent on site where tins of beer and cider were bobbing in a barrel of water that would have been cool as the day dawned, but was warming nicely by the time I plucked the last cider from it, but it was still cooler than had it been anywhere else but a fridge.

»

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Long Term: FXDF Fat Bob Xl1200C Vs 2010 Dyna Harley-Davidson Low Rider

I’ve had the Dyna Fat Bob long term test bike on and off for about three weeks, starting out from when it had it the blacked out extras and the heated grips fitted.

Normally I’m a big fan of black and, true, the new mirrors and foot controls looked okay but just a tad too fussy for my liking: not quite as plain as I’d like, but then there is a massive range to choose from and this long term test is showcasing just a tiny fraction of the accessory parts and services that Harley-Davidson and their dealers can offer to owners.

I’d ridden a Fat Bob once or twice before and in stock trim they are a competent and comfortable machine to live with, but this is the first one that’s started to loosen up with a few miles on it, and it was settling into being a really enjoyable, responsive ride. The only issue I had with the Fat Bob was the gear change lever on the forward sets being just too far from my toes in the boots I’ve been

wearing to change up without lifting my foot off the peg, but that’s an easy fix. Loosening the lever and rotating it by one notch of its splined shaft will bring it closer to the footpeg, and hopefully not too close because there’s no adjustment in the stock shifter linkage to give that additional flexibility ... but then there’s also a huge range of adjustable links in the P&A. A couple of thousand miles later the Fat Bob went back to the shop for the touring gear and I was curious to discover if the new parts really would transform the Fat Bob’s touring comfort and ability, but also secretly suspecting that it might effect the bike’s overall presence.

On its return, my fears proved unfounded: the additions had changed the look substantially, but the whole still worked surprisingly well. It still looked very much like a Harley, but had more or less had transformed into a sleek, screen-less Road King.

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Roadtest: 2010 Harley-Davidson XL883N Iron

FAT BOB BAGGER LONG TERM TEST

As cool as it might be to have a 96-inch V-twin for nipping round town, it’s only when you rack up the miles that you really start to get the benefit of that big lazy motor. Now, if only there was somewhere to carry stuff ...

Having been converted to the Road King some time ago, and an owner for the last six years, I can’t say I was desperately upset about that either, but the real proof would come in the weekly ride down to Oxfordshire.

The new ‘Tallboy’ seat is wonderfully comfortable – and the original item isn’t bad in the first place – and it doesn’t overwhelm the machine like some touring seats can do, but it is ‘chunkier’, if you know what I mean. Designed to move the longer-limbed rider back by one and three quarter inches, and up by two, giving the sense of a bigger bike, it also increases the width for both rider and pillion – notably so in the case of the pillion – which could add to it feeling like the larger-framed Road King.

Luckily, though, I personally feel the ‘chunkiness’ of the seat is offset by the new and very useful sissy bar/backrest from the detachables range and, of course, the quickly detachable leather

panniers from the P&A catalogue. It took Andy much headscratching and cross-referencing to confirm that they actually are removable and if we told you how they come off, we’d have to kill you, but that’s always the trade-off with QD stuff if you want to make sure someone else doesn’t quickly detach them when you’re not looking. The only things they’re missing are handles.

What had been a very useful, practical and usable bike more or less stock, is now looking like supremely competent touring tackle.

Better still, with a couple of tugs at hidden points to remove the backrest and panniers, you’ve got a bike that looks much better than a similarly stripped Road King, albeit with a seat that’s now looking a little overstuffed. But then with a cross-head screwdriver and the original seat, it can be returned to full street cool in seconds ... providing you lose the stupid pillion strap.

The flexibility this offers is excellent, able to mix and match any combination from the original seat plus bags for a sleek tourer to the Tallboy seat and backrest for a two-up quiet life.

Normally I’d need to choose carefully what I’d need for five days away, and pack the Tail Pac accordingly, but with the panniers I could afford to take that bit more: another jacket, spare gloves, waterproofs stashed in deference to the blistering early summer sunshine, both the camera and laptop, and all with the sheer luxury of not having to wear a back pack or dispatch bag. Bliss.

Great, too, was the ability to strap the Tail Pac securely to the rear seat using the sissy bar as a back stop. I could lean back into the pack without fear of it sliding down and scuffing the rear mudguard’s paint and I was pleased to note that both the front and rear touring seats were capacious enough to allow me to move around even with that Tail Pac strapped in place. I’ve often been locked into place on other machines on that journey, the Tail Pac and a backpack forcing me towards the front of the seat with nowhere else to go, which is okay for the first ninety miles or so but decidedly less comfortable for the next ninety.

As suspected, the long ride down didn’t feel anything like as arduous with the touring gear in place, and I could relax and enjoy the ride on the touring Fat Bob. With five thousand on the clock, the engine had loosened into an effortless tool and with the space to move around, to vary my wind resistance, the only two things that kept my speed down to average motorway norms was fear of being pulled and sheer tight-fistedness.

Certainly it was more than capable of cruising close to the ton, but I was quite content to stay below ninety keeping plenty of punch in reserve for emergencies, and not chewing through the petrol too quickly.

Unpacking later, I didn’t feel anything like as drained as usual and that, if nothing else, made me clearly realise that the touring upgrade to the Fat Bob was more than window-dressing. It works.

During the working week away I made good use of the panniers, they held my gym gear, camera, lappy, drawing essentials and easily stashed away my daily shop. The big inviting rear seat and sissybar mounted padded backrest also attracted the attention of many potential pillions, but I’m a good boy.

Not all was rosy in the touring garden though: those leather panniers on their hard shell backing have a very small aperture for access, once the fairly fiddly plastic catches had been undone behind the false horsey buckles ... but then we all know how easy buckles are to undo, don’t we. The small opening is undoubtedly to provide some weather protection from the elements – a pair of poppers on the front and back of the pannier’s flap serving to keep the lids tamped down – but it needs to be accounted for. And the backs of the rivets were actually pretty rough in places and I skinned my fingers a few times stuffing in and retrieving items.

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AUTUMN STOCK CLEARANCE

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23/8/10 03:59:50

Event: HDRCGB International Rally

HDRCGB’S INTERNATIONAL Kirkby Lonsdale / The Lakes 2010 Don’t ever let it be said that Harley riders are the fair weather kind, as a wet weekend in Kirkby Lonsdale in early July made crystal clear, when the truly International Riders’ Club Rally went on tour.

While residents of Somerset were being advised to stay indoors for fear of heatstroke and the sun beat down on Americana, the hardy perennials of Harley-Davidson’s committed traditionalists looked skywards – which wasn’t a long way up – and cheerily acknowledged that the hose-pipe ban announced that very day was probably inevitable.

It’s not so much that the heavens opened, as descended upon the rugby club site, but still they came, filling the field with the broadest selection of American motorcycles that you’d be able to see in one place – all roadworthy, all ridden and all guaranteed to be in need of an illicit hosepipe when they got home.

An extended circuit of the site turned up a few new machines that will be gracing these pages in future issues, including a radical Rocker from Stez’s workshop, and it was good to see a Dyna Daytona – the limitededition, almost mythical successor to the relaunched Sturgis in a two-tone sand and sky scheme that was overshadowed by the success of the silver and black Dyna Custom – which would have looked great next to the original Shovelhead Sturgis. And then there was the oddest three wheeler and the most likely winner of any “who’s got the strangest trailer” category, a stunning, simple little 45 as well as a surprising number

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EnglandAugust:Mise en page 1 16/07/10 18:36 Page1

WWW.MAG-CONNECTION.COM The First European Purchasing Group

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New ... New For XR1200 Exhausts Black or Chrome Inverted Front end Tripple Trees Footpeg and Shifter kit Solo Seat Tail section Brake Discs Steering damper kit Shock Set ...

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Good looking quality forks with up to +18", Springer, Classic or Inverted available

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19/8/10 11:34:25

Remember a news piece a few issues back explaining that Nick Gale was putting a bike together for a European Biker Build-Off against TGS of Germany?

This is it, and there’s more to it than meets the eye.

SLICKSHIFT

PREDATOR A very different machine to NGCC’s usually elaborate fare, this dark brooding lowrider takes its inspiration from the articulated armour of the other-worldly hunter from the hugely successful film franchise, and while that departure is worthy of mention in itself, the thing that captured my attention was one small component that has the potential to make a huge impact on the custom motorcycle world ... but we’ll come to that in a moment.

Right, hands up all those who thought biker build-offs were designed, fabricated and assembled in front of a live audience? Go the top of the class ... and jump off.

Some six months in the creation, Predator was put together to show off the in-house fabrication skills of the North London bike builder’s growing workshop, and features a substantial amount of one-off engineering in slotting a TC88B motor into a Rolling Thunder Pro-Street frame, and neither of those got through unscathed either.

Starting with the easy stuff, the brand new 2009 Twin Cam 88 from Harley’s ‘New Era’ programme was converted to run a carburettor – an S&S Super-E – breathing through a one-off air cleaner, while sparks are taken care of by Thunder Heart.

It’s hooked up to a Baker 6-speed RSD transmission via a Primo Brute 33⁄8 belt, with the cleverest little thing providing the critical link: the clutch.

This is the aforementioned component, and we may as well get to grips (sic) with it here.

We don’t make a lot of noise about clutches because generally speaking they work so well these days that as long as yours can handle the torque, you fit it and forget it. Things were shaken up a few years ago when the centrifugal lock-up clutches came through, allowing a light action at the lever to make traffic bearable, but no chance of slippage when you are trying to play the power down, and this is an extension of that technology. This is an automatic clutch

by EFM. You hit the brakes in any gear and as you draw to a halt, the clutch disengages itself and will idle without any intervention from yourself.

And? Well, it’s two-fold.

It makes hand-shift gearboxes a lot safer for novices – I’m sure I’m not the only person to have slowly chugged across a car park at tickover, desperately grasping for a lever that isn’t there and cursing the bottom end torque of a classic Harley for not stalling ... at least I hope I’m not. And it makes traffic a breeze – especially stop-start stuff where you struggle to get out of first.

It’s like a scooter. In a good way.

Taken to its logical conclusion – as here – it means you can dispense with a clutch lever completely, meaning one fewer cable and a missing lever, and a whole heap of routing that you don’t

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Custom: NGCC Predator

need to worry about without any compromise in its usability ... once you’re used to it.

In fact it improves the functionality, and I did a stupid thing and headed for rush hour Wembley’s town centre to prove that to myself. Stupid in that Wembley itself was hell, more than any issues with the clutch, which behaved itself perfectly.

The only headaches I had were in timing the gearchanges, which is only the same as I would expect in familiarising myself with a new gearbox for clutchless changes ... well that and getting my head around the fact that it didn’t need a deliberate action so much as a decisive one – exactly like a clutchless footshift. Nick, however, had been using the bike for commuting for a while and reckons he’s got it nailed.

It took a little extra engineering to get it working as well as it does, despite being sold as a bolt on conversion, because while it will bolt on and work, it works a whole lot better with a bit of fettling: and if you’re thinking of losing the clutch lever, ‘better’ is good.

It’s expected that the majority of people will run it with a footclutch / handshift combination, as an additional bit of peace of mind for when you hit auto-pilot and reach for a lever that isn’t there, but any city dweller familiar with gridlock will get a genuine benefit. And the icing on this particular cake is that the ball bearings that disengage the clutch as you pull up are the same as those that turn it into a lock-up clutch, with no chance at all of slipping once it’s hit 1500rpm, making it perfect for that high horsepower motor that’s been taking a high toll on your wrist muscles Once you’ve worked out where the clutch bite is, there is no easier way of making progress in the stop-light dragstrips of our cities, with nothing to worry about except the throttle, and in fact you can drag start it straight off the throttle with no fear of stalling: even do burnouts if you’ve got a decent front brake or a handy wall.

Of course you can run it with a regular clutch, exactly as you would a normal clutch only lighter – which gives you the freedom to

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

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We have a fully equipped machine shop and the experience to build and repair all S&S and HD motors and transmissions from vintage to modern.

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17/8/10 15:44:52

Event: Americana 2010

AMERICANA 2010 Newark Showground Nothing conjures up an image of an American motorcycle like the words Harley-Davidson, but Americana ... ?

Well, as Eddie Cochran once said: “That’s something else”

We’ve been fans of Americana since first being brow-beaten into attending by Gordon Jenner, who was determined that we should experience first-hand the show that Chris and Bev Jackson, backed by a massive team of enthusiasts, have created from scratch over thirty years.

It’s an event that somehow manages to be all things to all its diverse fans on a colossal scale with more than fifty bands over three days on five stages, and covering a range of styles that will float most people’s boat somewhere along

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Project1:Layout 1 04/06/2010 14:19 Page 1

A quick word from MAG�s President Ian Mutch Since I�knew I�would spending the winter riding my Harley around New Zealand I�racked my brains for an idea of how I�could promote MAG�in my absence. Will I at last, after 37 years of trying, come up with �the alchemist stone� of arguments that will make people realise that MAG�is an organisation worth supporting at long last? I�asked myself. So we made a film. It�s only five minutes.

Please give it a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOt7ot-I2nE www.mag-uk.org membership £25 pa Tel 01926 844 064

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VICTORY’S

CROSS FERTILISATION

Now maturing into a recognisable and respected range of motorcycles, Victory have always got one eye on broadening their appeal to new markets, and a couple of years ago their Vision Tour pushed them into the touring sector in a brave and confident way.

The Vision was anything but conventional and it could hardly have made a bigger impact: love it or hate it, you couldn’t ignore it. The proof of the concept, however, was in the riding and those who embraced it love it for its agility, presence and capabilities.

But – and it is a big ‘but’ – the touring cruiser sector is notoriously conservative and while the Vision was excellent at putting its foot in the door, Victory needed something a little more diplomatic to get invited in for a coffee. It must be said, too, that they needed something a little more practical because

there are some elements of the Vision that need to be accepted for what they are, not least being the internal size of the sculpted panniers that has all-but rendered the custom ‘Street’ incarnation irrelevant, because they don’t hold enough for a full-on tourer.

The Street continues in 8-Ball guise, which could carve out its own niche if enough people buy into its potential as the 2-wheeled equivalent of a blacked-out limo, but it has left a significant gap in Victory’s range in the popular Road King sector.

That is where the all-new Cross-series comes in.

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First Look: Victory Cross-Series

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Unit 6, Love Lane Estate, Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire SY9 5DW Email: malcolm@malarkeyengineering

Design and Development Motorcycle Engineers 15 years experience building frames, rolling chassis and complete bikes for: Cafe racers, attrackers, bobbers, trikes, streetďŹ ghters and chops.

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Looking to give something different for Christmas?

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Harley Dealers A Bowker Group Company

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Motorcycle Engineers

Dealer 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 824256 We have moved back to the Roots at Springfield, North Road, Whitemoor, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 7XN www.bnh-motorcycles.com e-mail: bnhmotorcycles@btconnect.com

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To advertise on the American V classified page Contact Andy Fraser 01778 392054 or Email: andyf@warnersgroup.co.uk

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• • • • • •

On site Tyre Fitting Diagnostics Polishing Shop Full w/shop Facility @ £35.00 p/h + VAT In House Fabrication Parts & Accessories Sold

Come and visit Nick Gale’s Motorcycle World at our Wembley Showroom open Monday – Friday (Saturday by appointment).

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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