American-V 48 Preview by American-V

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American-V: Issue 48

Editorial American-V: the on-line paper magazine! With apologies for the delay, welcome to the nice shiny new American-V, and a whole host of changes: all for the good. If you’ve been with us for a long time, you will remember that we started life as a website sometime back in 2001, and converted to a paper magazine within a couple of years because … well, simply because the web couldn’t support a magazine back when: there was no visible means of support. A lot of things have changed since then, not least being technology and the number of people who use the internet as a part of everyday life, so we’re going to be a lot brighter in terms of how we use it, and this issue is the one that will hook everything together. Mark Twain, I think it was, once said that easy reading is hard writing, and the same is true of getting this right: it’s one thing to drop an occasional weird icon in the magazine and expect people to know exactly what to do with it, quite another to make the most of it, using the magazine to push the web and vice versa. The manifestation of this electronic trickery is scattered throughout the magazine courtesy of the aforementioned weird icons, and once this issue has finally left the building, we'll be flat-out revamping the website to add a lot more editorial, picture libraries and scraps of video for features going back over the last eight years ... has it really been that long? Hang on, I’ll check a mirror. Only eight? These weird icons are called QR codes – QR for Quick Reference – and are square bar codes that can be read by smart phones with a free barcode reader app. Many Android phones have that app already installed, iPhone users can download one from the AppStore. Windows and Blackberry users will have similar, I’m sure, because they’d be stupid not to. We’ve buried these QR codes into the design of the page in colour-coded boxes using the colours from the logo: blue will take you to a picture library, red will take you to a video, and those scattered around on this page, are just for fun and practice, showing their potential. They are colour coded for a reason: if you are not hooked into your home wireless broadband connection or a free wi-fi connection, you will be using your mobile provider's download, you could be charged for the privilege, and video will be more expensive. Yes, I can hear those of you without Smart phones wondering why we’ve bothered supporting tiny phone screens, but you’ll be astonished by the quality of the current generation of screens, and at the take-up rate of 'Smart' technology by a generation of people who wanted nothing to do with a conventional computer. And by 'Smart', we also mean the fast-emerging tablet market spearheaded by Apple's iPad, which will also work within range of a free wi-fi connection. For those of you who have embraced the computer and all it's wonders, you will notice that each feature with a barcode has got the URL of that photo-library (and of course, you will know what a URL is), unless you can find a QR reader for your webcam.

But why would you want to see the pictures again on-line? Simply because you might want to see a throwaway detail shot at the same size and resolution as the opening picture of a feature, and we can include many more shots than we can fit into the magazine: we typically take more than fifty photographs and use fewer than a dozen, so we'll strip out the duplicates (and lose the blurred ones) and stick a logo in the top corner to promote the magazine should those pictures get out into the wild, and let you see much more of each bike. And this is as much about rallies as bikes: everyone likes to see themselves, or their bikes, and you’ll be amazed by the number of people who cheerfully inform us that their arm has appeared, or a foot, or a front wheel – identifiable only to them by where their bike was relative to others – ruthlessly cropped to fit the page design. We have flirted with this before, but this is on another level. And all that would have been enough – nearly – to justify the delay in this issue hitting the shelves, but we have also been doing a lot of homework, sorting out a new strategy for taking the magazine forward for the next ten years, and because of the size of the team responsible for putting American-V together, that meant putting everything on hold. The unpalatable truth is that we have always been just too small and vulnerable, and it keeps catching up with us. Thankfully, this time, so has wisdom: I'm doing too much and was too stupid to realise it. We have, however, been put in touch with a bigger but no less enthusiastic publishing house, Traplet in Malvern. CEO Tony Stephenson speaks our language and Traplet will be publishing American-V from this point forward, which will leave me to do what I will hopefully become better at, released from the shackles of the bits I did even worse. It does mean a break from our friends at Warners Group Publications, who have held our hand for the last six years, and I'd particularly thank Andy Fraser for all of his hard work as our long-suffering advertising manager, to Tom Brown’s team for their help in distribution, and Tom particularly for his help in recent weeks. It's not all change, however, and Warners Midland will still be handling the printing: we've got them trained now, or is it the other way round? Amanda is stepping into the breach taking over advertising sales, on 01270 446556. That should prove to be entertaining – few people could be more committed to American-V – and it will make sure the links between editorial and advertising are as healthy as they ever have been. And obviously there is a new hotline number for subs and mail order, now handled by Traplet, on 01684 588599. I will miss the feedback from phone calls, but we are talking about taking up the offers of stand space at events, so we will be more visible and more accessible next year, as we push forwards to world domination – and there will be a welcome return to the advertiser index on the contents page, which got lost some years ago and really needs to come back: anything we can do to add value for our advertisers. So, it’s all good news, which makes welcome change in the current climate, where TV news studios have started to make a mortuary look like Mardis Gras. Oh, and don't worry: this will be the only time when the QR codes will roam randomly. Andy

American-V.co.uk

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American-V: Contents 48

Issue Forty Eight

5 6: Americana A corner of some British field that is forever America ... well, it is for a long weekend in early July.

18: FXDWG Wide Glide Vs FXS Blackline

6 4: The gathering Nitro heads North of the Border with Clyde Valley HOG 6 8: Snowflake’s Articulated panhead Okay, so it’s a Panhead with a trailer, but what a trailer

30: WHITELINE FEVER

74: FAlklands XL Dee’s two-wheeled tribute to comrades in a conflict half

36: Rob’s Bobber

78: Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited Introduced as a big bore special, the Limited has become

nylon pannier liners, John Doe Kamikaze Defense cargo pants, QD fuel coupler, novel: “One Light Coming”, Junk Magazine, and sitting in a Morgan Three Wheeler.

How do you like your big twins? Balanced or bouncing? There’s more than meets the eye with these two. Geoff’s two-litre S&S Softail gives a tantalising glimpse of what might have been if the Blackline had been built in the North East of England. Sounds so much better than Bob’s Robber: old school Shovelhead built to ride.

42: QuickSpin: 2012 FLD Dyna Switchback

The 4-speed look-alike Dyna frame finally gets the Electra Glide treatment: we’ve only been asking for it for the last sixteen years! Was it worth the wait?

48: Wake the lakes

Red Rose HOG partying in the Lake District.

50: Bulldog Bash 25 Quarter of a century of drag racing, live music, and

world class customs at the UK’s premier bike festival.

5 4: Rainy Daze On a wet weekend in Manchester, where better to point your handlebars than the rainy city?

5 6: South of England Rally It’s that time of year when Bisley’s old world charm and excellent hospitality beckons.

... and what a Pan!

a world away.

Harley’s flagship mainstream tourer, but is it still special?

8 4: Project Road King Plans to make a first generation FLHR as sure-footed

as the 2011 model move on apace, thanks to a major suspension upgrade and a stabiliser from Progressive.

8 6: project Vegas stripper More planning: it’s going to need some clever forks. 87: Hybrid Harley The kit is fitted to the Shovel: as soon as this issue has gone to press, I can MoT, ride and test it.

8 8: Long Term Fat Boy Last major outing before it’s wrapped up for winter, and it gets drowned.

90: Long Term Vision Rich finally gets to play with the superb Teflon tourer, which is so far defying all attempts to get it dirty.

9 8: RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

Editor Andy Hornsby andy.hornsby@american-v.co.uk

Advertising Copy Control Cindi Griffiths Tel: 01684 588517 email: adcopy@traplet.com

All editorial enquiries to: editorial@american-v.co.uk

Printer Warners plc

FEATURES EDITOR rich.king@american-v.co.uk

Newsstand Distribution Seymour Distribution Ltd. (020 7429 4000)

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Steve Kelly, Amanda Wright, Nitro, Horst Roesler, Alan Hill, Darryl Godfrey. Managing Director Tony Stephenson OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Tom Stephenson Production Manager Julie Arnett Magazine Design and layout Mini Ha-Ha and Erika McAston Marketing assistant James Mason Tel: 01684 588521 email: marketing@traplet.com Advertising Sales Amanda Wright Tel: 01270 446556 email: amanda@american-v.co.uk

Hobby Trade Distribution Traplet Publications Limited (01684 588568) US Distribution Traplet Distribution USA Ltd., P.O. Box 6178, Champaign, IL 61826, USA. Tel: 217 355 2970 Fax: (001) 217 351 4135 email: usa@traplet.com

Published by Traplet Publications Limited, Traplet House, Pendragon Close, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 1GA, England. Tel: 01684 588599 Fax: 01684 578558 email: customerservice@traplet.com Subscriptions 6 issue subscription prices: UK £29.70 W/Wide £42.90 USA & Canada US $59.94 Europe £39.60 12 issue subscription prices: UK £59.40 W/Wide £85.80 USA & Canada US $119.88 Europe £79.20 BACK ISSUES UK £4.95/US $9.99 Order Hotline: 01684 588599 Online Ordering: www.traplet.com

Australian Distribution Traplet Publications and Hobbies, P.O.Box 501, Engadine, NSW 2233, Australia. Tel: (02) 9520 0933 Fax: (02) 9520 0032 email: sales@traplet.com.au South African Distribution Traplet Publications South Africa (PTY) Ltd., P.O. Box 1067, Oudtshoorn, 6620, South Africa Tel/Fax: +27 44 272 5978

www.american-v.co.uk

6: NEWS & NEW PRODUCTS 12: REVIEWS Harley-Davidson ‘Brew’ leather jacket, Hein Gericke

This magazine is sold subject to the following conditions: that it shall not without written consent of the publishers be lent, resold or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in excess of the recommended maximum retail price. All rights strictly reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the prior agreement of the publisher. All letters must be accompanied by the sender’s full name and address. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited correspondence nor some of the opinions expressed. All material and artwork originated by Traplet Publications Ltd., photographs, drawings, plans used in this magazine become the publishers copyright under Copyright law. Some photographs may have been digitally re-mastered. The Company reserves the right to suspend or refuse any advertisements without giving reasons. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes, Traplet Publications Ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or omissions. Nor can the Publisher accept any responsibility for the bona fides of advertisers. © Traplet Publications Limited 2011 ISSN No. 1746-8515

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American-V # ONE

News

WORLD’S FIRSTEST POLARIS INDIAN

Since last time we were here, the guys at Polaris have produced their first Indian motorcycle at the Spirit Lake facility. It’s a bike that is destined for a hard life, but then there is a huge amount riding on the successful relaunch of the Indian brand – not least Polaris’ engineering reputation, because as much work as the guys at Kings Mountain did to resolve the issues of the Gilroy Powerplus, there are always things to do. This 105-inch Powerplus Chief will be extensively tested to makes sure it meets expectations and Polaris’ quality standards before presumably being retired and hung on a wall, after being stripped down to component level and picked over by specialists to make sure there are no surprises. It is the clearest indication yet that Indian will continue to be Indian – a distinct brand with its own engine, styling and identity, – and Polaris should be applauded for having such commitment to this most traditional of brands. Industry watchers with an eye on the jobs pages will be aware that Indian have advertised for a Chief Designer (no pun intended), but that can only be a good thing. It shows that Polaris is keeping Michael Song at Victory, where it is intimated that he can be more adventurous, freed from the need – whether real or perceived – to create a range of traditional All-American motorcycles to take on Harley-Davidson. They also advertised for a Marketing Director, and no I didn’t get it ... well, these opportunities don’t come along every day, and I didn’t see my not being remotely qualified for such a position in the context of a modern corporation to be a barrier. In my begrudgingly accepted role as an independent pundit , I would suggest that the pressure on Indian now is to demonstrate that the American motorcycle can evolve in a way that a conservative Harley-Davidson has failed to do. I would expect a broad range of motorcycles bearing the warbonnet, which will play to the strengths of American motorcycle heritage, while hopefully side-stepping the historical mantraps that hindsight has shown were too ambitious for the original Indian Motocycle Company: I can see smaller capacity motorcycles in Indian’s future, and can see why something like a parallel twin would be attractive, but far better to trade on the 30.50 and Scouts’ heritage than the lovely but unreliable Torque Manufacturing Co lightweights – especially seeing how popular smaller capacity V-twin have proved to be in the cruiser market: imagine how they’d be received if they were done properly? Would you sooner see your progeny on a 535cc Virago, a HyoSung or an Indian 30.50?

2012 Chief Classic

2012 Chief Vintage

A simple but classy looking 500 V-twin – ideally, and selfishly, capable of being restricted for direct access in the UK – is where Indian could take on Harley-Davidson without a reply from Milwaukee, bringing new riders into the brand as young as possible and giving them a structured upgrade path through a 750 Scout, a sportier Scout-framed, Chief-engined ‘Chout’, up to the Chief itself. And maybe even beyond, to a new Four, taking the fight to Triumph’s Rocket Three but hopefully looking less like a taxi engine stuffed into a motorcycle frame. My hobbies include ... sorry, this isn’t my CV this time. Indian have got a window of opportunity to structure their comeback while the world is watching and waiting for the Chief to emerge, butterfly-like from this latest cocoon. They have also got a huge pool of talent available to them, with the contacts made by Managing Director Ross Clifford, who recently moved to the US after four and a half years at the helm of Polaris Britain Ltd, and has ten years experience at Triumph previously including a stint as CEO of Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd. Of course, it’s just as likely that Polaris will position Indian as a premium brand motorcycle, which has been voiced: time will tell. Speculation aside, 2012 Indians are anticipated to be shipping in the US in December 2011 in a reduced range of models and colours, with more details regarding the company’s future strategy expected in the summer of 2012 www.indianmotorcycle.com

2012 Chief Dark Horse

American-V.co.uk

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Blackline Bars

CLEAR Thinking

Ever wondered what’s going on inside your cases? Roland Sands obviously has, and his new Clarity range opens up a whole new world, sealed tight behind billet-framed polycarbonate. The Clarity line currently comprises an air cleaner with versions to fit S&S Super E and G carbs, stock carburetted or fuel injected Evos, Twin Cams and Sportsters, and fly-by-wire baggers; three or five hole Derby covers and a Twin Cam timing cover. It’s fair to say that there’s more to see on a carburetted intake than an EFI, but the Derby cover gives you chance to show-off your trick clutch and the timing cover – revealing the cam gears, chain and support plate – should be interesting to watch ... or very useful, if you’ve got an early TwinCam with the original ‘silent chain’, praying there’s not much shredded slipper tensioner to see. All parts are available in RSD’s Black Ops, Contrast Cut and Chrome finishes, to match up with other components you might already have, and will be available when this hits the streets. www.rolandsands.com distributed by www.mageurope.eu

It was only a matter of time before someone brought out some alternative bars for the Blackline, and while not actually the first, one such someone is JG from Hardtail Choppers in Washington. Well known for his frame castings and the Duke range of handlebars, John was getting an increasing number of calls from Blackline owners and unsure of what a Blackline was, nipped down to his local dealer to find out why his regular bars wouldn’t fit. No big mystery: they’re designed as separate bars, indexed to stop them spinning, and because they’re separate, it isn’t immediately obvious, but they’re spaced differently to any Harley bars before them, and they’re designed to run internal wiring, exiting from the bottom of the handlebar itself, beneath the top yoke. JG’s solution couldn’t be easier: he got a pal of his, Tyson, to knock up some inserts which are effectively the bottom section of the bars, complete with threads to tighten them from the bottom, indexed to stop them spinning and drilled so you can get the wires out of them, and to these he’s welding the bends for his Duke bars, although the first order was for a set of T-bars, and he’ll continue to supply T-bars as well as an XL-style T-bar alongside his Dukes and Big Dukes. Very astutely, while he’ll gladly sell you either the bars complete in either raw steel, chrome or black powdercoat, he’s also selling the indexed inserts so you can put your own bars on top. If you’re building your own, the current inserts are for 1¼-inch tubing with a .120 wall, but there are inserts for simple inch bars in the pipeline. He’s indebted to Harley-Davidson for providing the fresh challenge but then, as he says, “if you’re coastin’, you’re goin’ downhill”. www.hardtailchoppers.com

Early Xmas greetings from Tinseltown Not the first people you’ll associate with all things shiny, but Exile Cycles have got pretty much everything but the tinsel for an early Xmas shopping expedition. Check out the website for full details of the stuff that’s in stock and ready for shipping – usually within 48 hours – so in plenty of time for Christmas. www.exilecycles.com

American-V.co.uk

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American-V

» RevTech

bigbore

RevTech 97” and 106” big bore kits with Keith Black forged pistons are now available from Custom Chrome, just in time for a winter service or rebuild, or to swap out the wear of a long summer’s riding, and give yourself a bit of extra muscle for next year for a very competitive price! RevTech’s 4-inch barrels come with machined fin edges in either a black wrinkle or natural finish, and are supplied with KB forged pistons with an anti-friction skirt coating and multi-layer Cometic steel head gaskets, and will increase the displacement of your TC88 engine to 97-inches, or a TC96 to a massive 106” No machining of the cases is required for either kit, and for even better performance results you can add Custom Chrome’s cams and Carb/EFI upgrades like the Thundermax modules. Available for Harley-Davidson Twin Cam engines from 2007 to 2011, now at all Custom Chrome Europe Dealers. www.custom-chrome-europe.com

Lowbrow Retro Spark Want to make a bold statement, like, TV sucks? Treat friends, neighbours and family members alike to some electronic snow during their favourite TV shows with these classic unsurpressed plug leads in yellow, black or red. Supplied as a four-foot antique-style braided lead that you cut-to length, this modern, stranded 7mm copper-core HT lead terminates with Rajah clips that are screwed to the spark plug with a matching style nut. Being copper, they are not compatible with electronic ignition systems, but they are fully insulated.

MCS 964005 Lowbrow HT lead: black/red trace MCS 964008 Lowbrow HT lead: red/black & yellow trace MCS 964009 Lowbrow HT lead: yellow / black & red trace

www.motorcyclestorehouse.nl

Spring

cleanER Running naked springer forks and tired of getting a faceful of spray from the front wheel? What you want is a pair of these, to allow you to simply and cleanly fit a mudguard to the bit that goes up and down at the front, and thereby at least making sure that the mudguard sits as close to the tyre as is practical. I dunno, they’ll be fitting hydraulic dampers next ... d’oh. www.wwag.com

Hard Luggage

Genius! Someone’s only gone and copied Harley’s TourPak and made a wheelie suitcase out of it ... no, sorry, they’ve made a new TourPak with retractable wheels and a handle AND it fits on the back of your bagger: the Trollpack! And they’ve done one without wheels – the Streetpack – as a lighter alternative. The Trollpack weighs in at 8kg including its docking kit, while the Streetpack is 7kg. Before you ask, no it’s not meant for airports: it’ll be strong enough to withstand the baggage handlers, but the paint? Oh, it comes finished in black clearcoat, ready for use. It is designed for touring using hotels, and is a step up from a simple liner. Zod. 752200 Trollpack €806.00 Zod. 752201 Streetpack €738.00

www.zodiac.nl

SHOCK! Performance Machine’s forged aluminum wheels are the flagship of our wheel line and the Shock wheel seen here in their Contrast Cut Platinum finish is strong and light, as well as very stylish. One of more than fifteen different styles and eleven sizes – the Shock is available in rim sizes up to 26-inches – the choice is huge. The Shock Wheel is offered in a Polished, Contrast Cut, Contrast Cut Platinum, Chrome and Custom Shop Finishes. Because of the nature of custom wheels, clearances etc, PM strongly recommends that a qualified shop does all wheel changes, and deals with any modifications required. www.performancemachine.com distributed by www.mageurope.eu

American-V.co.uk

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stuďŹ&#x20AC; for your Milwaukee tractor: wwag.com

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American-V

dynojet Power vision

A must-have diagnostic tool for dealers and owners of late model, fuel-injected Harleys: a veritable Swiss Army Knife that will both diagnose and tune the stock ECU, read and delete error codes of all J1850 and CAN H-D (HD LAN) data and adjust the fuel injection and ignition settings. The Power Vision connects to the ECM / ECU diagnostic port, and comes complete with USB cable, diagnostic cable and WIndows XP/Vista/7 software: download custom fuel maps from the Dynojet website, use the included custom fuel maps or adjust the stock one – edited to suit your preference and your bike – and flash it back to the ECM / ECU. You can even save them on the Power Vision. Be aware, however, that once the Power Vision is used on a bike, it is paired to that specific ECU, and while you will be able to read and delete error codes on any other bike, you won’t be able to tune it. 981590 2001-10 all fuel injected H-D 981591 2011 Softail (HD-LAN).

www.mcseurope.nl

Brass Caps

UTILITY BAG HOLDERS

Gotta love these reproduction Colony Machine Inc bag holder cum grab handles, as used on 1936-38 Harleys (oem 11724-X): people knew how to make a bracket back then. Bolted to the rear mudguard to provide an anchor and protect the paint, these solid chunks of engineering would have been taken for granted as functional and can be again, always assuming that you’ve got the same gauge of steel to clamp between the big flat washers. I’m going to be brave and suggest they come in sets of four, because that’s what the picture shows, but it’s worth checking with your W&W dealer first to avoid disappointment. W&W 82-929: Colony Machine Saddlebag Mounting Kit, Chrome:

€78.00

www.wwag.com

No School Sk8Punk New from Rocket Bobs are these beautifully detailed solid brass filler caps, which are a direct replacement for those fitted to current models. They come in two forms: the filler cap proper, and a blanking plug for the dummy cap on the left hand side of a pair of Fat Bobs, which doesn’t incorporate a fuel gauge: with the fuel range countdown in the speedo’s LCD panel, it’s largely unnecessary, and if you swap out the original speedo, you’ll soon learn to reset your trip meter when filling up ... or to push. Cost is £74.99 each – whether a filler or a blank – because there’s as much work and material in each. www.rocketbobs.biz

Ribbed bobber bars

There really is no limit to what you can do if you’ve got the skill and imagination, as these stunning short apehangers from the mind and workshop of Roland Sands testify: the ribbed accents are to match RSD’s Nostalgia covers and they’re drilled for internal wiring. www.rolandsands.com distributed by www.mageurope.eu

Earlier generations of bike builders misspent their youth in snooker halls, giving us the iconic 8-Ball frequently found on jockey shifts, so it was probably inevitable that the generation that grew up on skate parks would misappropriate something they can identify with. MCS 938043

No School Choppers skateboard Wheel Shifter Knob

www.motorcyclestorehouse.nl

US FL REAR FENDER TIP

It isn’t just sidemounts and slammed shocks on Sportsters that the US gets and we miss out on, the US has had an illuminated fender tip on normal baggers since 2009: the Street Glide and Road Glide models have a different fender. Looking for a good repro Bates seat, in Now, though, Zodiac can put that right plain or tuck and roll, with a choice of 1 with this unit, which is originally set up to or 2-inches thick? W&W reckon they’ve operate as a running light, but can be set found it in Australia. up to act as an auxiliary brake light – in which case you might not necessarily A seat that will only get better with age, made from authentic materials and want it in the amber option. Luckily, you only distinguishable from the original by can also have it with a red, smoked or the Bear Parts Co logo instead of Bates’. clear lens with red LEDs sparking up on demand, and it’s got to make sense wired Each seat is numbered and can be as an additional brake light for serious supplied with a matching pillion. travellers. 40-717 Tuck&Roll,black 2” thick €397.00

Tucknroll

40-719 smooth, black 2” thick 40-727 Tuck&Roll, black 1” thick 40-729 smooth, black 1” thick 40-718 Tuck&Roll, white 2” thick

€365.00 €365.00 €317.50 €397.00

Pillion Pads 40-731 Tuck&Roll, black, 115x230mm 40-744 smooth, black, 115x230mm 40-746 Tuck&Roll, black, 95x180mm 40-748 smooth, black, 95x180mm 40-732 Tuck&Roll, white, 115x230mm

€224.01 €201.00 €212.50 €195.30 €224.01

Zod. 161119 Red lens (oem 56972-09) Zod. 161117 Amber lens Zod. 161118 Smoke lens, red LEDs Zod. 161120 Clear lens, red LEDs

www.zodiac.nl

www.wwag.com

American-V.co.uk

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.Reviews

Reviews

H-D BREW JACKET: 97051-11VM: £375

Grabbed from the sale rail at Oxford HarleyDavidson on a recent visit, this discontinued jacket might seem an odd review choice, but not as odd as it being the one that grabbed my attention, because I tried it on out of curiosity more than desire, and the one that I took home We obviously see news releases by the dozen over the course of a year, but this one had stood out to me as peculiar, because I initially struggled to see the merit of a leather jacket with a sewn-in fleece, and then when I realised it was just a detachable bit at the front, which included the hood, I was even less convinced. Why would you want a detachable hood? And, while we’re asking questions, why is it called ‘Brew’? To start with the important stuff, the Brew jacket is a distressed bomber leather that is described as brown by everyone from Harley-Davidson down ... except me, ’cos I don’t wear brown leather. Most of Harley’s leather is drum‑dyed to preserve the colour when it inevitably gets scuffed, but the Brew – in common with other distressed items – is surface died, and will wear it’s scars with pride. It remains to be seen whether it’ll get too light too quickly, but it’s leather: a bit of boot polish – or preferably a bottle of leather care, which will

QD Fuel line coupling EBAY: £12.95

Not everything needs to be branded, or to cost a massive amount of money to be listed here, and this is proof-positive. A simple piece of genius, that just makes life easier for anyone playing with fuel tanks. Any tank with a balance pipe bridging the left and right hand sides is a pain in the bum to remove, because you’ve got to drain it before you can take the balance pipe off. Indeed any tank with a fuel tap isn’t a lot better, because fuel lines really don’t want to be pulled off taps, because they rely on a good seal to stop leaks.

soak in better – will soon fix that, and make it even blacker. With knitted cuffs to slip into gloves easily, I’ll be wearing it as a riding jacket but it will be seen by many as being at the casual end of Harley’s range, because there’s no provision for armour, but – again – it’s leather, and it has a usefully tall collar. I’ve ridden without armour for years and have only got used to it with the rise of textile jackets, which I have yet to convince myself will be as robust as leather in a tumble. I’ve actually got a confession to make here: I’ve taken to wearing my beaten-up old lancer jacket again this summer and have loved it. Initially, I switched so I could sew an American-V patch onto the sleeve, which didn’t seem like a good idea on the FXRG jacket that has been my constant companion for eighteen months because it wouldn’t do the waterproof membrane any favours, and in doing so reminded myself that while textile jackets are great, they don’t move like old leather, and they’re nowhere near as cool – either in terms of coping with heat, or image. And the Brew Jacket doesn’t just look like old leather, it moves like old leather, and as I am a natural sloucher, that suits me fine. It feels like I’ve had it for years, with absolutely no stiffness despite being substantially built: something to throw on in a hurry, and wear like a second skin. In short, everything that a favourite old jacket should be, with the added benefit of an intact lining and pocket linings that haven’t torn. More than that, actually, because the pockets are the sensible type that are what you need and where you need them – only two, but both usefully positioned – rather than just something sewn into the lining in case you need one: it has been properly thought through. Branding is on the self-effacing side of subtle, limited to HarleyDavidson embroidered

in black across the back lifted out by a dark grey drop shadow, and a bar and shield on the left breast in a thread so close to the colour of the jacket that you could mistake it for having been branded. And that removable hood? Well, it’s more than that, being a zip-out panel that runs the full length of the jacket’s front, which provides an alternative means of keeping the jacket closed than the outer shell’s zipper, and I’m amazed how useful it is for regulating body temperature. Zipping up the inner will stop an otherwise open jacket from billowing out behind you, and allows some movement of air – just enough to not overpower the grommetted under-arm vents – and if you need more than can pass through its fabric, open it at the neck: sorted. Even more usefully, you can fasten the outer zip for a couple of inches at the bottom when setting off on a longer ride, knowing that there will be no pressure forcing it to unzip, and that you can fasten it later, at speed, without needing to wrestle the two halves of the jacket flapping about in the wind. The hood itself could be seen as a styling affectation, but don’t underestimate its usefulness: it doesn’t seem to flap about distractingly on the road, and it will be great for rallies when you’re sitting out late into the evening, when you can raise it to keep your head warm or dry, or both. If you’re lucky, you’ll find one in your size on a sale rail near you, or on eBay – where many authorised dealers clear old stock these days – but while this particular jacket is now discontinued, others incorporating the same design elements will follow. Impressed? Certainly I am, and the old lancer has been consigned to the cupboard under the stairs again, keeping the FXRG company ... at least until it rains. And Brew? Haven’t got a clue. /Andy

Fit one of these to your fuel line or balance pipe, and when you want to remove your tank, press the release button and it splits in two, sealing both sides with fuel proof seals; and because no air gets in, they are suitable for EFI applications. Not convinced? Race teams use the same technology for hydraulic brake calipers! Okay, so it’s not the prettiest thing in the world but much nicer ones are available in more exotic materials: the thing you need to be wary of is the seal materials, especially with the rubbish that is in our fuel these days, and which is only set to get worse. All you need then is somewhere safe to store your full fuel tank. /Andy

American-V.co.uk

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American-V # ONE

Reviews one light coming:

A Biker’s Story - book 3

Edward Winterhalder and Marc Teatum ISBN 978-0-9771747-5-1 RRP: £16.26 Having recently reviewed Winterhalder’s last book, Biker Chicz of North America, I was curious to see how he tackled fiction. Casually picking up the 300+ page hardback – the third in a series – I lazily scanned the first couple of pages, and before I knew it had gone back to the first page to reread every word that I’d scanned moments before: after two pages I was hooked! Initially, I thought it was going to be the love story that its first few pages suggest – right up until the untimely death of someone who I took to be one of the main characters – but that was setting the scene for a richer story, and boy, what a ride he takes you on ... The storyline is based loosely on a Harleyriding backpatch club, respect, a woman pool shark, independent riders, a few cops, violence, drugs and good old rock and roll with a bit of raunchiness thrown in for good measure: it may sound like a great recipe for a clichéd rip-off of something like The Wild Ones, but it isn’t that. More to the point – and with a great sigh of relief – it’s no ‘Sons of Anarchy’, either: I really haven’t managed to get into that, even ironically! In places you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a book penned about a mans world by a

bloke; but its not that either ... What we have here is the crême de la crême of biker fiction that took me back twenty-odd years and to the short stories in EasyRider magazine, reminding me how I valued some of those short stories: especially when the flight of the imagination took me on a journey of brotherhood, freedom, love, respect and riding until your ass dropped off!

Hein Gericke nylon box bags:

JUNK MAGAZINE:

www.junkmotorcyclemag.com

www.hein-gericke.co.uk Put some saddlebags on your cruiser and, assuming you aren’t using 26-inch apes, you’ve got a tourer. Packing clothes, camera or whatever into those saddlebags, however, is another issue, especially if they’re not waterproof or are susceptible to leaking leather dye when wet or are still dirty from when you carried a spare pair of boots in them. You also don’t always want to be packing them separately, as it’s a pain to load/unload those novelty underpants you like to wear where everyone can see. Of course, you would usually use something like a Tesco plastic bag (not a Sainsburys one, because the white print can flake off, which makes a hell of a mess, Andy), but when Hein Gericke sell these neat nylon inner bags for only £9.99 each you’d be silly not to give them a try, before you suffer the ignominy of your piggy pyjamas tumbling from the splitting carrier back that you nicked on the hinge, concho or rivet as you withdrew it. At 430x140x260mm, the smaller ones fit nicely into the H-D accessory saddlebags on my Softail, although as a rectangular bag in a lozenge-shaped pannier they leave some gaps, but that’s okay because it leaves somewhere to keep a spare pair of gloves.

I was drawn into the story and characters with great ease, and didn’t put the book down for five hours at that first sitting, and did the same again the following day and the day after until I’d read it cover to cover! I wanted to be living the life of some of the characters in the book: I was there, riding and partying with them, and it conjured up images of past parties and rides from my own life, engaging me on so many levels that I forgot about my everyday life – except the need to eat. Drawn into the lives and personalities portrayed in the story, I was compelled to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next ... and I loved it! I wasn’t disappointed when I came to the end, if only because it meant I could put it down, mull it over in my mind and get back to other stuff that I should have been doing. The story is simple and yet complicated; predictable and yet capricious: and even if – like me – you are not interested in being a backpatch club member or being part of the lifestyle, it really doesn’t matter as the book is so intriguing and easy to get on with. In all, I would recommend it to anyone – Harley rider/bike rider or not – as it’s just a brilliant novel that takes you on a lifestyle journey, and one where it doesn’t matter if you have any previous knowledge of the One-Percenter way of life or not. Read and enjoy. / Amanda

They also produce a larger (500x200x300mm) version at £13.99 each that should fit OK into the larger bags on a Glide and a useful thing for a Tour-Pak. Construction looks robust, with a twinpull zip across one side of the top for easy loading, and which clip together to stop them pulling apart, and there is a single handle on the top to make life easier. There’s a removable stiffener in the base to stop the bag sagging over the six large plastic feet, which are presumably there to keep the bag out of the puddle of water that inevitably collects in your saddlebags, or that you hadn’t noticed alongside the bike. The nylon material looks water-resistant rather than waterproof, but, assuming your saddlebags aren’t actually full of holes – like those vinyl ones that melted on your exhaust – they should provide good protection for your smalls from all but the most severe weather, and then you can always line them with plastic bin liners. / Nitro

One of the big changes in our circumstances, as part of a bigger organisation, is that we’ve got a sibling: another bike magazine that is just at the start of its journey, having just published its fourth edition. It was borne from the same passion, spirit and belief as American-V by its editor, Billy Whiz, and is a proper old skool bike and hot rod magazine in glorious colour. Featuring an eclectic, transatlantic mix of cool bikes that draw their inspiration from the North Circular Road to the Bonneville Salt Flats, and the sort of cars that naturally fit right in next to them, it’s a grass roots magazine with high quality production values and an infectious enthusiasm running though every page. / Andy

American-V.co.uk

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.Reviews

Reviews of a ‘safety officer’ and like to know that I am protected as well as possible ... but after wearing these pants a few times I found that any doubts I had have gone and happily wear them on both short and long journeys. The quality of the pants speak for themselves, with YKK zips, inbuilt Kevlar down to just below your knees and mesh lining to your calves, excellent quality cotton and lots of accessible, handy pockets: they’re also long in the leg and don’t ride up when on your bike. The functionality of these pants works on several levels ranging from them being a good, all round riding jean for late spring / summer / early autumn, to being waterproof – meaning that you don’t have to worry about those sunny-cum-rainy days when out riding – to having a multitude of pockets for your essentials, to knowing that you have the protection of the Kevlar lining. They also keep you cooler than leathers in hot weather, offer more protection than everyday

john doe kamikaze DEFENCE pants www.ridejohndoe.co.uk

Some time ago, we had a couple of pairs of jeans to test from John Doe, Andy was going to review the ones that resembled everyday jeans and me the cargo pants: but, the cargo pants didn’t quite fit me at that time and so Andy wore both. Having lost a few pounds since, I can now slip into the mens cargo pants comfortably and have done on a daily basis during the summer months. John Doe offer two styles in the Defence Cargo Pants: a regular – these – and a slimfit, which could be described as a hipster style. I suffer from Simon Cowell syndrome, preferring to feel my waist band high up on my waist, and when I’ve tried hipsters in the past I was forever trying to pull them up higher. I never was one for exposing my natal cleft to the cold either, and found them hugely annoying, so now I won’t even contemplate them. The regular fit are high waisted, so they’re an obvious choice for me: these are the XLs from a previous sizing system, but they now range from 28W/32L to a 44W/34L: see their website for full size details. As for the fit, if the hipsters are anything like the regulars, you won’t have any concerns, they have an excellent cut to them and there is a belt that draws the waist in neatly if they are just a little too big: the beauty of the cargo pants is that they’re unisex, with very little distinction between ‘his or hers’. Andy has worn Kevlar jeans for a few years but I was always a tad dubious about their safety aspect, as they offered no padding anywhere, and was equally sceptical about the John Does when they first arrived. I didn’t used to think about such stuff when I first got into bikes: you just get on and ride, but as I have got older I have become a bit

jeans, look great, feel great and allow you to comfortably wear them as an all-day piece of kit as they breathe well. Thanks to the overall quality of design and materials used in the construction of these Kamikaze Defence pants, I know that I should get a few years of consistent wear out of them before I need to think about replacing them. These come highly recommended in my book as they stand, although I would make a couple of changes based on my experience of them. A washing instructions tag sewn into them would be useful, together with information supplied with them on how to reproof the outer material. And I’d prefer the Kevlar and mesh lining materials to reach the bottom of the pants: if you did come off your bike wearing shorter boots, it would be possible to burn your lower leg, as it is only cotton at the bottom: I guess they are designed to be worn with high boots and that has been accounted for. Longer linings would make them better in colder weather, helping the single cotton layer to keep out the cold, though fastening the drawstring at the ankle helps. / Amanda

Morgan three-wheeler: www.morgan3wheeler.co.uk

Okay, so it’s not a proper review, but having spent a bit of time in Malvern recently – and having spotted my first Morgan ThreeWheeler in the wild, navigating a roundabout on Worcester’s south eastern bypass – I couldn’t resist the temptation to drop in and was blown away with just how friendly they are at the factory. They were in the throes of building the dealer demos before starting assembly of the production cars, and they’re going to be busy: they’ve sold the production run of 600 already, and having sat all-too briefly in one that had been set up for a much shorter driver – the whole pedal assembly can be tailored to suit individual drivers – I can understand why. Sadly, not being as influential, famous or rich as Jay Leno – or indeed being the owner of one of the originals – I didn’t get to drive one, but it felt like a cross between a Tiger Moth and a classic open-top roadster, and that was standing still! Motor head Leno described it as being like a motorcycle without the need for a helmet, and with its 2-litre S&S X-Wedge motor barking through a pair of exhausts that exit closer to unshielded ears than on all but the most radical choppers, I can imagine that’s true. Having frequently repeated the words of someone who raced them back in the day, I was desperate to slip into the driver’s seat – an exercise that requires the removal of the steering wheel – and sitting low in its open cockpit, sandwiched between the side of the car and the tunnel that carries the propshaft to the rear wheel, I fully understand what he meant when describing driving the Morgan as ‘wearing it like a pair of trousers’. I also fully expect that an experienced competition driver could indeed kick the back-end out with a well-timed hip movement. There is still a bit of development work going on, and they had recently reduced the width of the rear tyre from the biggest practical size, to a narrower one to allow the use of a wider belt – the Three Wheeler might be light for a vehicle with an enclosed body, but its drive belt will be working harder than any fitted to the back of a custom bike. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons with the last three wheeler I rode: the Can-Am Spyder – American-made, handlebars and very much a motorcycle with three wheels – and knew immediately that the Morgan had won that debate without starting the engine. Hell, I’d take the Morgan over a CVO Ultra, which is a closer price match. Anyone got a spare £25k+vat? / Andy

American-V.co.uk

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WHY CHOOSE BETWEEN TOURING COMFORT AND CUSTOM STYLE ... HAVE BOTH

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

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

www.bladegroup.co.uk © H-D 2011, Harley, Harley-Davidson and the Bar and Shield logo are among the trademarks of H-D Michigan, LLC.

DAYTONA BIKE WEEK 2012_Layout 1 13/07/2011 11:02 Page 1

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FREE BROCHURE... please call 01473 730000... or email tours@tptours.co.uk

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.FXSvFXDWG

American-V.co.uk

AMV.48.HEADtoHEAD.indd 18

29/09/2011 15:23

Head-to-Head: Wide Glide Versus Blackline

Last year it was more clear cut with no crossover between the ranges: Softails were heavyweight FLs with the exception of the Rocker C, which didn’t really count, and Dynas were all street FXs despite having fatter forks than any FL, and the Fat Bob having fat tyres. Now, however, there is an FX Softail again, and a good way to see how it stacks up is to revisit that ten year old test. Back in the days when there was some overlap in the pricing between ranges, the representative bikes were the most expensive Dyna model and the cheapest Softail – the £11,995 Dyna Wide Glide versus the £10,195 Softail Standard. Here the two protagonists are the new generation Dyna Wide Glide, which weighs in at £12,099 and the Blackline representing the Softails at £12,999 – both have two-tone options for an extra £700 – and they are quite different bikes compared to their forebears. The Wide Glide of old was notable for being an FXD with real pillion potential, while its successor is leaner, meaner and unless you’re a big fan of the seventies, cooler. And the Blackline is … well, it is what it is: a new style of Softail that has been vilified by many for being a parts bin special, while ironically angering many of the same people for being a step too far, with a number of new features that prevent it being as easily modified as the FX Softail that they really wanted. »

This brings back memories of an on-line American-V and the debate regarding whether a big twin engine is better balanced or bouncing.

HEAD to head

Wide Glide Versus Blackline American-V.co.uk

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NEWS: Harley-Davidson 2012

2012 HARLEY–D Truth to tell, looking through the 2012 brochure, there isn’t a massive amount to write home about, although that’s only because the brochure is a masterpiece of hyperbole and to get to the nitty gritty you’ve got to care enough to find the H-D Tech Forum documents – now commonly available on-line – and to pick through the bones of it to find the stuff that matters, and interpret it correctly. What we’ve long known is that the Rocker has gone, the Cross Bones has gone, the Blackline is in for its first full season, the Switchback is the only truly new model, and we’re awash with Touring models. The other big news for 2012 – the 103 motor – sadly won’t have the impact we expected in the UK. Now featuring automatic compression releases in the heads to make cranking easier, 103-equipped models also now have a stronger diaphragm clutch spring. All big twins are now using the new style compensator sprocket used on CV, Trike and the Rocker C models, before being inherited by Touring models last year with the increase in engine capacity: it is said to reduce powertrain vibration and noise. And all models with an oil tank beneath their transmissions have a new dipstick that is said to be easier to grip, and new, retro-fittable transmission shaft bearings have been fitted to the six speed gearbox with tighter radial tolerance. The Oxygen sensors for the closed loop injection are now all 4-wire versions which incorporate a heating element – introduced on 2010 Touring models on the front pipe. For their personal comfort? No, O2 sensors don’t work when they’re cold, which means the ECU they report to goes into a rich-running mode, otherwise known as an open loop state – which is effectively the same as applying choke. Of course, it’s better to accurately feed the right amount of fuel rather than falling back on that open loop state, because emissions will be cleaner when in cold running conditions. And why is that better? Because it’s instrumental in keeping air-cooled engines on the right side of emissions regulations, deferring what many see as an inevitable switch to water-cooling: don’t go thinking that the EPA are a benevolent bunch of tree-huggers, and they’ll let cuddly, old-fashioned Harley off the hook because they’re American: if Harley don’t comply, they will prevent them from selling motorcycles. It’s very easy to underestimate the amount of work that has been done over the years in keeping air-cooled motors compliant, using technologies

that clearly demonstrate that there’s still a lot more to discover about our simple hot air pump: there’s still life in the old dog yet! Moving to the cycle parts, there’s a new Profile wheel rim that takes a tubeless tyre, but it’s only used on specific models and it’s always worth checking VIN numbers. Currently only 2012 Softail and Touring models will be using them, and there will be a label on the rim to identify it: find it. Externally the profile is identical, but the tyre’s integrity is maintained by a heavy-duty rim seal which contains the valve itself, as well as the original protective rim strip, and both will need replacing when ‘servicing’ the tyre, which I suspect will mean every time the bead is broken.

Sportsters

All XLs will now be running the Michelin Scorcher tyres – the 11-series on the XR and SuperLow, and the 31-series on everything else. The 883R is now called the Roadster and gets a new speedo bracket that will be integral to the handlebar clamp. All models get new, more secure locks for steering and ignition, with more key combinations: these will be identifiable by the spade key’s slot being at an angle denoting 10:20 rather than 2:40, which will save you looking for a VIN number to tell whether you’re looking at a new model … not that it’ll make a lot of difference, technically, unless you live in a high crime area. Other changes are details only: the Forty-Eight now says Forty-Eight where it used to say Sportster, and denim side panels are specified when the main paint set is denim. SPORTSTERS XL 883N XL 883L SuperLow XL 883R 883 Roadster XL 1200N Nightster XL 1200X Forty-Eight XL 1200C Custom XR1200X

Vivid Black n/a £6,599 £6,699 £7,899 £8,649 £8,649 n/a

Colour £6,699 £6,799 £6,899 £8,099 £8,849 £8,849 £9,599

Two-Tone n/a £7,049 n/a £8,349 n/a £9,099 n/a

American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 19:54

Y–DAVIDSON Dyna You won’t get through this issue without overdosing on the Switchback –

especially now we’ve ridden it – which is the only real new model out of Milwaukee in 2012. We can’t pretend that we’re anything less than hugely disappointed that it’ll be the only 103 Dyna for this year in the UK, although it does start making it look cheaper, knowing that it’s got a grand’s worth of parts and labour within the stock motor. All for a thousand pounds more than the Fat Bob. We were expecting a big-inch Wide Glide and Fat Bob. The Dyna is, however, still the second family to get the HD-LAN system used on the Softail last year, and revised for 2012. If you’re not familiar with this, it’s a low voltage switching system feeding back to a black box – which Harley refer to as their Body Control Module (BCM) – that then sends the full voltage to lights etc. Other manufacturers have handled it spectacularly badly, and there are many concerns over the implications for adding accessories, but it’s only a matter of mentally separating the 12v elements from the switching system. The BCM replaces the starter solenoid, flasher relay and security module, and is accredited with controlling P&A power which does tend to suggest it will want to control genuine P&A, but a 12v switch in series with a 12v accessory on a 12v part of the harness should cover all other eventualities. On the plus side, it means you can run LED indicators on the rear and filaments on the front without worrying about resistors or a load balancer: the BCM will take care of everything. The BCM means that Dynas get the revised switchgear with the trip button moved from the side of the tank-top console to the top of the horn push, and the speedo’s LCD panel will get a gear indicator and tacho – although oddly, the sixth gear tell-tale from the speedo’s face is lost, which is wrong thinking as you could be monitoring remaining fuel range, one of the twin trips or keeping an eye on the time, in which case the sixth gear indicator is handy. There’s also ABS as standard on all Dynas except the Street Bob, which gets it as a £500 option. That obviously serves to keep the Big Twin entrylevel price down – and at £10,499 in Vivid Black they are trying hard. All other models get a new ABS ECU beneath the battery, behind a new cover, and a new rear master cylinder, and they’ve managed to tuck the mechanical bits out of sight, in direct contrast to the hugely visible twin pump solution on the Softails. Dynas get the Michelin Scorchers 31-series tyres too ... except the Fat Bob which retains its Dunlop D427s and, inexplicably, the new Switchback which has modern rim sizes and therefore no legacy tyre fitment, but wraps those new wheels in a Dunlop D402F/401 combination. Vivid Black DYNA GLIDES FXDB Street Bob £10,499 FXDB Street Bob ABS £10,999 FXDC Super Glide Custom £11,699 FXDWG Wide Glide £12,099 FXDF Fat Bob £12,499 FLD Switchback £13,499

Colour

Two-Tone

Custom

£10,799 £11,299 £11,999 – £12,799 £13,799

– – £12,349 £12,749 – –

– – £12,499 – – –

Softails

The Softail range does get the 103B across the broad, with the exception of the Blackline, which – all joking apart – is almost certainly because there are a bunch of unsold 2011 Blacklines sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Harley don’t get too many lame ducks, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find that they’d had great confidence in a new Softail aimed at the younger end of the market. It was misplaced, and having ridden a couple now, I really don’t know what the problem is … well, apart from the handlebars, and to rub it in Harley keep showing the handlebars that were part of the original design concept, and which would have given it a completely new, modern look. It is my sincere hope that the Blackline found a bigger niche in the US than it carved out in the UK. The phrasing that relates to the Automatic Compression Releases on Softails mentions only provision for their connectors, which seems to imply that they’re not actually enabled: hopefully we’ll qualify that before going to press, but if this line is still here, we didn’t manage to. The ECM that you’ll find buried in the rear mudguard, beneath the seat, has been made smaller, allowing the security antenna to be moved from the crowded underseat area. There’s bad news for those who love the Fat Boy Special’s stance, and wholeheartedly support the idea of two very different Fat Boy models: the normal Fat Boy gets the Special’s seat and a shiny version of its tank badge – a chrome-plated version of the original Fat Boy’s decal but in glorious 3D – and both bikes get a set of handlebars that are neither the classic FL bars of the Fat Boy nor the narrow, aggressive bars of the Special, but some weird compromise in between. In the US, their Fat Boy Low will still have slug-bothering ground-clearance, but over here it looks as though our two models will be little more than a paint finish apart. SOFTAILS FXS Blackline FLSTN Softail Deluxe FLSTF Fat Boy FLSTFB Fat Boy Special FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic

Vivid Black

Colour

Two-Tone

Custom

£12,999 £15,599 £15,899 £16,099

£13,299 £15,899 £16,199 £16,399

£13,649 £16,249 £16,549 –

– £16.399 £16,699 –

£16,399

£16,699

£17,049

£17,199

American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 19:55

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.GeoffsS&S

WHITE

LINE Life is full of “What Ifs”, as we become increasingly aware of the range of opportunities around us, but there’s one that has been plaguing me for the last few weeks – ever since taking Geoff’s Softail back after a blast round the superb roads round Walesby.

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30/09/2011 15:49

Performance: Geoff’s Softail

Of the many on this bike alone, the big one is ‘What if Harley had introduced something like this as the late season Softail for 2010/11 instead of the Blackline?’. Leaving aside the monster motor at its heart for now, I’m talking purely about the visual element at the moment: USD forks, flat handlebars, sculpted gel seat, fat front wheel, twin four-pots on floating disks and forged wheels. In fact it isn’t really like any Harley before it, which I can say with some confidence because it brings to mind another American bike that has its own special place in the market: Victory’s Hammer – or, more precisely, the top of the shop Hammer-S. But there’s also more to it than that because the styling is only part of the story, and this is a Softail that will give Victory’s muscle bike a run for its money. Beneath that misleading, innocent white fuel tank beats a two-litre heart. All that’s left of the original 2001 Night Train is the frame and the tin, and the tin’s not the original, being the pearlescent white used on a Softail Standard in Harley’s centenary year, and bought remarkably cheaply off eBay. I first clocked the bike at The Lakes Rally in 2009, peeking out from behind a tent in the company of his wife, Heather’s, Buell and despite not usually liking white bikes, I was drawn immediately to the aggressive stance, USD front end and fat front

wheel in Buell Cherry bomb Red. I’ve wanted to feature it in these pages ever since, but I don’t spend as much time in the North East as I really should and it’s only here now because I made the most of the opportunity that presented itself at this year’s Riders’ Club International at Walesby. With Geoff ’s instructions not to take it over 5k, and with dry roads and a camera bag over my shoulder, I headed out onto some of the best roadtesting tarmac that I’ve ever found in one place: well maintained roads with good visibility, very little traffic and an excellent combination of slow villages and fast straights, with a stretch of the A1M for good measure too. The 5,000rpm restriction wasn’t strictly necessary because this Softail pulls like a freight train from low down, even though it doesn’t really come into its own until 3k, and by the time you’re seeing 4k in the higher gears – courtesy of an unidentified tacho – you really need to be chasing someone to feel the need to explore the higher reaches. Even then, shifting up and landing nicely in the meat of the power will have you charging forward again at an indecent pace. Geoff describes it as having a flat spot below 3k, but having arrived on a Fat Boy with a stock 96B motor it’s hard to not be impressed by a free breathing 2-litre. »

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.RobsShovel

Robâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shovel Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to stick my neck out here, and suggest that the Shovelhead is now fully rehabilitated in the family of HarleyDavidson engines: everyone seems to want one, and they just keep turning up all over the place.

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30/09/2011 19:27

Custom: Rob’s Shovel

It helps of course that new Shovel motors are readily available from the likes of S&S and Ultima in big numbers, but it’s long been the case that you don’t need to look for an original Harley motor. There’s never been a shortage of aftermarket parts available to replace those destroyed by enthusiastic amateurs, because in truth most of the Shovelhead’s problems didn’t come from Milwaukee except in owners’ desire to make them go a lot quicker than Harley were able – or prepared – to make them. Granted, the seventies weren’t Harley’s finest hour in terms of quality control, as they struggled to turn themselves into a modern production operation, but that only made it more tempting to get out the spanners and a Clymer manual and do all those things that you’d seen trained professionals doing in the magazines, too young and enthusiastic – or sometimes just too stupid – to realise that flipping burgers isn’t the best preparation you could hope for when splitting a set of crankcases. The result was a mistrust of Harley’s most highly evolved hemi engine because you were never sure whose hands had been inside the motor before you got to it, and anyone who has been in the trade for a decade or more will be able to regale you with horror stories that will make you steer well clear of the troublesome twin. Thankfully, with time, wisdom and professional engineers fixing the problems – which are all well-known these days – there

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30/09/2011 19:28

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.FXDSwitchback

This really shouldn’t have been in this issue, but there are some opportunities that you can’t pass up, and a new model launch within days of the mag going to press is one such … well, it is to me.

The joy of writing stuff down, means that I can pinpoint pretty-well the time when I thought a Dyna Road King would be a perfect addition to Harley’s ‘new’ range, which I did when the Dyna was new. The FXD Super Glide was a brand-new model, which consigned the last of the FXRs to history, and I was still missing my 1978 FLH. I know, because I said so at the end of the road test in the short-lived All American Heroes magazine, and have been saying so ever since. My idealistic thirty-something self hadn’t been tempted by the ‘Rubber Glides’ that had heralded the 5-speed Electra Glide era, and frankly didn’t understand the logic behind turning the cool and flexible FLH into the purpose-built touring FLHT, but then my King of the Highway 75th Anniversary Electra Glide converted into an über-cool, fat streetbike in thirty minutes. It took that long to unfasten the four bolts securing the Comfort-Flex saddle’s undercarriage, unbolt and remove the sprung seat pillar, unclipping the Tour Pak and unbolting the rack that held it, and

42 American-V.co.uk

AMV48.SWITCHBACK.indd 42

unfastening the Batwing fairing. Bolting the ‘Nostalgia’ seat to the frame took a further thirty seconds, and I was sorted. I could have removed the slantbags if I’d thought about it, but they were way too useful, and so intrinsic a part of the bike for me. They were also guarded by rear crashbars and rails that would have cost a few extra valuable minutes of riding time. Sixteen years, two engines, one transmission and a major frame upgrade later, the Dyna Road King – the FLD – is with us, except Harley have called it the Switchback after one of their jackets. And is it a Dyna with a Fat Bob wheels beneath deep-valanced mudguards? Err, no. Okay, so 16-inch bagger wheels beneath the FLHT tin – certainly on the front, because that’s where the forks came from? No, Harley have been a lot more ambitious than that, and having demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that a fat, high profile balloon of a tyre can hold its line in a corner, they’ve put an eighteen-inch in the front and a »

FLD 30/09/2011 03:08

QuickSpin: 2012 FLD Switchback

SWITCHBACK American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 02:51

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.WakeTheLakes

It was when I was invited to a Pimm’s Party in a tent on arrival that I realised that Red Rose HOG’s third Wake The Lakes rally was going to be a bit different: I’ve been offered a swig from a bottle of dubious-looking fortified wine once at a rally by some Glaswegian bikers, and have been given a tin of Newcastle Brown topped up with Jack Daniels at the Dragon Rally, but never a gin-based cocktail half-full of fruit and cucumber. Maybe it’s a summer thing?

Wake the Lakes

3 48

Held at the beginning of July, and coinciding with just about perfect rally weather – sunny with a cool breeze taking the edge off the heat – Wake The Lakes’ forecast was in contrast to the usual Lake District weather of driving rain and mist, which brought more than 300 people and over 170 bikes out to enjoy some of the best riding roads in the country: from the lanes and passes of Cumbria to the open moorland of Yorkshire. Attendees came from as far away as the south coast, with many Chapters represented including Oxford, 1066,

Hatters and Sherwood, plus a large Scottish contingent from Clyde Valley and Dunedin HOG Chapters adding to the party spirit. Red Rose Chapter Director, Gordon Dick, had been keen to promote this event as a base for touring in the area and there were two, well-attended ride-outs on the Saturday, and a Treasure Hunt for those wanting to head out by themselves. The daytime ride attracted over 80 bikes for the run up the twisty, hilly A6 over Shap Fell to Pooley

American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 19:18

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.BulldogBash25

Celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary this year, the Bulldog Bash demonstrated that there’s more than one way to throw a party, with an event that had more in common with the original event than in recent times.

bulldog 25 bash

Gone was the indoor stage area reminding me of the old Kent Custom Bike Show and early Bashes. Gone too the similarly huge erection that houses one the UK’s foremost custom shows, replaced by a smaller, white – and lighter and much more airy – marquee, which meant you could much more easily see the bikes on display in the Maxxis Tyres-sponsored custom show. Austerity measures in these hard times? No, just a different way of doing things, and yes, you could say that a number of elements felt smaller, but I welcomed the change: things need to evolve or else they stagnate. But perhaps the biggest things that the Bulldog’s 25th will be remembered for, based on recent years, is the lack of a major police presence outside the entrance, better weather allowing drag racing all weekend, and the biggest headline bands of any UK-bike show, with Bad Manners followed by Status Quo doing what they do best on the Friday night – playing good time party music in front of a live audience, you cynic – and The Damned topping the bill on Saturday.

On top of that, there was a busy traders area that stayed dry, and fairly clear skies for the Freefall for Heroes – a mixed services parachute team – to drop out of, in a flagwaving tribute to Britain’s armed forces, and in gratitude to the Bulldog Bash’s organisers for their unstinting support in recent years. The joy of something as broad-based as the Bulldog Bash is that it’s different things to different people. You can spend your day on one of the grandstands watching the ‘run wot you brung’ racing interspersed by demonstration

American-V.co.uk

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03/10/2011 17:32

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.RainyDaze8

With no shortage of events to keep us busy on the weekend of 15-17th July: the Chop n Rod was calling from Surrey and the Rock and Bike Fest north of Leicester promised a new experience, but it was a local rally that promised the best, most appropriate photographs, and – to be fair – the best chance of getting a dry camera there and back.

Rainy Daze 2011 Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of merit in taking pictures of people hiding from the showers, grimacing from beneath gazebos, so we did the obvious thing and headed to the appropriately named Rainy Daze on Manchester’s south side, ’cos we haven’t been for a while and because with a good, brick-built sports club bar the weather could only do so much. Rainy City HDC, the organizers, are a former HOG chapter that fell through the net when Bauer Millett closed their Harley franchise and the then-new Manchester Harley-Davidson

decided to start again from scratch, so it was perhaps not surprising that the talk on-site was of the closure of Manchester, being the weekend after an e-mailshot has gone round offering closing down discounts, especially as Bauer’s former HOG chapter director, Chris MacDonald, who has maintained close ties to the club, was on site, reprising his alter-ego of Miss Manchester 1982. Chris still works for Bauer Millett, and no, they’re not looking at remaking Harley’s acquaintance.

American-V.co.uk

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29/09/2011 16:59

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.SofER2011

There is a tangible magnetic force that drags us south to Surrey in early August. It could be the venue – and I confess that I do love the Bisley site, which has a glorious sense of empire about it – but I think it’s more a case of the South of England Rally being one of the best adverts for HOG Membership that I can think of.

South of England Rally2011 You’ve got to be a HOG member to book one of the limited available tickets, but don’t imagine for a moment that such a restriction will make it a genteel weekend in the country, because it shows the diversity of the current HOG membership and their friends, and you’ll struggle to find a more sociable, accepting bunch anywhere. There is some accommodation available – including some new bunkhouses that I spotted for the first time this year, along with the now-famous Crawford Cabins and shooting lodges – but the overwhelming majority camp on well-maintained grass, usually clustered around a gazebo or two acting as the centre of operations for the many chapters that arrive together, with serious barbecue equipment on hand to feed the masses. And, to make life easier, they annex the same parts of the site every year to make sure that stragglers can find them easily – which is useful because it is a big site.

American-V.co.uk

AMV.48.SofER.indd 56

30/09/2011 17:24

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3/10/11 15:55:27

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.Americana2011

There’s no word that sums up all things American more consicely than Americana, and that’s precisely what you’ll find in the agricultural showground outside Newark on a long weekend in early July.

Americana2011 A massive celebration of all things automotive set against a backdrop of the music that represents America’s cultural contribution to the world, it’s a rose-tinted window on what has come to be known as the American Dream in the days when aspirations were high, jobs plentiful and confidence knew no bounds in a new and exciting world. And it’s an attitude that pervades across the site in spite of the realities of the 21st Century world beyond: all smiles and bonhomie, at any time of the day or night – and it’s a party that extends well into the small hours of the morning – and one that came through an unseasonal monsoon and hailstorm on its first night unscathed, without dampening any spirits. It’s hard to put into words without resorting to clichés, because it really is a family-friendly, fun weekend away regardless of what your tastes run to, as long as there is some empathy with at least one element of the American

american-v.co.uk

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.TheGathering

It’s always good to try something new, especially a new rally, and this year for us it was The Gathering, organised by the Clyde Valley HOG Chapter at a new location north of Glasgow. I always relish heading North on the motorway: going into Scotland feels as though you’re going abroad, and as soon as you pass the border at Gretna on the M6 its strong national identity seems to take over and you expect to see kilted pipers everywhere – and in the tourist places you often do.

TheGathering Saltires are aplenty on the cars around you and the cry of the wild haggis can be heard in the hills. So strong is this sense of identity that expats can’t seem to help but be even more Scottish. Even my own grandmother – born a McNair – walked around the Lancashire mill town she called home wearing a kilt, tam o’shanter and one of those little brooches made out of a ptarmigans foot on her blouse. And she was born in Montreal. So when you go to a Scottish bike rally you pretty much know how it’s going to be, and a rally called “The Gathering” couldn’t be anything but a Scottish rally. Clyde Valley HOG have been running their annual Harley event at Ayr Racecourse until now, but this year moved the event to Drimsynie at Lochgoilhead, on the edge of the Argyll forests. And what a location! Most of the chalet-style accommodation had a view across the sea loch, where seals and dolphins frolicked (allegedly – I completely failed to

see any) with the hills, still bright with bluebells, in the background. Okay, the road down to the site – a twisty, hilly, single track – was a challenge to newby riders and Sassenachs alike, but that was all part of the fun and I didn’t hear of any incidents on it. In fact the ride to the event was one of the attractions for me; even the M8 through Glasgow was interesting if congested, and the section along Loch Lomond and over the Rest and Be Thankful Pass worth the money. Someone in Clyde Valley chapter had been thinking ahead and signposted the last fuel stop before the HOG event, so the petrol station at Ardgarten did a lot of business on the Friday afternoon. A pity the petrol station weren’t also thinking ahead as they ran dry next morning … Accommodation at The Gathering was in the chalets and bungalows of the Drimsynie Estate, just a short walk from its restaurants and bars. There are more of these chalet-rallies

American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 18:56

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.SnowflakePan

PAN SNOWFLAKE’S

If you’ve seen this Panhead around you can’t have failed to have noticed it … unless you tripped over its almost constant companion, a PAv40 trailer. It’s owned by Rob, a career soldier for over twenty years and a member of the Harley Davidson Riders Club of Great Britain for about ﬁfteen: I’ll let him tell you his story.

68 American-V.co.uk

AMV.48.SNOWFLAKES.indd 68

29/09/2011 13:57

Classic: Snowflake’s Pan

I bought this bike from a guy in the East Coast Harley Club back in 2003. I had always wanted a Pan, which I believe to be the ultimate Harley engine, an icon and something I really wanted to own – especially having seen Easyrider so many times! I think I found the bike through word of mouth and bought it after speaking to the owner and seen some pictures, with the intention of picking it up from an East Coast Harley Rally somewhere in Norfolk and towing it back to a mate’s place to stay the night before coming back down to where I lived. There was just one problem: I lost my licence just after paying for the bike, so when I went up to buy it I couldn’t actually ride it myself and so it stayed at my mates house until I could get it dragged over to my folks’ place. There was another problem too. My wife didn’t know about it, and if she had she would probably have killed me. It was a bit rough back then, bloody hard to start and a pig to ride, and I wasn’t too sure if I had made the right decision … were they all like this? I finally managed to get it over to my close friend and Indie Harley man Rev, of Rev’s Hog Motorcycles in Upton-UponSevern in Worcestershire, just down from where my folks live, and he then spent the next year looking after it at his place, and doing occasional work on it when I could afford it, to get it up and running properly. By the time I got my licence back I was in the mood to tell the wife and add the Panhead to my stable of Harleys … well, actually just one other: an Evo hardtail chop. Then came along another problem: during my time off the road, our second son was »

American-V.co.uk

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www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.FalklandsXL

IRON Lady

Many of us here will vividly recall news that Argentinian forces had attacked Sovereign British soil, and once we realised that there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t South American gunboats off the Hebrides, we absorbed every scrap of news that followed. Dee was there and it inspired her to pay tribute to those she served alongside: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll let her tell the story. 74

American-V.co.uk

AMV.48.FALKLANDS.indd 74

29/09/2011 15:43

Custom: Dee’s XL

I came across “Maggie” in 2007 at Oxford Harley Dealership with barely more than a thousand miles on her from a previous owner, and I felt at home from the moment I sat on her. She started life as an XL1200C with reasonable custom paintwork, but most of us are never completely satisfied with our lot, chopping and changing until we arrive at the machine we really want to ride, and over the last four years and 30,000 miles some serious changes have been made. The first was more of an improvement to the handling. I hated the way she tended to dive into corners with a strange will of her own, so the tyres were switched to a set of Avon

Venoms, and with Progressive springs up front and shocks to match, curves were no longer an issue. Now we could make her quicker! She was already running a pair of Vance & Hines Short Shots, but more to announce her presence than to help the breathing. Fitting a less restricted air filter was the obvious solution, and with an upgraded ignition module raising the rev limiter to 6,800rpm, the increase in performance was dramatic. This sporty does fly! Best think about stopping, then. It’s not that modern Harley brakes aren’t good, but they can’t compete with this six pot billet caliper from Pretech, gripping a 13-inch floating disc: that’s as much stopping power as you’d want to put through a skinny 21-inch front wheel, even with a grippy tyre, but it also provides more feel at the front end which keeps me out of trouble. And then, of course, there was some simple tidying up: I relocated the front indicators with some fixings from J&P Cycles – I always thought the clamps you see on eBay were a little expensive with cheap chrome, and the relocation fixings from Harley with their 4-inch stalks look ridiculous in my opinion. A pair of chrome fork legs resolved the usual issue when the lacquer starts to lift from the lowers, a Le Pera saddle brought the seat height down sitting me more ‘in’ the bike that ‘on’ it, and a set of aftermarket forward controls replaced the stock Harley items that I wasn’t keen on – a bigger problem than you’d expect, as few companies produce them for the first of the rubber-mounted, last of the carburetted Sportsters. I also got the front wheel relaced with twisted stainless spokes – the back being a slotted disc, of course – and not just because they look stunning whether stationary or moving, catching the sun spectacularly. Have you ever thought about cleaning standard spokes, or chrome ones for that matter? »

American-V.co.uk

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29/09/2011 15:43

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/48.UltraLimited

Harley-Davidson

Ultra Limited

American-V.co.uk

AMV.48.ULTRA.indd 78

29/09/2011 16:02

Roadtest: Electra Glide Ultra Limited

Having spent so long extolling the functional virtues of Victory’s Vision 8-Ball in these pages over the last few issues, and having so far failed to take up the offer of a Road Glide to test out the theory of frame versus handlebarmounted fairings, we have managed to reacquaint ourselves with Harley’s sub-CVO flagship tourer.

It’s overdue, to be fair, as apart from a brief encounter with Oxford Harley-Davidson’s demonstrator when it was announced as a new model for 2010, we’ve not managed to swing a leg across one. Back then it was the first non-CVO model to be given the 103-inch motor, and came with CVO-style instruments, a two-tone paint scheme that caught the light beautifully once outside the showroom and it had liners for its luggage, but was otherwise an Ultra with a couple of extra badges announcing its ‘Limited’ status. The increased power capitalised on the frame improvements of 2009, and we half-expected that it would be a one-year wonder, passing the baton back to the Ultra Classic that ran alongside it. In the event, it was the Ultra Classic that was withdrawn from the 2011 model range and Harley reintroduced the Electra Glide Classic, simplistically summed up as an Ultra without the rear speakers and controls for the pillion (the 2011 catalogue showing them was wrong) as a cheaper dresser to fill the gap between the Limited and the Street Glide; and the whole Touring range got the 103-inch engine. Just to bring us up to date, for 2012 we’re getting the royal flush of the Limited, Ultra and the Classic separated by levels of trim and colour options, because the running gear is identical and the differences in their weight are negligible. Oh, and then there’s the CVO 110-inch Ultra, of course, and the Street Glide and the CVO Street Glide. And the CVO Road Glide and the Road King Classic. There are more baggers, in fact, than any other model range – including Sportsters. Do you think they’re trying to tell us something? The Limited allowed Harley’s full dresser under full sail to break through the £20k barrier looking more like a less expensive – albeit less exclusive – alternative to the top of the shop CVO for those who wanted a bit more bling but didn’t need the full 110-inch motor, and it sits well in the range. More importantly for 2011, it got the upgrade to the swing-arm mounts which stiffens the frame up noticeably – certainly if you ride 2010 and 2011 Touring models back to back, as we did with Road King Classics a few issues ago – making it the most »

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29/09/2011 16:02

Harley-Davidson dealer network.indd 83

14 13

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

Plymouth Harley Davidson

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

Oxford Harley Davidson

120 Ber Street, Norwich NR1 3ES T: 0845 475 5648 www.norwichharleydavidson.co.uk

Norwich Harley Davidson

Elliot House, Silverlink, Wallsend Newcastle Upon Tyne NE28 9ND T: 0191 2369315 F: 0191 2638604 www.newcastleharleydavidson.com

Newcastle Harley Davidson

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

Lincoln Harley Davidson

Lakeside Estate, Heron Way, West Thurrock, Essex RM20 3WJ T: 01708 805005 F: 01708 805006 Efax: 0845 280 2011 Mob: 07775 022753 www.lakesideharley-davidson.co.uk

Lakeside Harley Davidson

Weyvern Park, Portsmouth Road, Peasmarsh, Guildford, GU3 1NA T: 0845 474 0384 www.guildfordharleydavidson.co.uk

Guildford Harley Davidson

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

Cheltenham Harley Davidson

Black Bear Lane, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 OJT T: 01638 664455 F: 01638 660 772 www.blackbear.co.uk

Black Bear Harley Davidson

03/10/2011 14:56

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

Waterford Harley Davidson

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

Warr’s Harley Davidson

611 Kings Road, London, SW6 2EL Tel: 0207 736 2934 www.warrs.com

Warr’s Harley Davidson

North Street, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9RN T: 01572 823 296 F: 01572 821 299 www.sycamorehd.co.uk

Sycamore Harley Davidson

37-43 Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton WV3 0UF T: 01902 371600 www.harley-davidson-bikes.html

Stratstone Harley Davidson

Waterlinks Motor Village Lichfield Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 5RQ T: 0121 335 7043 www.hdbirmingham.co.uk

Stratstone Harley Davidson

Holmes Hill, Nr Lewes, East Sussex BN8 6JA www.shawharley-davidson.co.uk T: 01825 872003

Shaw Harley Davidson

216 Queens Road, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 2 DB T: 0115 811 4220 www.robinhoodharleydavidson.co.uk

Robin Hood Harley Davidson

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

Preston Harley Davidson

Harley-Davidson Dealer Network

Project

Road

King 84

There have been many improvements to the Touring chassis over the last couple of years, and the remedial work required by my own bent tube and gusset plate Road King goes a long way towards selling the new design to me, but there’s a few ways to make a tired and wayward FLHR track true and once you’ve sorted out bearings, bushes and tyres, you can start to benefit from advances in technology. Of course, if you’ve followed this from the start, you’ll know that the bike we started with was running an ancient pair of Progressive rear shocks, so it will come as no surprise to find that we’re going to put a pair of Progressive Suspension’s 940-series Touring shocks through their paces to see how much better they work. And it’s not just a matter of them being a simple update, because the 940s have got a few clever tricks of their own: they sit an inch lower than the originals both on the road and when parked, but still retain their full suspension travel. Clever, functional and cool: what’s not to like? What you might have missed, however, is that the original forks were tired when I got the bike, have never sealed properly, and should have been sorted out years ago. If only it were that simple. Over the years, Harley have played around with their Touring forks, using a range of damping mediums and springs, and even mixing and matching them on the same bike, and apart from knowing that there was a valve connected to the forklegs, I didn’t have a clue what was in them and just trusted the back end to keep things happy. Which worked better than you’d expect, and for many miles. And then, in the same press release as the 940-Series shocks, Progressive announced their Monotube fork kit: a complete cartridge fork damping mechanism that drops into an FL fork, replacing all the fork internals in one hit and coming with a lifetime guarantee. There was a question mark hanging over whether this bike was supported, but then there’s long been a question mark hanging over it, produced between Harley relocating the oil tank to beneath the transmission in 1993 and the next set of frame improvements in ’97, but MAG Europe – the European distributors for Progressive Suspension and a host of other leading US brands – pulled out a set for a 1984-96 FLH, which will slot right in (31-2509): it’s always worth asking the question.

American-V.co.uk

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03/10/2011 10:26

Project: Victory Vegas Stripper

the Vegas

Stripper

With ‘taking care of business’ occupying all spare time recently, the Vegas has all-but stalled, and there’s more chance of a cover-mounted Switchback than our making our deadline of Rosmalen. But ... It is back home with us and that gives us chance to go through a few bits and pieces before we throw it in a van and take it down to join the sidecar that it’s never seen down at Rocket Bobs in deepest Oxfordshire. That will allow us to get the line of the sidecar’s bodywork spot-on, because that’s got to be perfect, and any remedial work done before it goes off to 8-Ball in Ripley, who are patiently waiting with a cut-down rear mudguard – Andy Malham needed the tank for electrical stuff – and an airbrush primed, loaded and ready to go. Andy and the crew at Thundercity in Leeds have done all the testing with the Motogadget m-unit and ‘our’ switchgear, and pronounced it good, but they’ve run out of spare time for the moment, covering the servicing work from Leeds Harley-Davidson. The switches have now all got the right resistors to allow the in-built LEDs to light up as warning lamps, and the switches do everything they need to do, but we couldn’t take that any further without dealing with the new sweeping handlebars, and we can’t do that until we’ve worked out what we’re doing with the forks, because this is where it gets complicated. The original solo was going to have a cleaned-up pair of the original Vegas forks, because they’re good, functional and there was absolutely no reason to change them. Now that it’s going to have a bit on the side,

the requirement has changed, and while telescopic forks will handle a sidecar role, there are much better solutions. On a motorcycle, the forks have only got to cope with steering and suspension, with a relatively simple job to keep it all lined up. On an outfit, the forks have still got to absorb the bumps and steer the rig but there are serious side-loadings when cornering that a solo motorcycle doesn’t need to cope with. And you really want an anti-dive setup on the front end. You learn a huge amount about steering geometry with a sidecar, not least the impact of twice the weight of men and machine compressing the forks, and just how much tighter the fork angle gets when the forks are fully compressed, giving you twitchy GP-class geometry just at the point where you want lazy steering and a predictable amount of trail. The classic solution is a set of leading links, which are usually as ugly as sin because the function is everything and the lack of form, forgivable. But there has got to be a better solution, and while we’re being creative it’s got to work with air. The best anti-dive systems are mechanical: you can forget all your clever systems for shutting down the damper ports to restrict flow, controlled by the hydraulic pressure in the brake calipers. Yes, that works, but it’s hideously complicated and is nothing like as effective as using the torque of the brake

itself to counter the tendency of the bike to dip its head. That’s how leading links - and indeed Springers work. If you’ve ever wondered why Harley put a much lesser brake on their Springer forked models, look no further: they are anti-dive and grabbing a handful of front brake doesn’t give you the same feedback as it would with telescopics. They don’t dip; you think you’re not braking hard enough and grab a bigger handful: not a good idea with a skinny 21-inch front wheel. The solution is to fit a brake that will struggle to lock the wheel on sheet ice, forcing riders to get used to using the rear brake, or the aftermarket route, which is to fit a billet front brake caliper with much more feedback than the bog-standard cast single-pot doorstop can deliver. There’s something else about Springers though: you really don’t want too much force being applied by the torque arm to the rear leg, because they weren’t designed for those levels of stress, so we won’t be using Springers. The fact that Springers will be forever associated with Harley-Davidson, and this is a Victory might have something to do with it too, but we’re nothing if not pragmatic. So, we’re getting creative, and the finished result will probably owe more to the Confederate Wraith’s girders than the Springers of a Cross-bones: they dip but it doesn’t affect the steering geometry, giving you good control with smooth suspension ... and can be controlled by an air shock: and if I can use the braking force to stiffen the shock a little, then so much the better. There will be some midnight oil burned on this, but the result will be stunning, and will look like a nineteen fifties solution that has been forgotten about for half a decade. And there’s possible good news on the air suspension front: a reader who is in the industry got in touch, and says it can all be done ... we’ve just got to work out what needs to be done, and once he’s cleared it, we can go public with that plan. Words and pics: Andy Hornsby

American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 19:42

Tech: Hybrid Harley

Hybrid Harley Blowing gas

It’s a lifetime ago since we first mentioned this, and we fitted a portable kit to the Vegas just before it came off the road to head to Leeds, but now Svein Hrafnsson from Thor Energy Zolutions has been over to fit his new brushed stainless kit onto the Shovel. A Shovelhead? Are we mad? If I fitted my Aerocharger Turbo to the Shovel, that would qualify as certifiable because it’s not the right sort of engine, but in terms of the hydrogen conversion, it could hardly be better. The results of the Victory were inconclusive because I ran out of time, and to be honest I wasn’t entirely sure what I should be looking for or expecting. There is so much rubbish on-line about the great claims made for hydrogen – and usually on the sort of websites that would have Disney’s lawyers reaching for their phone should I attempt to associate them with a famous rodent – that the message gets lost in the melee. From the top, you can run an internal combustion engine on pretty much anything that can be burnt, forcing air to expand massively and quickly to drive a piston down, and a crank to spin – and we’ve heard plausible stories about a university known for its engineering prowess and a bike modification company working together to establish a BS for the distribution and storage of hydrogen as a fuel, but this isn’t that. This is the use of hydrogen as an additive to the good old fashioned air that will be drawn in via your air filter, not so much to burn as to bond with the fuel molecules to give them, better burn characteristics. We won’t be switching off the fuel tap and running on a cocktail of air and Browns Gas, but what we will be doing will be measuring anything and everything that we can to put some meat on the bones of the claims made. So, we’ve got a 70,000 mile Shovelhead that’s a sweet-running bike, and will be all the sweeter now that I’ve isolated the primary chaincase from the oil system – the clutch was drowning thanks to a blocked scavenge, and having fixed it, it made more sense to keep it separate than to continue pumping oil tainted by fibrous dust from the clutch plates round the engine. It has already had the sensible stuff done, known to improve a classic Hemi – twin plug heads, Hi-4 and Dyna coils and a Mikuni HS40 carb, a copy of an S&S filter with dodgy chrome and free-breathing pipes – and it’s about to get a new MoT ... with a difference. We’ve run the motor up with hydrogen, but it hasn’t done any road miles with it running, and we’re leaving it switched off until the MoT, because we’re going to do a proper car

MoT emissions test on it. Hemis of old were never considered the cleanest of engines, and while the twin plug flame front should reduce the unburned fuel emissions, it will be interesting to know just how clean – or otherwise – the Shovel is when in normal running mode. Then I’ll put a couple of hundred miles on it and return to the same MoT station, and run the emissions test again, to make sure we’ve got a good baseline, before switching the hydrogen on and putting another 500 miles on it before testing it again. Oh, and we’re going to test the emissions of a current model, with its closed loop injection, and completely unmodified. Throughout the process, I will be logging all fuel stops and mileages – fitted with the smaller 3½ US gallon fat bob tanks, there will be a few refills to work with, and while it won’t be as scientific as bolting it to a rig and racking up thousands of miles, we’re interested in real world numbers and this should give them.

What we will do, is use the same fuel station throughout, and chosen not for being a known source of excellent fuel, but a supermarket because it’s nearer, and because that’s where most of us fill up. And finally, once we’ve worked all that out, we just might do some performance testing on a local Dyno, but in all honesty that’s not my main reason for wanting to try the Hydrogen: if I wanted more power, I’d fit the S&S 93-inch stroker kit. What I want is the best running, most economical and cleanest Shovel I can get. I don’t suppose for a moment that we’ll get within 10% of a new, modern engine but who knows? And while we’re at it, we’ll try the Frost EthoMix as a second series of tests to see how much difference we can get, compensating for the increasing percentages of biofuels coming out of normal fuel pumps. It’s just like being back in school ... pass me the bunsen burner, and tune in next issue! Words and pics: Andy Hornsby

American-V.co.uk

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30/09/2011 19:42

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/LTT.FatBoy

After a brief exchange on our Facebook page, I determined it would be expedient to forego the long haul comfort and weatherproofing on the bike that has taken the brunt of the big mileages this year, and head to the Riders’ Club’s International Rally on a product of The Motor Company: our long term Fat Boy.

The Wrong Trousers* In doing so, I was to remind myself just how good a bagger is, what wet means, and just how little it matters once you’ve come to terms with it. Hands up those who think waterproof means just that? Thought not. My journey took a roundabout journey via a meeting in Lincolnshire, at which I arrived late, soaked and with a deep and abiding hatred of the town of Melton Mowbray – despite a love of pork pies. In truth, it wasn’t Melton’s fault: it played no part in my absolute faith in my FXRG textile jacket and textile/leather trousers, or my failure to stop at the warehouse to pick up the FXRG Goretex over-jacket and pants. Or to refit the screen, that had been removed because I don’t like them for daily use. Or to pick up my trusty foul-weather Vemar flip helmet. Idiot. Similarly, Melton couldn’t possibly have known that I’d spent so long in the saddle of a near waterproof motorcycle that I’d got out of the habit of checking weather forecasts – the consequence of which dawned

American-V.co.uk

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29/09/2011 16:23

www.american-v.co.uk/pics/LTT.Vision8Ball

When Victoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget-line black-as-black 8-Ball ethos carried over to their top-of-theline retro-futuristic super-tourer, I thought it strange at first but then realised it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t such a bad idea: after all there would be plenty of scope to add extras afterwards, once an owner has ridden the bike long enough to know what else they really wanted to add to their own particular Vision.

Victory Vision 8-Ball

Long Term 90

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29/09/2011 16:36

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TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL Since 2003 we’ve been supplying industry-leading aftermarket parts and accessories to distributors and dealers across Europe. As part of the Motorsport Aftermarket Group, our family of companies includes some of the world’s top brands, all proven to transform your ride. At our website you have details of our killer brands at your �ngertips, along with an e-catalogue section and a dealer locator to quickly �nd your killer brands dealer.

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MAG Europe Ltd Unit 2 Oakden Drive, Denton, Manchester, M34 2QN, UK Office: +44 (0)161 337 4390 Fax: +44 (0)161 337 4395 Email: sales@mageurope.eu Web: www.mageurope.eu facebook.com/mageurope

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WHEN YOU REALLY NEED IT

FURTHER INFORMATION... WWW.CUSTOM-CHROME-EUROPE.COM

Phone: +49 (0) 671 - 8 88 88 - 0

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info@customchrome.de

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