Some people build custom bikes because they are cheaper than buying one. Others just want the I-built-that feeling as they look at it. Still others might want customization that they can’t get in an “off the shelf” model.

When someone decides to build a motorcycle, there are three paths to take depending on budget, mechanical skill, design aims, and past building experience. Those paths are custom bike kits, a rolling chassis, and building the whole thing from a collection of motorcycle parts.

Custom Bike Kits

The simplest choice for someone who has never built a bike before is to try one of the many custom bike kits out there. You get a box that has everything you need to build the bike from the ground up except the paint.

Kits are great for first-time builders. If you can follow instructions, you end up with a bike put together with your own hands. You don’t have to worry about picking the wrong parts or whether two pieces will work together. You will make mistakes along the way, but they will tend to be safe mistakes that won’t ruin the build.

The biggest downside is the cost. This is perhaps the most expensive way to build a custom bike. You are also limited as to how much customization you can do. Sure you can swap out the included parts with others of your choice, but that means throwing away pieces you’ve already paid for.

Rolling Chassis
A rolling chassis is a partially assembled bike that you can customize. It includes the frame, handlebars, wheels, gas tank, and other basic parts. You need to add an engine and a transmission then finish it off with custom pieces.

This is a good middle-of-the-road choice. A rolling chassis is cheaper than one of the kit bikes while keeping the advantage of pre-selected parts that work together. Since all you have is the underlying framework, you still have lots of customization options.

Building a bike from a rolling chassis requires more skill on your part, since you are going to have to choose the other parts yourself.

A variation on the rolling chassis is to take an existing bike, cut it down to the frame, thus producing your own chassis. A used bike will probably cost less than a rolling chassis and you will be removing the parts that have seen the most wear and tear such as the engine.

Building from Scratch

The ultimate in a custom bike is one that you select all the motorcycle parts yourself. The bike becomes a true expression of your personality because every nut and bolt was hand selected. Needless to say this build is beyond most first-timers and even most second-timers.

You can either go cheap, cannibalizing parts from junk bikes, or expensive, buying high end custom chopper parts. This is truly a blank canvas and the ultimate challenge for the bike builder.

There’s no doubt that the name Harley-Davidson carries a tradition that makes owning any kind of Harley a status symbol in itself. That anyone can customize their Harley-Davidson to ascend the ranks of mere legend and step into the realm of total unrivaled singularity makes the appeal even more enticing.

Going back 105 years, the name and reputation of Harley-Davidson has withstood the ravages of time, financial crisis, and competition. Outlasting their original peers, Indian and Excelsior, HD has outfitted racers, the military in the two great wars, state patrols, and the average citizen. No other motorcycle outfit has the tradition and history that surrounds the legend of the almighty HOG.

Though anyone can own their own Harley, the rebel image remains, and the meek still shy away from ownership. Who, really, doesn’t have a streak of rebelliousness hidden underneath the structured layers of civility? With one swift decision, secret rebels can evolve in all shapes and sizes and create their own custom Harley-Davidson and feed the animal that lurks within us all.
People who have never felt the freedom and power of a Harley nevertheless wear jackets, shirts and boots, tote pendants and key chains, don hats and gloves with the HD logo proudly etched into their wares. Why there are even golf balls with the world-famous bar and shield logo painted along with the Nike brand. Everyone wants to be a HOG member (Harley Owners Group) one way or another.

The novelty and legend just keeps getting better, too. With the truly amazing Harley-Davidson Museum now open in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, everyone can experience the thrill that riders have known for years.

One of the defining and creative elements for Harley owners is the honor of owning their own custom Harley-Davidson. Combine a matchless blend of frame and chassis, fork and pipes, fenders, tank, handlebars, linkage, wheels, engine, transmission and electrical components, and anything else you want on your custom Harley-Davidson. All parts: grips, pegs, kickstands, mirrors, pulleys, seats, shocks, tires, lights, blinkers; and accessories - the list is nearly endless - can be chosen to your delight, to your whim, to your inner rebel, making your custom Harley truly peerless.

Throw in your choice of clothing and the plain uniqueness of you, and your custom HOG will be a treasure for decades to come. Because the rep, build and reliability of the Harley are unparalleled, you can count on having something awesome. Owning your own unique blend of this incomparable motorcycle is to have something that will forever be yours alone. Get going and start building your very own custom Harley-Davidson!

Harley Davidson. The name means motorcycles. In business for over a hundred years, the company is universally acknowledged as the manufacturer of some of the world’s finest motorcycles, and justly so.

Beginning in the mind of William Harley and the backyard of his friend, Arthur Davidson, the pair created a ‘motorized bicycle’ that has evolved into the standard for fine two-wheeled transportation.

Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, their first bike didn’t even have enough power to make it up the small hills of the town without pedal assistance. The pair were undaunted. Within a few years they were producing vehicles for the military fighting WWI and it’s been the standard for military and police bikes ever since.

From 50 motorcycles produced at the original factory in 1906, the company has grown to produce millions that are sold around the world.

‘Harley’, ‘Choppers’, ‘Hogs’ and other nicknames became attached over the years. Choppers are bikes that have a front fork angle extended, moving the handlebars back. ‘Hogs’ came into being when live pigs were ridden around on the back seat after winning a race. But whatever you call them, Harley Davidson motorcycles – with the exception of a short-lived hiccup in the 1970s – have always been the gold standard of bikes.

Their large, powerful engines and distinctive pipe sounds make them recognizable before they even round the corner. Seeing one cements the impression that the viewer is watching greatness drive by.

They figure prominently in the major rallies, the Daytona in Florida in March, the Laconia in New Hampshire in June and the Sturgis in South Dakota in August. Thousands of Harley owners attend and there are inevitably a few dropped jaws at the sight of some of the customized versions.

The Harley Owners Group, H.O.G., founded in 1983, now has over 1,000 chapters with over a million members worldwide. Many don’t even own a bike. But the passion for this exemplar of motorcycle engineering is the same, even so. You don’t have to own a Rolls Royce to appreciate one as an example of excellence in motoring design.

Beyond the bikes themselves, there are co-branded jackets, helmets and hundreds more items carrying the Harley Davidson winged emblem recognized the world over. Though they contribute a modest percentage to the over $5 billion in annual revenue, the advertising is priceless. As if anyone needed to be told that Harley Davidson makes motorcycles!

There are thousands of Harley Davidson forums online – three times as many as there are for Yamaha. One of the few serious competitors for the crown of motorcycle design. BMW, Victory, Honda… many strive – some come close – but Harley Davidson remains the champion. A title they are unlikely to relinquish anytime soon.

After all, there’s only room for one at the summit of the tallest peak.

The rumor mill never seems to slow down when it comes to Harley-Davidson and its future bikes. I guess that kind of passion and curiosity is what drives the MoCo. The rumor of a factory Harley-Davidson trike making a comeback after more than three decades is true. The new Tri Glide Ultra Classic will be available at your local Harley dealer in limited numbers as a 2009 model. 

Let’s start with what the machine is and isn’t. It is a genuine Harley-Davidson covered by a full factory 2 year warrantee. It is manufactured by Harley in association with Lehman Trikes of South Dakota. It lists for $29,999 (in the US) and is available in the 48 contiguous US states and Canada. It is well engineered, looks good and is a blast to ride. It isn’t a warmed over Lehman trike. I don’t know why this project was internally nicknamed “Boomer” but it was, and now you know.

What’s involved in riding a trike verses a bike? Well, let’s just say that they are exactly the same only different. Quite different. Same throttle, clutch, shifter and brakes. But the handling is more like a car because trikes don’t lean, they steer around turns. So get used to pulling on one side of the handlebars and pushing on the other through the turns. And, thanks to all the extra weight out back, you’ll have to slip the clutch a bit more and give it a bit more throttle coming off a stop than with a bike. Plus you can keep your feet on the floorboards all the time, even at a full stop. And always remember that your machine is a lot wider than a bike, even a bagger, when going through narrow spaces. And just because you missed the pothole in the road with your front tire doesn’t mean you’ll miss it with your rear ones. And. . . well you get the idea. Trikes and bikes are simply different.

Out on the road the Tri Glide is impressive. I have ridden several old and new trikes over the years and feel this is the best of the breed. Superior handling, a healthy power train and top notch fit and finish – and this was on a pre-production model! The low and high speed handling is more neutral than I expect from a trike. I suspect the purpose-build frame and specific fork geometry and rear suspension has a lot to do with that. Once you get used to slipping the clutch slightly from a dead stop and push/pull steering on the handlebars, riding the Tri Glide is a blast. I predict these machines will sell out quickly with a waiting line once word is out on how much fun they are.  Anyone who has ridden a two-wheel motorcycle will quickly take to the Tri Glide and will be confidently cruising the highways and slicing through zig zag turns on back roads in no time.

In our discussions with Harley’s marketing and engineering staff we heard how the main goal for the Tri Glide was “to extend riding access” which we took to mean extending the riding season (trikes handle better in snow, ice and rain than bikes do) as well as making people more comfortable riding a stable three-wheeler than a less stable two-wheeler. The Harley staffers told us their target customers tend to be more experienced riders.  One of the senior people confided in us “A lot of people who try a Tri Glide for the first time are pleased and surprised with the ride.” After we put some miles on one we have to agree,

Unlike any other current model Harley-Davidson that I am aware of, the host portion of the new Tri Glides are built on a new assembly line in the York factory. It is then shipped to the Lehman factory in South Dakota to be finished. From there, the complete machines are shipped to Milwaukee where they are forwarded on to the dealer network. When we asked about the relationship between Lehman Trikes and Harley-Davidson we were told that Lehman is actively involved in the process, but the Harley Tri Glides are quite different than Lehman’s own Ultra-based trikes. While the Lehman version uses a modified stock Harley FL frame and one-piece rear body section, the Tri Glides use unique, purpose-built frames and separate rear body sections and fenders. Harley assured us the current association with Lehman is not based on a buy-out or a joint venture. Harley views Lehman as a supplier.

OK, so what else is unique or unusual about the Tri Glide? We have already touched on the specific-to-this-model frame with increased fork angle and less trail for better steering effort. It has an electronic hand control to activate the optional electric reverse motor. The front forks are longer than those on the two-wheel Ultras and have an external steering stabilizer for a more consistent ride.

The front wheel is a 16 inch hoop, the rears are 15 inchers. The wheels and brake rotors all match. Machines with this much weight need good brakes, and the front dual Brembos are up to the task.  The 103 cubic inch engine mated with a heavy duty police-style clutch offers sufficient power to get down the road quite smartly. The Tri Glide has a unique transmission case and rear mounts are also different from the stock Harley Ultra two-wheel version. There is a standard oil cooler to help keep engine temperatures down, and the new for 2009 mufflers compliment the modified header pipes.

              

The Tour Pak is rated for up to 30 pounds of cargo, and the trunk, featuring hidden hinges and a lockable latch, can handle an additional 50 pounds in 4.3 cubic feet. We like the rear fenders are separate from the trunk and attached to it. Typically the trunk and rear fenders on most trikes are built as one unit making repairs or replacement quite expensive. 

Apparently Harley management had been considering the possibility of adding a trike to the line-up for some time but there were many issues to deal with. These included safety concerns, marketing options, and manufacturing challenges. When we asked about the stability of a Tri Glide in various real world riding conditions, one of the Harley engineers responded by saying they designed it with several goals in mind. “We wanted it to slip” he said, “before it would tip.”

2 critical measures the trike had to pass were the lane change maneuver at highway speeds, and the steady state turn (in tight circles at increasing speeds). The trike accomplished both with room to spare. Harley management ok’d the project when they realized the Ultra-based Tri Glide can go faster and corner harder than a stock Harley Ultra motorcycle “so we felt a comfort zone there.”

All the 2009 Tri Glides will be based on Ultra Classics. But Harley isn’t saying whether this might change in the future to expand across other models using V-Rods, Dynas or Sportsters as the base. However, given the fact that Harley considers the Tri Glide a new separate model platform, I’d bet there are more variations in the works. Personally, I’d like to see a water-cooled V-Rod powered trike.

Harley is planning on building only 2500 Tri Glides for 2009 in three color options – Vivid Black, Dark Blue Pearl or Red Hot Sunglo, and plans are for them to be available in Harley dealerships in August 2008. MSRP is $29,999, which is significantly less than a similar Lehman Harley Ultra, and the Tri Glide comes with a 2-year factory warrantee. Want one? Better get your name and deposit to your dealer ASAP. They are going to go fast.

Interested in learning more about Harley motorcycles, from Sportsters to Softails and touring FL motorcycles? Check out motorcycle bulletin board and Harley forum www.aimag.com, run by American Iron Magazine, where this article was first published.

Motorcycle gloves, gear and apparel seem like just accessories, not much of a necessity, especially something as minute as motorcycle gloves. Truth be told, motorcycle gloves can be very useful, here’s why.

Reason #1 — No Motorcycle Gloves Equals Wet Palms

Motorcycle gloves seem like a useless accessory, maybe just to look cool, but motorcycle gloves really do serve a purpose. Motorcycle gloves prevent your palms from sweating all over the grips of your handlebars. While they may not prevent them from sweating inside the motorcycle gloves, at least they give you a better grip.

Consider this, you are driving down the highway at 60 or 70 miles per hour and your palms are sweaty and you are not wearing motorcycle gloves, you decide to change lanes. You tighten the hold on the grips and move to adjust your handlebars in the direction of the move. Suddenly, you find your hands slipping off the grips causing you to go careening either into the median and heading into oncoming traffic, or into a ditch. Either way, the simple decision not to wear motorcycle gloves that day, could cost you your life along with the possibility of taking others with you.

Reason #2 — No Motorcycle Gloves means Hand Injuries

From the time a person is very small, the first instinct when falling is to put the hands out in front to brace the fall. It doesn’t change as we get older. When you watch someone falling, even if they are falling backward their hands flail in front of them. When you ride a motorcycle, this doesn’t change. When you see a fall coming, your hands go out in front of you, trying to brace yourself for the fall. Without motorcycle gloves, your hands could get broken, bruised bloodied and even severed from the wrists, depending on how bad the accident it.

For your hands, protect them with motorcycle gloves. Without motorcycle gloves, you could bruise your hands badly or worse making it difficult to ride again. motorcycle gloves seems like a simple solution right from the start.

Reason #3 — No Motorcycle Gloves means Numb Fingers

Anyone who has had cold fingers and tries typing on a computer or doing something with the hands that needs great dexterity knows how hard it is to type or grip something when the hands are cold. This same concept applies to motorcycles. Motorcycle gloves can keep the hands and fingers warm. This seems so obvious, but many people don’t understand the importance of warm hands when your at the controls of such a heavy piece of machinery.

Loss of control of a heavy piece of equipment can mean loss of life. Motorcycle gloves can mean the difference between thinking you hit the cruise control and then quickly slowing in front of a car coming at 70 miles per hour. It can mean not putting on the brakes fast enough because without the motorcycle gloves you can’t feel the amount of pressure on the hand controls. Cold hands mean numb fingers, and numb fingers means an accident waiting to happen. Motorcycle gloves aren’t just to look cool.