To make the most bada**, kick-a**, daily-commuter, weekend-trip, multi-function bike I could build for my own use. I absolutely love commuting/daily-riding my bike, so I knew coming into this build that I needed to make sure my scoot could take on upper midwest roads on the daily. Cosmetically, I’d always loved the look of the Softail; growing up in the upper midwest in the late 90s/early 00s, all I saw were chromed out softails/RKs during the summer time. Always loved those bikes, everything about them. that being said, they were typically ridden by older dudes, which is fine, but I’m a younger cat, (30’s), so my goal was to do up a softail, in a classic “upper midwest” style, but black it out, for a more modern look. Performance was also vital to my vision for this build, and I upgraded the motor, suspension, air cleaner, did a 2-into-1 pipe, and some other neat mods to make my build a bona fide performance build.
My passion for Harleys. I’ve always loved them, always will. I grew up in the late 90s/early 00s, when the H-D “dark custom” look was just coming into style, and the “stretched-out/SoCal” “chopper-style” builds were making a hasty exit from motorcycle trends. I grew up on a twin-cam softail that came (what I call) partially blacked-out from the factory, the Night train, and I always loved that bike. When I came across the Slim, I knew it was a completely different bike, but still within the “blacked-out” factory custom theme that H-D had been cranking out. After owning the bike for a few years, I decided to take the “plunge,” make the investment, and build the bike I’d been dreaming about.
Put an “M” sticker on it. (sarcasm)
How well everything came together. When you to the aftermarket, things can go sideways very, very quickly. I researched all the parts I added to the bike meticulously, to circumvent any issues with fitment/performance that could potentially arise in the future. So far so good.
I had a guy at the Costco gas station tell me that he’s not really into bikes, but that my bike is really freaking cool and that he liked it. Thanks I guess?
I had a guy compliment me on my choice of swingarm bag. Said it flows with the look of my bike. Thanks again, that was definitely one of the harder choices to make on my ride.
I’m being a jerk, but for real the feedback has been good. A lot of the techs at my dealership like the look of the my ape hanger handlebars on the bike, and a lot of the sales guys like the bada** “blacked-out” look I went with.
The best compliment I got was earlier this year, I was stopped at a forest preserve to stretch my legs, and I was walking away from my bike to the trailhead, and this super cute girl walking her dog comes toward me and gives me a gigantic smile, followed by, “that’s a really bada** bike ya got there!” which immediately made me realize that my investment was worth it. She was a sweet girl and we had a great conversation. It’s always nice when your bike helps you make friends.
Isn’t half of why we do what do for the ladies…??
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2 Comments
Nice job! I like the performance upgrades as well as the custom look. It looks there Bad Ass you wanted it to be. Have many safe and wonderful memories.
Nice job! I particularly like the performance upgrades combined with the custom look. It looks the part you wanted it to be.