Here are a few photos of the completed 74. If only she'd start now.....







Let me know what you think......

 

Absolutely Beautiful! You have built a fine looking machine. The drag bars and the custom solo seat really speak Sportster.
It is a really bad a$$ looking machine and you should be proud of the results of your building efforts.
The paintwork gives the bike a real Sportster look. You will notice the crowd it will draw when you pull up on it and park among a sea of Twin-Cams and other store bought modern machinery. Great job Gino................pg

 

sweetness. i really like the look, and i especially like the headlight/drag bars..

one thing im wondering about is the rigid strut bars instead of the springs.. i thought the purpose of doing that or a hardtail would be for the looks of a low rear end.. at the cost of comfort/handling..

with the legnth of yours it seems as tho the bike is at stock height, but with the rigid struts, your gonna feel it..

so really, im wondering why you dont just use stock springs..

 

i'll just jump in here for the Butcher.
Yes, the struts are the same length as the shocks were. The reason (to me anyway) is to keep the bike level. Yes, he could have put shorter struts on it, but it would have dropped the rear end.
So, to counter act that you would have to cut a like amount off the fork tubes, or practically speaking, buy some shorter tubes to level out the machine.
When someone decides to put a long front end on the bike, the main reason for raking the frame neck is to keep things level. As a side note....running with your engine elevated in front is not a wise thing to do. It is my belief that the front piston tends to run a little dry on the skirt due to the elevation. Better to keep things level.........pg

 

I like it! Lots of nice details. You might wish for a little more padding on the seat, though - especially with struts. Hope you get it running soon.

 

so why not keep the springs if not making it lower? is it mimicing the way older bikes would have been styled? weight savings? im just wondering if its for performance or looks?

I love the pipes too! are they just the stockies with the muffler portion removed? thats something i was tossing around with mine.

 

69sport.....
As for the struts on the rear rather than the shocks, it just makes the bike leaner looking and draws attention. See, it got yours.
No performance increase is involved, but they are a little lighter because they are made of aluminum hex stock.
Anyway the struts can be removed easily and the shocks put back on. The old bikes did not have struts, but it was a custom item back then that some guys did. In fact I did it myself many years ago.
The pipes are standard without the mufflers. I can say that because I used to own those pipes. I gave them to Butcher and he wrapped them and it improves the look greatly.
Now to be honest, the shortened pipes are going to cost some performance. 40 inch drag pipes will give the machine some boost, but hey, everything is a trade off. I too think the short pipes look great on the machine.......pg

 

One bad thing about struts and Sporty frames - the frame bends at the top where the struts mount. Every stinkin' Sporty I had or worked on that ran struts had the frame ears bent. I gave up on the struts and copped a set of FX shocks as they were a bit shorter than the XL shocks.

 

A few words.....

I know there was questions about the struts, so I'll give my reasoning and you all can be the judge(s)....not that it will change my mind, but to each their own, right?
Anyhow,this basket, as many of you here know, has been a labor of love and hate for a year and a half. I never involved myself, until this bike, to build or work on anything older than an Evolution Sporty or BT. I turned to this forum in hopes of help and have developed not only great work relationships, but great friends, as well (you can see that by the way piniongear jumps in to expain my build decisions in my absence from the forums! - thanks piniongear).....

As for the pipes....I think the reduced power is unavoidable with shorter pipes, but on the other side of that coin, I think that for as little power as I may sacrifice, the look of the shorter pipes with the heat wrap and welded end caps looks absolutely sick on this ride.

The rigid struts........these seem to be raising a great amount of questions and concerns. My reasons are many so bare with me.
1. This bike was built in memory of my late father in law, a biker, a friend and an all around cool cat. He came from an era, like many of you fellas here, that was a time period far before the modern machinery and fabricating technology we have today that can produce things like a weld/bolt on hartail frame sections on big assembly lines. As an alternative to a different rear end, some guys would bolt on rigid struts....not the greatest in comfort, not to slam the bike, not to do anything accept be different...be a little harder-core. I figure, since this bike was dedicated to my father in law who was part of that "rebel" era, I needed to do it.
2. Appearance is much sleeker with the struts rather than the springs or baby bottle shocks on the rear, especially since I am not running a fat bob tank nor do I have a front fender to add any type of "meatiness" to the front end.
3. ...And this is my best reason of all.....I thoughts that it was just one other thing to add to my personal reputation for being the guy who does sh** just to get a reaction out of folks. I love the fact that when someone looks at this bike with those struts and says "what the hell did you do that for" I can look back and say...."well, I guess cause I can". All in all, I think they are pretty cool.


P.S. - pococj....I know these may bend the ears, but I figure....hey, if they do, I guess that just means I have to get that Paughco or FlyriteChoppers rigid I've had my eye on...then of course you know I'll have to put on a springer front end, too!
See fellas, there's always a method to my madness..........well, almost always.

 

hey man. no justification needed this way. i was just trying to get some clarification on the actual use of the struts.. ill say it agian. sweet ride.

can i get some more info on the pipes? maybe a closeup of the tips? ive been trowing around the idea of getting some wrap for mine. and ditching the mufflers.. actually i wanted to get another set so i have the stockies incase i want to go back to original..

couple of my main thoughts.. do you have baffels in them? did u rejet the carb? how long are the welded on tips? and most importantly.. how loud is that puppy? [sm=drooldude.gif]