Originally Posted by Ergonight

Some observations from the first 20 miles:

1) Everything works perfectly. It starts immediately and runs smoothly. All the lights and switches work. It tracks straight with no wobbles and handles great. There were no annoying rattles or unknown noises. Everything seems good and tight.

2) It's low. Much lower than stock. You really get the idea in this picture.


It's probably an inch or two lower than stock. I'm surprised it dropped that low... we only raked it 4 degrees and chopped the rear shocks to 10 and 3/4 inches from the stock 11", but it is not a problem. I'm lovin it. The only issue is the front part of the kickstand mounting bracket that's welded to the frame does grind on hard left turns. No biggie. I'll grind that down a bit more (it does seem to hang down quite a bit more than necessary) and paint it. I didn't touch anything on right turns. But it's early yet...

3) It runs great. It's fast. Noticably faster than it was with the screaming eagle slip ons. Smooth acceleration and lots of torque. No doubt from the 2 into 1 exhaust. As I said earlier there was some decel popping at first but that mostly went away during the ride.

4) And speaking of the exhaust, the V&H Blackout 2 -1 sounds awesome. Very nice low rumble and loud, but not obnoxiously so. Crank on it and it blasts low and deep, but normal riding it just rumbles along. And because the pipe exits near the back of the rear tire, most of the noise is behind you so riding is a pleasure. No ear plugs required. I am very pleased with it.

5) The fat front tire is definitely less nimble than the narrower 19". But not in any way that's annoying or dangerous or bad. I like how it handles. It cruises down the highway beautifully and seems much more comfortable riding than the stock configuration. It tracks beautifully and turns easily. You just don't dive it into a corner the same way as the stocker, and the slower you go the more you feel that fat front end. It feels heavier but you get used to it quickly. At speed there is very little difference from stock.

6) The Mother Road Customs seat coupled with the 10 3/4" RK air shocks (zero psi) is a very comfortable combination. On the 20 mile run yesterday I didn't notice any discomfort or harshness in the ride. I did hit a couple of big pot holes and it slammed pretty hard but my *** and back didn't complain. I don't know, maybe I was too happy to notice, but I felt like I could ride for hours without a problem.

7) The small switches work flawlessly. Because they are small they are not as easy to activate on the move as the big bulky ugly HD monsters but I didn't have any problem. In reality, it's just the 2 turn signals (I don't use the horn and the starter button is easy enough when sitting still) and I am sure that with a few more miles riding it the postion of the switches will become ingrained and I won't even think about it.

8) The brakes work great. They squealed quite a bit at first but now that they've been scrubbed by the pads the noise is gone. As you can see in the above pic they've worn off the black coating where the pads rub. Not unexpected and as far as I'm concerned they still look good with the black center.

9) The small bar end mirror is perfectly functional. You don't have a panoramic rear view but it's easy to pick up and see what you need to see.


I don't remember which pics I posted yesterday and which ones I didn't so I'll just put up a few more at random.




There will be a lot more in the days ahead.

Originally Posted by Ergonight

Thanks for all your support bmx. I am still hoping to get down your way one of these days and tip a few beers while admiring our bikes.

Originally Posted by Reindeer

I just found this thread and skimmed through the whole thing. Very impressive!!

I especially like the fact that even with all the changes you made you kept it recognizable as a Nightster. I'd love to see a photo of it parked next to a stock one.

Originally Posted by Mozvader

Wow man. The more I look at it the more I like it.
You really outdid yourself. There are so many subtle changes that its hard to take everything in at once.

Originally Posted by 10_Crossbones

Wow amazing bike. You did awesome on the write up and I see some trophies comin your way Brother. Nice and clean

Originally Posted by bmxatv

that's the only thing left to do!

Originally Posted by rottnutz

Ergo, congratz on a fine build, or rebuild of your Nightster. 103 pages as of this morning! It felt like I was watching one of those shows.

Man, so very clean and I had a chance to learn a few things. Thanks for documenting the whole process. I know you're not done with the write-up but it will surely inspire many to follow.

Enjoy! I'm gonna hoist a couple to you and Oz.

Well done sir.