Any advice on how to make a 2001 sportster look like this bike? this bike is my cousins and I'm in love with it!!!! Sadly I can't afford a softail

 

Buy a rigid frame, a new tank, lots of chrome, forward control extensions, new seat, and a springer front end. That'll get you...well, not a Softail, but probably as close as you'll get.

 

Sell it and buy a softail springer.

 

Here's one option-

Sportster Softail Frame

 

Hi from the UK and welcome to HDF.

That photo is probably a mildly altered Springer Softail. To convert a Sporty to look similar is a major custom job! Not only will you need a new frame, but springer forks. It's all doable, but expensive, even if you are able to do the spanner and paint work yourself.

 

Do you already own a 2001 Sportster?

 

I'm buying a 2005 883R this weekend. I understand that a sportster will never be exactly like a softail. I want to make my bike look similar to the softail, sparto taillight, springer front end and the tank. My main focus is the tank. What would be the best option?

 

Atlas makes the most awesome Sportster Softail frames I've ever seen. Of course you can buy an older use Sporty for the price of their frames, but it's doable. Here's their web site: http://www.atlasprecision.com/item.a...Placeholder=10

 

It's be cheaper to buy a used Softail.

If you're mainly concerned with the tank, have a look at the XL forum. There's a thread on there about mounting a big tank.

 

Welcome to HDF from the UK.

You will need to spend an awful lot of money! A bare softail frame in PanHeadRich's link is around $2,500 and a rolling chassis around $8,500, plus paint, etc. Much better to buy a nice near stock Sporty and just ride it for a while. Then you can develop your ideas for customising it. Much cheaper that way!