Mudflap Girl, chapter 10: http://www.bikernet.com/pages/Mudflap_Girl_FXRs_Part_10_Suspension_Tuning_and_Le_Pera_Seat.aspxI can’t make it to Sturgis this year. We are focused Bonneville builds, like mad starving dogs, and the two events are only separated by two weeks. Ray is tuning and I still don’t have an engine, but we’ll cover that later. The engine could be running today, in Richmond, Virginia, at Departure Bike Works.Okay, so what’s a poor bastard to do, when he planned to make the run to the Badlands with his brother Hamsters? They ride out from the West Coast every year. Some of the members, including Arlen Ness are in their 70s and riding custom Victory bikes. Some rode from Spearfish, South Dakota, out to Mammoth Lakes, California, to ride back to ...

ACORN NUTS MEET THE MUDFLAP GIRL-- P/N: MK731: 110-Piece Solid Brass Acorn Nut Assortment Tray  Brass is class, and a great gift idea for old school bikers! Conveniently stored in the heavy-duty Tray with lid is a 110 piece assortment of Solid Brass Low Crown acorn nuts in 12 of the most popular UNC & UNF nut sizes.  Available along with a collection of classic inspired parts at www.mrluckys.biz . Or, call “Mr Lucky” direct at 832-559-8560 and get the whole skinny! The brass acorn nuts add a nice finishing retro touch. Don’t remember if I sent you the press release on the assortment tray or not, so image & copy are attached. The tray as well as the individual ...

There's two shots of the stripped King by Markus. The remaining amatuer shots were taken of the loaded King after a 650 mile weekend run to Laughlin and back to the west coast. Over the last year we've tore into this classic 2003, 100th anniversary Road King. I figured I wanted a touring bike for the long haul. The notion was designed around maintaining the 100th theme, adding to the blackness and durability. I wanted a tough black bastard to ride, not detail or polish for shows. A bike for years to come. What could be better? We used 90 percent H-D parts including a modified taillight bracket, Screamin' Eagle turnsignals and narrow light bracket. Much of it was powder ...

There's nothing like a run to nowhere. No plans, no dates, no deadlines and no formula, we just rode in the sweltering heat like two abused dogs searching for new owners. After a couple of beers, if someone asked, "why?" the cryptic answer would contain: Just to get out of town, to test the new H-D Twin Cam oil cooler, against an '89 Evo, to see the Hamster gang on their way to Sturgis, to roadtest a new pair of denims, to have my bike blessed by a Catholic Cardinal and finally to avoid the rain. The famous comforting Gusset in the Diamond Gusset jeans. Granted some of this scattered reasoning was whacked. It's summer, why would it rain? Dr. ...

The King lives again, thanks to the Harley-Davidson Spring catalog supplement. The factory now offers complete blacked out Road King front end components. We replaced the warped nacelle. With a small brush and a 1/2 pint of gloss black Rustoleum, we touched up chipped fasteners over a couple of Coronas. What's next? The rear fender needed touch-up. The all-black King was cool, but the damn thing needed some color. That called for old school pinstripping. Finally we liked the new mostly black mags except for the tits around the rim. They seemed out of place. We pondered a solution. There's Henry with a Jitter-Bug orbital sander.We rode over to Henry Figueroa's Auto Restorations, a steel corrugated building on the wrong ...

The Australian Connection standing in the Bikernet Headquarters shop.Around mid June Kerry and myself were organizing our trip to Sturgis, when Bandit contacted me an asked how would I liketo ride the Road King to Sturgis. Immediate thoughts were Wholly Shit, I've read all about the King on Bikernet and watchedthe different stages Bandit has put it thru, so I was very familiar with it, and for Bandit to be asking me was really a big deal, meaning, I felt honored enough when Bandit invited Kerry and myself to join them on the ride, let alone ride his bike. So youprobably guessed the answer was a big >>>>>> Yes Sir !! thank you very much. For the readers who aren't ...

In a world where over promising and under delivering has become all too common here is a gem I must share. The Bikernet built Shrunken FXR has become my daily rider and needed a couple small adjustments to be just perfect for me. One detail was the too small seat or the bike was too fast (pick one). So I rode my bike over to meet the nice folks at Saddlemen and see what they could do to help me out with my seat. Upon arriving at the Saddlemen facility I spent time with guys from the front office to the guys in the shop ( all of whom took great interest in my motorcycle and the seat they were ...

SADDLEMEN MODS TO THE SHRUNKEN FXR--In a world where over promising and under delivering has become all too common here is a gem I must share. The Bikernet built Shrunken FXR has become my daily rider and needed a couple small adjustments to be just perfect for me. One detail was the too small seat or the bike was too fast (pick one). So I rode my bike over to meet the nice folks at Saddlemen and see what they could do to help me out with my seat. Upon arriving at the Saddlemen facility I spent time with guys from the front office to the guys in the shop ( all of whom took great interest in my motorcycle ...

Hang on for a chance to win this bike. The odds will be terrific, so step up and enter, or subscribe to Bandit's Cantina on Bikernet.com, or Cycle Source Magazine, and we will take care of your entry into the drawing towards the end of the year. In the meantime, grab a beer and enjoy this build process monthly on Bikernet, or on the crumpled pages of Cycle Source magazine. Last issue, we discussed the myriad of top-notch components flying at this build, and how Jason built the frame, at Texas Frame Works, around the master's configuration and the pre-bent contoured backbone. The master is the boss of the 28-year- old shop, Kustoms Inc. and Evil Engineering, Gary Maurer. Gary ...

Click here to see: Mudflap Girl FXRs, Part 7 My Son's almost Grip Ace Wired Since last time, my Mudflap Girl is still over at Saddlemens waiting on a custom seat, but good news filtered into the shop this week. Next week, we should move forward. Then my son made his dire announcement: "I wanted forward controls," he said. "It's all your fault. I agree with Jesse James, you're nothing but trouble."I struggled with the assembly of his mid controls for months. I kicked the Handy steel lift and stubbed my big toe, knowing full well I stood on the right side of the law, and my son was out to lunch on this issue. But as the dad in this ...