Al reviewed every component with an eye toward improvement or optimum construction. He chose twin Mikuni carburetors with a Rivera Engineering dual manifold. "If they would just reverse their linkage the throttle cables would virtually disappear." He suggested it to the Rivera team, with little response.

He continued to add detailing touches including hard plumbing, hydraulic lines guided through the frame. The Gas tank chosen was a Fat Kat's series 35 with a 3.5 inch stretch and a flush mount aircraft cap. With the tank and fender in place he ran to his nearby seat connection, Corbin. Mike Corbin's team molded fiberglass to his frame so that the seat needs no fasteners. "It hugs the frame tubes and won't slide," Al said.

Every bike build has a team, and Al's favorite team member was Rick Collier of Pro-Street Custom Cycles in Gilroy, (408) 842-2060. Rick reworked Al's 120-inch Merch power plant. "We call him MacGiver," Al said. "He can do anything and probably builds the strongest 80-inch motors in the state. I get 101 horsepower out of my Fatboy with Rick's touch." Rick was also the delicate touch behind the modified rear fender.

Al used a polished Baker 6-speed in this equation. "Nothing shifts like this baby," Al said. "I'm going to install a 6-speed Baker gear set in my Fatboy." Wheels, brakes and his hand controls came from Performance Machine, but he didn't leave them alone. "We machined the clamps and the bars so each set would fit flush and evenly."

He started out with a handmade set of pipes that didn't fit well and the chrome peeled. "They were undersized and would effect the performance," Al said. He bought a factory set of Wicked Brothers pipes from Arizona. He called them a week before the Pomona, ER show, and the pipes were in his hands in three days. "They bolted right up, fit great and worked well with the line of the bike," Al said confidently.

Al has his own chrome saving tip for pipes. "I don't go for that ceramic coating," Al instructed. "We cleaned the pipes a couple of times with alcohol, then we sprayed them with VHT flatblack heat paint. We gave them a couple of coats and let them dry for 24 hours. The carbon attaches to the paint and the pipes don't blue."

For more detail he attached his Daytech oil bag with rubbermounted tabs under the seat. "It seemingly hangs there," Al told me. "We took all the other tabs off the frame." He installed a slightly smaller battery for fitment ease, but it required that he used compression releases on the cylinders to eliminate starting problems. As any engineer worth his salt, he installed the Merch oil filter and cooler for added oil capacity and longer engine life.

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