Tech

We recently installed the Aero shift linkage from the Toughlinks department of Billet Tough Engineering on my V-Rod. The new shift linkage has a carbon fiber finish; bead blasted tapered ends, and a beautifully finished look. The installation was straight forward and easy to install. While I did hit one little snag along the way, […]

The Oil Bud collector unit together.Everyone agrees adding an oil cooler to their air cooled Harley-Davidsons motorcycle is a good idea. So which one? Some work better than others. You have the units that look like a little car radiator was added to the down tubes. Though they do the job of cooling, they are

Your bike sucks. While you may strongly object to this statement, if made in an everyday conversation at your local hangout, it is never-the-less true for most motorcycles. In a conventional combustion, or naturally aspirated, engine, the mix of gasoline and air is sucked into the combustion chamber when the piston moves down and creates

Bassani is a neat company from Orange County, California. It's one of those mysterious businesses. Some companies look big and flashy, but they're small. Some companies, like Bassani, appear to be a well-organized shop making a few products, when actually they make Harley exhaust systems, metric motorcycle systems, Victory bike pipes, AFT-CAT systems, truck and

We found Joel, the boss of Headwinds, hiding behind this show display.The Brough Superior motorcycle was built with quality first and foremost, to the point that the famed car manufacturer Rolls Royce allowed George Brough to use the phrase, “Brough Superior – the Rolls Royce of Motorcycles” in his advertising material. Well, shamelessly paraphrasing that

While there are positive signs the economy is climbing out of the toilet, that’s hardly an occasion to break into three choruses of “We’re in the money.” Nevertheless, those who can pop for a new motorcycle should step up, even if we're still teetering on the edge. For the rest of us, we’ll continue do

Here's our test subject, a 2010 dresser belonging to a Departure Bike Works Customer.We keep up on exhaust systems. The damn things are forced to change as fast as new models are released. D&D runs dyno tests on every exhaust system they make, plus they have developed new, better flowing touring bike mufflers, so when

This is a strange one. In this economy, suddenly Sportsters became the answer for wild years of partying on two wheels without any major expense. For a decade, it didn't make financial sense to customize or ever buy a Sportster. Big twins were moneymakers, whereas Sportsters cost the same to modify, but the resale price

Bert Baker, the mad scientist behind the Baker product line.The Baker team understands the love affair with your vintage motorcycle… There’s nothing like putting authentic, vintage styled components on your nostalgic bike. That’s why BAKER has taken the time to reinvent the 4-Speed. “Some people don't give a smooth fart about any Big Twins after

The 2007-2009 Sportsters have the ECM module mounted on the rear fender. This does not lend itself to a clean solo seat option. Seat styles for these year bikes have a “hump” in them to allow for a compartment to hide the module. I have been looking for a way to move the ECM to

We are currently working on the good Dr. Hamster's '34 VL, which, for some unknown reason has a set of mid '40s Indian handlebars mounted on dogbones, attached to his VL springer front end, with dogbone risers. It's a strange arrangement, but we decided to stick with it. We checked out the bike from stem

This Tech is brought to you by Bikernet Sponsor J&P Cycles One of the more difficult challenges we face in our tech department here at J&P Cycles is the issue of handlebars. Often we hear this simple directive: “I just want to move my hands about two inches farther back.” But in order for our

Wire Plus has been engineering state-of-the-art custom wiring harnesses, digital instrument panels and other innovative products for more than a decade. Rick Marler, President and founder of Wire Plus is an avid enthusiast himself, and has been riding his entire life. Marler knows what the environment can do to motorcycle components, especially electronics. “Our systems

This is wild. Some of the most precision shit in life is magnificently simple. Motorsport makes this popular tour-pak rack from a ¼-inch plate of billet aluminum, the masters of billet wheels, but I’ll touch on them in a minute. Metalsport’s Contoured “Billet Tour Pack Rack” is available in show chrome, Black Chrome and Raw

Editor’s Note: We are going to work with S&S, Baker, BDL, Compu-Fire and other Bikernet Sponsors, on their most asked tech questions. We’ll try to deliver the info you need access to. The following came from Howard Kelly, the former editor of HOT BIKE, and now an S&S tech editor. “We take tech calls all

  The Sturgis Shovel has seen its share of LA Harbor town back alleys in the eight years of pounding the streets around Wilmington, California. The exhaust is really starting to show the effects of the road and weather. Originally these hand fabricated pipes were painted with barbeque paint found lying around the Bikernet Intergalactic

Shrunken FXR mid-controls by Giggie at Compu-Fire. Note: we need flat-headed Allens. Giggie our master machinist from Compu-Fire rolled up to the Bikernet Headquarters last Saturday. We haven’t seen him for months due in part to his work on new starting systems for the custom market. They are dancing through the final development stages of

Stuffing a big twin into a VL frame dates back to the days when the Knucklehead was a brand new, modern OHV engine, 1936. There were a lot of advantages to a conversion like this. VL frames were good for a 25 pound frame-weight reduction, versus its Knuck counterpart. The shallower VL rake made for

The key to this warlord modification is aWWI TRENCH KNIFE, original about $200 plus. Bob T., being a knife collector, has a goddamn box full of of them. Next ya need a RoadRat, Roberts kick pedal rod (it's longer than stock). He machines them from 304 stainless. (Road Rat Robrrts E-mail is RoadRatRoberts@webtv.net) Stem from

Click to see more from Lucky Devil Sportster mods will hit an all-time high with the new rubbermounted chassis wrapped securely around the upgraded 2004 drive train. We needed a tech sizzling with Sportster custom upgrades. By the grace-of-god a call came through to the headquarters one strange, sorta evil, morning. Terrie called and told

The before (top) and after shot of the Heritage modification.A full moon glowed over the harbor the night a call came through from an irate reader, “You bastards had a Softail project and never finished it,” the caller exclaimed frothing at the mouth. “I'm comin' all the way to Califa to snatch your women, drink

This shows just a fragment of all the parts involved.Hang on. Here comes a complete build of a custom CCI Goliath Bike Kit. We built this 100-inch Rev Tech monster in nine days. The bike was assembled to promote the Annual Beach Ride, at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, through the efforts of Custom

I was making a couple seat pans a few days ago, so I thought, what the hell, I'll share 'em with you. This is the first part, since there's some work left. I'll finish soon, so you won't have to wait too long.There's lot's of people who make their own seat pans. A lot are

Click to see more from Lucky Devil The bike is Lucky Devil 001, the first Chopper with a Lucky Devil VIN number.The Devil's crew is currently finishing-up the final steps to become a licensed Manufacturer.“We have no intentions of large production runs,” Kent said. “We just want toprovide our customers with the ability to purchase