Project bobber : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

bobber rob · 07-31-2009, 05:59 PM

Hiya Folks ! Bought myself my first Harley after 31 years of Motorcycle ownership, usually Brit iron - commando's, Bonnevilles, Tridents (Meriden-not the newer Triumphs) and *** lowrider's and singles ! Finally the opportunity arose to get myself a Harley Big Twin, I'm afraid I always thought Harleys were hugely overpriced here in the UK and didn't really offer anything that a Commando didn't deliver in spades ! But when offered a late '80's Evo for £4500 (thats about $7500) I thought this is an opportunity too good to miss.
I've always been a fan of the bobber style of bike ever since my teens in the late '70's eagerly reading my richer friends overpriced, imported copies of Easyrider mag! And thats what I intend to build ! Heres a few pic's of the bike I bought and more to follow as the rebuild progresses ! Rob

claydbal · 07-31-2009, 06:19 PM

post on photobucket and link back so we can see.

nightrob · 07-31-2009, 09:46 PM

Have fun chopping and keep us posted with pics!!!

bobber rob · 08-01-2009, 03:45 PM

Here it is folks, I neglected to take pics of parts as they appeared in raw metal ! OOPS ! Cast lug rigid frame , springers all locally made for £800 ($1350 to you friend), ebay for 16" rear and 21" wheels, back mudguard from a trailer company and sparto back light again courtesy of ebay ! hope you like so far. U may also see an Ultima belt drive in the background !! theres a story... more to follow.

bobber rob · 09-16-2009, 09:21 AM

Hi folks, the next step ! Got myself a Ultima 3" drag belt drive, now, a little research goes a long way, Ultima state quite clearly that the primary drive fits '90-'99 bikes ! Me being a bit of a novice at Harley building didn't realize that my gearset was '85-'89 !! so what I thought, can't be that much difference !!!! Silly me, theres no way a spline center clutch will fit on a taper and key mainshaft

Now I'm thinking, how do I get out of this hole for the least possible cash. Yep! you guessed it, ebay ! found a complete mid '90's gearset, trapdoor, shift drum and selectors for $100

All is now well and the belt drive fits !

More to come !

kustom_flames · 09-16-2009, 09:31 AM

Should be a cool project - look forward to seeing progress pics...

midnight sporty · 09-16-2009, 10:17 AM

oh boy.. i spy a really cheap ugly springer.. better get back to the drawing board for that part of the bike...

bobber rob · 09-17-2009, 02:16 AM

Thanks for your input midnight sporty, everyone's allowed an opinion ! If money were no object sure I would've gone to the dealership and bought a set of Harley springers !!!

claydbal · 09-17-2009, 08:35 AM

i like the looks of the ugly springer. brush and clear the springs and rockers would make it fit the contrast of the mtor.

bobber rob · 10-04-2009, 04:29 PM

Well the bobber went on its maiden ride last week, one or two teething problems, the flares on the oil pressure gauge were leaking like crazy, a new copper pipe with real good flares sorted that out and teething problem two is a little more tricky !! The clutch is dragging like a bitch, I changed the internals of the tranny case to a '95 gearset to fit the belt but retained the '87 clutch pushrod and throwout bearing ! just wondering if these parts are the reason I'm not getting enough lift on the clutch pressure plate !??