Black ’n’ Fat H-D Trike
It’s challenging to hop on a trike without doing so beforehand and getting the feel of it immediately. Not for Cooky. He’s been riding trikes for some time and this is his riding creation on three wheels.
THIS IS a big trike; the pics may not give you a clear indication… but trust me…It’s BIG! The rake alone is 49-degrees making it quite a handful. But that’s how the owner Cooky likes it. It’s a very practical way for him to get around when the urge presents itself. And he does chalk up plenty of miles on it. He’s based in Geelong which is roughly a 50-minute squirt down the Princess Highway from the Melbourne CBD. I’ve see him at many shows and events of various sorts with his mates around the inner and outer Melbourne scene as well as some regional events over the years. Together they’re all riders, not hiders or part timers!
Initially this was in a format that Cooky had a vision to change. The Harley-Davidson (H-D) frame was enhanced with a trike set-up consisting mainly of the Borg Warner differential (modified) and a few additions including the handbrake and final belt drive set-up. Cooky was very keen to get on the road so he rode it around like that until the opportunity came to modify it into a more street custom version closer to his liking.
He popped in and had a yarn with Luke, a talented local, about transforming it. A few things he wanted were no issue to get done, but the most important addition was the rear body and guards. This was something that Cooky had envisaged from this trike’s inception. Luke stripped it down and stretched it to suit the new rear body to be fitted at a later date.
The frame houses a H-D 103-cube, Twin Cam power plant. It’s pretty much all H-D including the SE255 cams. The unwanted spent gasses are dispersed via the Vance & Hines exhaust.
The hinged rear body is copy of the old H-D servi-car; the steel seat is from an old tractor. Cooky found the guards on eBay and fitted them with aluminium flames.
What’s on offer power-wise is transferred to a modified H-D six-speed gearbox with the final drive being belt. The gearbox was modified by fitting a reverse gear. On the right side of the tank you’ll see a shifter with Rat Fink figurine on top. This is used to select the reverse gear. Also added was a Pingle air-shifter which is operational via a button on the left side of the switch block.
The front-end is by American Suspension; as is the single-spotter inverted chrome billet caliper. In between the fork legs is a 21-inch billet rim from Extreme Machine shod with Avon rubber. The rear rims are steel 15 x 12 shod with 345 Pirelli tyres.
The tanks were stretched five inches. The bars are more custom work accessorised with Arlen Ness black flame mirrors. The seat, oil tank and running boards are more from H-D.
The stopping power at the rear sees a pair of Ford disc brakes fulfilling that duty.
The colour is simply flat black throughout the whole trike with a few shiny bits attached.
Cooky loves to ride the Black ’n’ Fat H-D Trike far and wide… this is his way of fulfilling his riding needs… and he is a true rider, come rain, hail or shine!
article submitted by Knackers
