Blow Me Wide Arse Harley-Davidson Sportster
Gazza wanted to build a bike that was halfway between a flat tracker and a drag bike from the 1960’s era.
I’VE HAD fatties, choppers, trikes, and now it was time for something different. The idea came about because of Uncle Neil’s development of his wide-arse-end kits for Harley-Davidson Sportsters, and around the same time, I had an idea of building one. I was a willing candidate with an open mind and wallet to build such a project. We wanted the bike to be fat and look fast whilst standing still.
The great thing about Neil’s Sporty wide-arse-end kits is that only minimal changes need to be made in order to have a great result. The kits come complete with everything you need to install or Uncle Neil can supply and fit in-house.
The oil tank and the battery box remain the same, just spaced out.
By using the existing belt drive, the wheel base remains the same. The new swingarm is a direct replacement; fitting to the rear frame section requires fitting and welding skills however you don’t need to be a rocket scientist.
The end result is a fast, reliable bike that’s good to ride, great to show at a fraction of the cost of other models.
The Sporty frame was raked an extra eight degrees and up-stretched.
A two-inch inverted front-end and a Neil’s 260 wide-arse-end kit fitted; an open three-inch primary was sourced from the States; a stretched one-piece tank, and widened and shaped guards were also fitted.
Most of the pieces were fabricated and machined by Neil, a patriarch of the custom bike building industry proven by his quality track record and reputation. He made the risers, the headlight brackets, the widened pulleys, and exhaust, just to name a few.
Neil fabricated and painted the bike in the traditional Harley colours with a 1960’s boy-racer theme in his workshop; whilst pinstriping, numbers and logos were supplied by Shacko’s Pinstriping on the Central Coast.
The bike then travelled north to my ever-reliable mate Choco, the Mozart of the stainless steel. Choco worked his brand of magic as he has on my past projects. Spoilers, covers, toolbox (dummy nitrous bottle); the blower is just a fancy air cleaner. The man never ceases to amaze me. HE IS THE BEST.
Green’s Cycleworks in Cardiff added Dyna TwinTech ignition and coils then played around with the carb on the dyno to get this baby pumping more horsepower that a standard Evo.
I built this bike to prove to my mates and others that you can build a bike on a budget of around $40K provided you have an imagination.
Many thanks to Uncle Neil, Choco, Greens Cycleworks, Wild West Customs, Mick from Evil Twin, and Shacko’s Pinstriping.
words by Gazza; studio photos by Walter Wall
You can see more of the Gazza’s Blow Me Sporty at Louisa Kelly’s profile page.
