Fat Arse FXR
You don’t see too many FXRs with 300 rear wheels and that’s exactly why Brian decided to do it.
KATHY, MY wife, is really into bikes. She rides a new Ducati 900 Supersports. The FXR was going to be hers but she fell off it, dropped it at a roundabout, and she refused to ride it again. She is only little and reckons the FXR was too heavy for her. So I inherited it.
Bomber at King Pin Choppers in Brisbane raked the frame and put the 10-inch-over front-end and forward controls on it.
We did the exhaust system but it looked out of place with the little rear wheel, and that’s when we came up with the bright idea of putting a bigger back wheel on it. We thought, there’s no such thing as an FXR with a 300 rear wheel that anybody knows of, so we’ll do it.
Piko at SC Customs took on the job of installing the bigger rear wheel. He didn’t want to cut the original frame so he actually constructed another wider frame to go over the original. That way he didn’t lose any of its original strength. We could have put plates in to cover the old frame but decided against it. I reckon it looks more old fashioned this way; it doesn’t look out of place; it looks good.
We though it would take a couple of weeks but it took three months by the time we got everything done which included converting the gearbox from five-speed to six-speed. And then we couldn’t get the primary back on so we had to throw all that away and install a primary belt.
Shane from Simmons Customs did the fuel tank. It is no longer a normal FXR tank with the cap in the middle. Shane plated the tank and moved the filler cap to the right-hand-side to make it look different.
Little Mick did the paint job; he looked after me again as he always does.
The 120-spoke front wheel is from Ash’s Wheels. The back wheel Piko already had in stock so we used that.
The exhaust system was a worry because the engine is rubber-mounted; it has a lot of movement. We enlisted Fat Pipes to re-make the exhaust and he made a slip joint on each side. So far it hasn’t cracked so it must be working.
It’s a really good bike to ride. The only thing is, with the fat rear wheel, you have drive it right into the corner.
I get a lot of support from my family. My wife loves bikes and my kids have dirt bikes as well. All up, I think we have 12 bikes at home.
Photos by Wall 2 Wall; words by Brian at Pine River Towing. Check out Brain’s other features: Rat Fink Chopper and Fire and Ice Chopper.
