Hard Running Harley Heritage Softail Trike

THIS WAS originally a 1988 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail, customised and rebuilt by Gary in NSW with the same crew who worked on my old Fat Boy. Dan from Brushfire was the painter, and it’s one of only a few trikes I know of in Australia registered for four people.

The front-end’s completely customised; it’s been widened because a lot of trikes get a bit shaky at speeds but this one doesn’t.

The front wheel now is a 180; originally it was a Heritage back wheel. On the back I’ve got 18 inch Commodore wheels with customised inserts.

The air filter is customised similar to the one they made for the Fat Boy.

The back guards are from a 1928 Ford.

The shell for the seats was specially made in NSW with a fibreglass outer and the seats are leather backed and screwed into some timber and mounted onto the frame.

The handlebars are imported from England; they come right back and feel really comfortable. We couldn’t get the same size and sweep locally.

The motor’s all been rebuilt and it goes really well when you consider this is twice the weight of a normal Harley. It pulls really well — you notice a bit of drag on the highway with a few people on the back but it’s not too bad when you’re cruising.

When I first bought it, it was nothing but dramas. The stator wasn’t charging so I had to get a new regulator. I ended up pulling the primary off three times, replaced the primary gaskets and gave it all a tune up.

When I got it going again, the starter motor went, then the reverse starter motor went too, so I had to get them both replaced.

Then I went to put it in my name and they said it was stolen. I said, “No way.” I had a mountain of paper work to show them, engineer’s certificates, everything. They said I’d have to work it out with the cops, so I went to the cop shop and they virtually said, “You’ve got to work it out between yourself and the guy you bought it from.”

A detective came out and looked into it and he was really good. He went right through it and found the guy I bought it from was all right but the guy he bought it from had allegedly perhaps been involved in something. So after a long and stressful few days it all got put into my name and it’s okay now.

In NSW they registered it as a bike so it only had a small bike number plate, but down here (Geelong) it’s registered as a car so I said, “Beauty. I’ll have HD TOUR as the new plate.” I’m wanting to start my own business doing weddings and formals and tours, and maybe even funerals later on down the track as well. I’ve got a trailer at home for it and I’m looking at using that for funerals; it’s got custom paint but it’s not up to the standard of the trike yet.

The first time I got on it, it felt very different. It took some getting used to, especially the extra width at the sides; you can’t go between cars at lights. Even now I still lean sometimes, even though it’s really just a push-pull thing. Still, it’s comfortable to ride and it goes well. When I go for a cruise with a few mates, it keeps up okay unless I’ve got a couple of people on the back, then it can slow down a fair bit.

Pics by Chris Randells; words by Mick