Lucifer’s Death Squad H-D Sportster

BRETT originally bought this bike as a new 48 Sporty and rode it around for a while. The styling was close to what he wanted but it didn’t take Brett too long to get the itch to own something a little out of the ordinary — the 48 was stripped down and the transformation began with the engine and wheels being slotted into a Kraftech frame. 

Brett knew that he had grabbed the tiger by the tail with what he had envisioned in his mind’s eye and it wasn’t long before he turned to one of Queensland’s finest custom builders and H-D specialist, Harry from Harry’s Custom Bikework, for his help and expertise.

The bike was wheeled into Harry’s shop half finished. Brett’s ideas and visions were laid out to Harry and soon the bike was starting to take on its new raw, lethal and uncompromising persona. Brett and Harry achieved what Brett had visualised with more sharp, jagged and rusty edges than the contents of a very neglected tackle box.

The wiring was always going to be a problem especially with the bowl of multicolour spaghetti that comes with fuel injection. The bike was meant to look minimalist but a wiring harness the size of an industrial fire hose is always going to take away from that. The decision was made to convert the bike back to breathing through a carby. A S&S E-series carb was employed along with a special ignition fitted to keep it all simple; and Harry’s mate, Holger, who is a wiz with the electrics, fitted the bike up with the minimal wiring it required to make it all spark when it needed to.

Another of Harrys trusted friends, Pierre, who helps out with some fabrication for the shop, was responsible for the number-plate/tail-light mount, electric box, speedo mount, and those one-off handlebars that look as if they were built for one reason only — lane splitting! Pierre was also responsible for the imposing-looking hand-gear-shifter that looks as though it could easily be whipped from the side of the bike and used for defence in the event of a Zombie holocaust. Hey, you just never know!

As for those tyres, well if I had to ask Brett, I probably wouldn’t understand the answer. Best reason I can think of…  because he COULD!

With the S&S happily sucking and pumping the correct amounts of fuel and air into the V-twin. it was decided that a set of Andrews N3 cams would speed this process up and in they went. 

A Mooneyes oil tank contains the slippery stuff and the fuel is stored in a modified Paughco gas tank that now bares that distinct filler cap. Harry also sorted out the suicide-style foot-clutch set-up, modified the axle spacers and belt adjusters to suit.

The motor also got the dress-up treatment in the form of finned rocker boxes and matching primary cover from Esteves Motorcycle Design.

Lucifer’s Death Squad is one of those bikes where the more you look the more you see. The unison of bare, rusty, exposed welds and sharp edges is complimented with the application of polished brass and one-off parts throughout. And yes, that is Bill-Davidson’s signature on the fuel tank along with those cryptically altered AMF-logo-styled tank decals.

This bike build is dedicated to the memory of Laurie ‘Lozapalooza’ Starling, an inspirational and influential force in Australia’s custom car and bike scene. Laurie was taken away from those who loved him suddenly but his memory lives on. RIP brother!

Pics by Jo; words by Chuck U Farley