Skitz Harley-Davidson 48 Sportster

Old school meets new school Sportster

I FIRST jumped on a mate’s dirt bike at the age of 11. From that day on I knew I had a passion for two wheels. Now in my adult years, I live and breath the biker lifestyle; it’s a shame the law judges us differently to others. I have served in the military for two countries, travelled and lived around the world, seen and done things people wouldn’t believe, but I still call Australia home. I respect and am proud to stand up for what is right.

I bought the 48 Sportster at Morgan & Wackers in Brisbane. I’ve always preferred a thicker front tyre and when Harley introduced the 48 series, I just knew that’s what I wanted. Harley-Davidson Sportsters are the best and cheapest way to go if you’re looking for a bike to customise. The days are long gone with Sportsters being a girl’s bike! My 48 has more balls and attitude than a lot of the large cube bikes on the roads these days.

My 48 Sportster XL1200 has received a thorough warming-over via some well thought-out mods and accessories including Wiseco 10:1 forged pistons, machined cylinder heads, Wiseco 551 camshafts, Screamin’ Eagle EFI, K&N filtering and oil system.

The miserably quiet stock exhaust was replaced with a two-into-one stainless steel system with black heat-wrap.

The front-end now boasts a Roland Sands, café racer triple-trees with the gauge mount, clip-on handlebars and classic old school rubber handgrips. Check out the Roland Sands clarity derby cover and belt guard; Roland Sands velocity stack; Digital Decoder gauge; retro side blower horn, studded black leather solo spring seat; Revzilla side-saddle with fuel carry bottle bag; smaller Revzilla indicators front and back; H-D scoop, skull front footpegs; skull clutch and brake levers.

The bike has the standard front and rear end by Harley but the spoke rims have been powder-coated gloss black from the original chrome style. Wheels are standard H-D white walls.

The peanut fuel tank is the classic eight litre, and since the motor been fully worked, I’m lucky to get a 100 km between refills.

Speedys Motorcycles at Archerfield (Tim and Scott) rebuild the motor. Myself and with help from a good mate, Richard, added all the other extras.

The bike in its current form produces 96 hp at 7500 rpm on the dyno with a top speed of around 208 km/h. And as if that isn’t enough, I’m now looking at a Trask Turbo for some extreme kick and converting the bike to a hardtail to finish off that old and new school look.