Southern Cross Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Project

IT’S A 1993 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, and I’ve had it for about 15 years, maybe more. It used to be white and very, very basic. My missus saved up for a new kitchen but I spent it on the bike instead. She did get the kitchen later, though.

It was a private sale and I didn’t know anything about the bike beforehand but I always wanted a Fat Boy; I like the style of the bike. I had it for a couple of years riding around before I took it to my mate Carlos at Harley American for a tune-up and decided there-and-then, on-the-spot, that we’re going to pull it to pieces and build what I want. I’d always wanted to build my own bike.

We pulled everything off and renewed everything. We started off with the motor, that’s a RevTech 100 cube that Carlos did some work on: can’t tell you what because I was away working at the time. Every time I came home I’d go round to Carlos and do a little bit more. I’ve really enjoyed it because I know every nut, every bolt on that bike.

I wanted a big wheel at the front; that was a bit of a hassle with the Springer front-end that we’d put on. Because of the size of the wheel, when we went to do the brakes, we found they wouldn’t fit. So we had to design and make that one-off rod, a stiffener to hold the brake caliper from turning with the wheel.

Carlos was in the process of leaving Adelaide and moving interstate at that time so I brought the bike to Rob’s Motorcycle Repairs. I told Rob what I wanted and he came up with few more ideas.

We changed the handlebars because I had half apes and they didn’t really suit the bike.

Rob did a lot of work over a period of about three months, including the mechanical work, all the wiring and all the oil lines, and he did the paint job with Norris. I always wanted the Southern Cross on it because I’m in the BLF Social Club.

I did have a lot of aftermarket parts on it, like the shockies. The first time I took it out for a ride after Rob got it up and going, I blew one of the shockies. They weren’t real good so I told Rob I wanted air shockies to go up and down, and he fitted a set of Legend Air Shocks, American made specifically for Harleys.

We replaced the original gearbox with the Baker six-speed as well.

I got the seat especially made and stitched by Skinners Custom Seats. 

Rob did the Ned Kelly bits and pieces for me.

It’s not finished; I’m still getting parts made that should be here shortly—a skull headlight, a horn cover that looks like a Ned Kelly helmet, and I’m thinking of getting a shotgun to make into a suicide shift with the stock as the hand grip.

I wanted the primary cover to look old style but still up-to-date to go with the rest of the bike.

We went with the belt for the look, and I’m going to get BLF painted on there by my mate Troy.

I think this bike’s always going to be an ongoing project, I’ll always be doing bits to it. Always.

I’ve had three sets of exhausts on it. We made the first set-up and they just didn’t look right. We got a set with fishtails shipped in from overseas but I didn’t really like them—they made the bike look too long—so I cut them down to make it louder.

I’ve got a V-Rod too, and Rob’s done some work to that as well. The fastest I’ve had that up to is 290 km/h. I use this one for local bike runs. I like showing it off and I love riding it. It’s beautiful to ride, very fast and comfortable, like being in an armchair. I love riding both of them; it’s hard to pick which one I want to take out. If I want to go fast or up through the Adelaide Hills I’ll take the V-Rod; if I’m cruising around town with a bunch of mates I’ll ride this one.

photos by Chris Randells; words by BLF Andy