Turbo Harley-Davidson Rocker C You Later
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company makes neat bikes—this Rocker C bears testimony to that—and even though the pearl blue and silver paintwork is fresh from the factory production line, it looks like a custom job. When Muke started changing things around, the biggest change was forced induction.
“I’VE BEEN on bikes since I was five years old,” admits Muke, the owner of this turbocharged Rocker C. “I’ve owned a couple of Harleys so far, but when I first saw pictures of the Rocker C model, I had to have one.
At the first 500 km service, Muke went some 255 SE cams and a SE Pro Tuner. Keeping the tuning mods sensible and staying with standard-comp pistons works best with the biggest modification made so far, the Trask Performance Turbocharger bolted to the right hand side of the donk.
“It really makes this thing get up and go,” boasts Muke. “It’s hard to hang onto when the throttle is opened right up.”
With 138 hp at the back wheel and 138 ft/lbs of torque, we’re not surprised.
“There’s no turbo lag whatsoever, and when you crank it right up, the speedo needle can hit the ‘D’ of ‘Davidson’ on the speedo face.”
Muke drives big trucks for a living, running ‘hotshots’ for the goldmines.
“It could be an 8 kg parcel or a full load of whatever,” Muke explains. “But whatever it is, regardless of how big or small or its monetary value, when the mining company wants it there, it wants it there NOW!”
When he’s not keeping the wheels of Western Australian mining interests turning, Muke is blasting those same highways and byways on his turbocharged Rocker with a bunch of his mates.
“There’s a fair mob of us,” Muke reckons. “We’ve all been mates since schooldays and when we go for a ride, we go for a ride, averaging about 12 to 14 thousand km a year. We do a lot of overnighters, and one annual run of about 4000 km; last time it was Kalgoorlie, Esperance, through the Wheat Belt and back to Perth.”
For those of you clicking on Google Maps, trust us, it’s a big run all right.
And according to Muke, the Turbo Rocker C handled it magnificently.
“The thing is sorted out so well at the moment. But I reckon I’m going to change a few things around in the future. I’ve fitted Burleigh Bars and the next thing I’m looking at is an ‘Easy Rocker’ conversion by Heartland USA. It moves the fender off the suspension and back onto the frame where it belongs. The bike, as it stands now, owes me a fair whack of money, and by the time I’m finished, it’ll owe me a heap more, but for the present time, I’m just loving riding it whenever and wherever I can.”
Well, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
Pics by Brian White; words by Kelly Ashton
