10/12/08

Project: FXR UPR



Well, Oscar bought the olive drab '76 FLH posted here last week, so that was a quick one. I can't help but pass on good deals to my bros! Have fun with it, Big O. I still have Walt's side car sitting in the middle of my garage, but that leaves Wed.

Then this new project can start. Long hailed as the best handling bike the motor factory ever produced, I've been wanting to ride an FXR for a long time now. This sweet unit came from SCCTrim out in PA, and it was a good deal, and in better condition than described, a rare treat when buying a bike from 3,000 miles away going on a couple small photos and one phone conversation. Thanks dude!

So far, all I've done is strip off a couple pieces of flair, bleed the brakes and throw some Works Performance shocks on the back. I plan on doing this as another low-energy project like the last Sportster, nothing fancy or complex, just take off what it doesn't need, improve performance and try to make it look a little trimmer and more purposeful. I put about 50 miles on it today after the shock upgrade and I can tell the front is terribly undersprung, but we can fix that. Gotta find some stock pegs too, I can't stand floorboards. But even with that stuff and about 50 pieces of Live to Ride chrome plastered all over the bike, I can tell it has good bones. Under all the superfluous christmas trash is a hot rod waiting to come out and have fun. It runs like a raped-ape and handles like a much smaller bike and I think that was Erik Buell's original intention.