FXR UPR upgrades

Hammering home from the Deathtraps MC party I thought my FXR sounded slightly different. I know this bike likes to eat exhaust mounts, so I checked them out and everything seemed solid, no mounting bolts loose, etc. I waited until it cooled down the next morning and checked the flange bolts and they were good. Must be imagining things. Should have looked closer. I hated the stock hanger supplied by Thunder Header, the one that holds the muffler portion. I had a hundred better ideas last year when I put it on but got lazy and just left it in place since it seemed to be holding up fine. Well, I got to work on Friday and looked down and then material had fatigued all around the outside of the weld where the two go into one. WTF? Then I noticed the cheesy strap had broken who knows how long ago and I had been riding with old leather throw over bags, so I hadn't really looked at that mount. Shame on me. So I let it sit for a couple days, working on the Triumph instead since that's more fun. That thing is just about race-ready and with the 500 coming up I figured it was time to get them FXR back in shape. I safety wired it up and nursed it home. Good thing home is about five miles. By the time I made it, the muffler was nearly dragging. I jacked it back into position and MIG'ed it back together with my stellar welding skills. Then I bent up a piece of round bar and made a new hanger that attaches to the stock rubber isolator deal on the back of the muffler and the passenger peg mount. Not the most elegant device, but it has to be way stronger than that piece of strap it came with. While I was as it, I carved that cone thing off the back of the muffler. I always hated how that looked but was just too much of a slacker to do anything about it. Much better looking now.

Also, note two new bits. My friend Duane Ballard recently did up a new seat, this one with a more gunfighter profile keeps me from sliding off the back when I'm getting on the stinker! I narrowed a stock mustang pan and tried carving the foam into the shape I wanted. The foam was old and crusty and stuck to the pan with glue so it mostly fell apart and what I gave DB to work with was really ugly. But, he figured it out and made chicken salad out of chicken shit. It's way narrower looking, which I like since these bikes have such a heavy, wide look to them. Thanks Duane, I know this wasn't a fun one. Most people know DB for his detailed, hand-carved leatherwork, but he also confidently knows his way around cut and sew pieces like this.

The other neat bit was a new aircleaner from Juan, better known as WOMPY. He's making these things out of some parts designed for diesel machinery but reworked to fit HD's. It seemed like a good fit for this bike and I have a batch of stuff going to powdercoat next week, so it'll get the black out treatment so it's a littler more subtle. I like supporting guys like Juan, he's a good dude so check his stuff out.

So, between now and the 500, it's gonna be shakedown time to make sure these simple things don't become a problem somewhere in Mexico.