All H-D all the time
Maine, the northernmost New England state, is probably best known for lobsters and other sea creatures found plentiful along the jagged, rocky coastline. Aside from the amazing, seemingly endless meandering shore, the rest of the state is an outdoorsman's paradise. Lush forests spring from rolling hills fed by thousands of lakes and rivers. With barely more than a million people living in the whole state, it's not too hard to find and ride the open road.
During last year's Daytona Bike Week, we ran into Maine's own HottRod Baggers along with one of their custom bikes. The company mission is pretty straightforward: Build baggers with only H-D motors, trannies and frames. For the most part, HottRod Baggers starts with a brand-new touring bike, tears it down and builds it back up their way. They use the best of what Harley has to offer as well as top-notch aftermarket companies to build bikes that look as great as they work. Because the bikes are customized H-Ds with factory numbers, there is no problem registering or servicing them.
The bike seen here started life as a 2004 Road King that was immediately stripped down to the frame. From there the frame was sandblasted and all of the welds cleaned up before some subtle molding work was done to give the smoothest possible starting point. The frame was then given a color-matched bath and graphics treatment to complement the sheetmetal. The stock swingarm was pitched in favor of a wide unit from FBI that could accommodate a 200mm rear tire. Linking up the swingarm to the frame was handled by a set of Legend Air Ride shocks.
While the frame was being worked over, the motor received some needed power-adding attention. Using all Screamin' Eagle parts, the 88-inch mill was punched out to 95ci. The stock EFI was remapped and tuned with an SE race tuner to get the most out of the new motor, airbox and Vance & Hines Big Radius pipes. The stock H-D transmission and clutch were retained.
Clamped between the chromed H-D frontend is an 18-inch RC Components Calypso wheel wrapped in Metzeler rubber. Matching RC rotors are bolted to both sides of the wheel and grabbed by a set of chromed H-D calipers. The stock fender was chucked in favor of a homegrown tire-hugging version that HottRod made in their shop. FBI supplied the rear fender to clear the new fat rubber and RC Comp wheel. A low-profile 18-inch Metzeler 200 was used to give the rear attitude while also contributing to a smooth ride.
For fuel-holding, the stock FLHR gas tank was used along with a dash from Milwaukee Iron that holds a single Dakota Digital gauge. The handlebar and hand and foot controls all come from H-D and were chromed for added bling. The same was true of the headlight, front turn signals and passing lamps. The rear turn signals from FBI were frenched and molded into the stock H-D saddlebags that also have H-D's accessory bag latches. A very nice FBI integrated taillight/license mount fits seamlessly into the fat rear fender. HottRod cut down the front fairing made by Bob Dron specifically for Road Kings and painted it to match the lines of the bike.
Although the paintjob consists of only three colors, the placement of the orange and black graphics over the silver accentuates each curve and feature of the entire bike. Of particular interest is the orange/black swoosh that is carried from the back of the gas tank down through the downtubes. A similar curve was utilized on the saddlebags as well as the fairing and front fender. All of the paintwork was laid down by Exposed Images.
It took the two-man HottRod crew about three months to turn a stock Road King into this unique touring bike that definitely turns heads. Tony and Dick can build any of the H-D touring bikes for you just the way you want it. If you happen to be rolling through Maine this summer, stop by and check out what they're working on.