As we journey and meander through life, we often encounter cosmic cause-and-effect scenarios that occur for reasons beyond our understanding. This scene definitely plays out for many a bike owner. Maybe you got dusted by a guy on a pastel scooter, leading you to turbocharge your Harley. Or a scuff mark on your pipe was all you needed to convince your wife you had to have a new, complete exhaust system.
For the owner of this Blue Devil bagger, a hapless contractor became the inspiration. You see, Bob's decked-out light blue FL came into Redline M/C with a damaged Tour-Pak. He explained to Big Will that he wanted to get the box fixed and painted. As the celestial clouds brewed and conspired, the simple project spiraled out of control. Fixing the Tour-Pak led to painting the whole bike in a stealth-looking midnight blue. After spending way too much time and money at the local dealer getting engine mods, the bike was still a dog, and Bob wanted more get-up-and-go.
His need for speed positioned him on top of that slope that has a tendency to get hairy in no time flat. While Frank Anderson was laying down the hue, Redline went to work on tearing down the entire motor to the cases. In fact, the only H-D part of the motor and tranny are the engine cases. Big power required big cylinders and a matching budget. All of the internals of the soon-to-be-124ci mill came from S&S, including their closed-loop fuel injection system. Meaty 4 1/8-inch slugs are propelled by 4 5/8-inch stroker flywheels. Gear-driven S&S .640 lift cams combine with S&S heads and Thunderheader exhaust to put out in the neighborhood of 135hp at the rear wheel. S&S's EFI guru Tom Hampton came through during numerous conversations with Big Will to get the motor purring.
The atypical touring motor led to a rather unique primary setup for a bagger--an open-belt primary sourced from Rivera Primo. Taming the power through the primary came from a heavy-duty clutch also from Rivera Primo. Like the rest of the motor, the stock transmission case was ditched in favor of a Baker Drivetrain unit. Inside the billet aluminum case is a set of Baker's race-spec six-speed gears.
Harley's rubber-mount frame was left untouched, as were the rear fender and fuel tank. Big Will massaged the front fender by getting rid of the rivets and badges, leaving a smooth surface above the 21-inch PM Gasser wheel. Clamping down on twin floating rotors are six-piston differential-bore calipers that are more than up to the task of stopping this rocket ship. A matching contrast-cut PM wheel sits out back carrying a modest but well-handling 150mm Avon. The H-D hard saddlebags are mounted to either side of the bike with Bruisers Inc. detachable saddlebag bars. These bars sit under the bags and allow for a clean look when Bob wants to ride naked. An additional bracket stays on the bike to hold the single-sided exhaust pipe. Another distinguishing feature of this build are the Accutronix forward controls and passenger footpegs.
As the photos show, this bike was built to look good, but it's a tire-shredding beast on the open road. If you're ever in the Santa Ynez area, you might just get a glimpse of the Blue Devil barely touching the ground as it screams by. If you're in the Santa Barbara area, you might find the bike parked in front of Redline M/C's very own watering hole attached to their shop. Tell Big Will we said hi, and be careful of the slippery slope. You might end up with a bike as nice as this one. B