2008 Harley-Davidson Road Glide - 1-OH-5 Glide

The 105th Road Glide, sorry to say has, the double-ugly whammy. First of all, its shark-nosed fairing is not considered to be the best looking model in Harley's fleet and it's widely rumored that the 105th copper, orange and black paint scheme isn't one of the public's favorites. Though these factors may be true, some people (the kind that have three-legged dogs and one-eyed cats) do love the 105th anniversary Road Glide and one of them is Laura Klock. Who's Laura Klock you say? She is part of the Klock Werks crew and the fastest person to ever throw a leg over a Road Glide. How fast? Last year Laura piloted her WFB (World's Fastest Bagger) bike on the Bonneville Salt Flats to a national land speed record of 159.8 mph.

It was love at first sight when Laura saw the 105th Copper Road Glide and even though her hubby Brian Klock was sheepish about adding the ugly duckling to their fleet of bikes, they both took it as a challenge to make this bike the motorcycle equivalent of the beautiful swan. They also decided to up the ante by giving the bike a makeover using only off-the-shelf items available from Klock Werks and Drag Specialties and to do the whole transformation in less than 12 hours.

Once all of the parts were amassed and back from getting painted to match the 105th theme, Laura took the lead on the build with the aid of Dan Cheeseman and Chris Degen. Starting with the removal of the OE fenders, wheels and rearend, Laura installed a Klock Werks 180 MoTire kit out back and a Level fender up front along with a set of Performance Machine Gasser wheels wrapped with Avon Venom tires. To further complement the OE looks of the bike, copper painted Klock Werks floorboard Undercovers, Bag Fillers, and inner fairing were added.

The 96ci engine was left in stock configuration, but Laura added a set of Klock Werks Double Back True Dual pipes with WFB mufflers.

In the control department the OE hand controls were bolted to Klock Werks Samole handlebars while the OE foot controls remained intact and unmodified. Laura also added a bit of Klock Werks lovin' to the fairing with a set of Klock/Autometer Gauges and a Flare windshield. With all of the other upgrades done to the bike, the FLTR sat a bit higher due to the increased circumference of the new wheels and tires, so Laura lowered the bike 1-inch by way of Progressive Suspension 430 shocks in the rear and a Lowered Spring kit up front.

Once the bike was together and sitting right, Laura and the team had just minutes to spare within their 12-hour goal. Later, when I caught up with Laura at Daytona Bike Week, I asked about the 1-OH-5 build and her thoughts regarding it, Laura said "it was a good exercise in how to turn a plain-jane bike into a stunner" and she would know!