What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word Idaho? Quick. What was it? Potatoes would be the first thing that pops into my head. Mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, baked potatoes, and most of all French-fried potatoes, that’s what I think about. As a matter of fact, the word Idaho actually makes me hungry.
Pat Hoskins, the owner of this Boise-based bagger grew up in Boise, and spent virtually all of his early two-wheel riding on dirt bikes. Pat raced motocross for years with close friend Darwin Hansen, before acquiring this ’07 FLHX (Street Glide) and his journey to slowly clean up his act (get it?) and become a pavement pounding street rider. This Harley-Davidson is in fact his very first street bike. Boise, is the Capitol of the State of Idaho, and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon. The Boise metropolitan area with a population of approximately 616,000 souls is said to have more motorcycles per capita than most medium-to-large cities in the US, with H-D two wheelers being the most prominent brand. The motorcycle-riding season in Idaho is abbreviated, not being the year-round riding season, of say Phoenix. But for about seven, sometimes eight months of the year, riders enjoy some of the best riding weather in the Northern latitudes.
For most in the US, the spud is to Idaho like the orange to Florida. Many readers would also probably recall the perennial Top 25 Boise State Broncos football team and the unique blue home field they play on. But, exactly when was the last time you even heard of a custom motorcycle from Idaho?
When it finally came time for Pat to take the leap onto the street bike scene he called upon good buddy Darwin, who just so happened to own and operate Custom Werks Designs in Boise. Darwin has been shooting custom paint on two and four wheeled custom vehicles for decades, but the shop’s attention and focus is on customizing and repairing baggers. Darwin had only recently sold the custom bike that Pat had been considering for purchase. The old saying, “you snooze, you lose” applies here.
Darwin suggested Pat visit the High Desert Harley-Davidson dealership located in the Boise suburb of Meridian to pick out a motorcycle, and between the two of them they would customize it to Pat’s specifications. Several of Pat’s co-workers had purchased motorcycles from High Desert, and the new Street Glide Pat picked out had a price tag he could live with.
Pat rode the stock Glide but wanted a more zip than the factory installed 96 cubic inch Twin Cam produced, so they installed Wiseco 10:1 compression ratio pistons in the stock cylinders after a cleanup hone. A pair of higher lift and duration Screamin’ Eagle camshafts were put in the cam plate as was a Screamin’ Eagle EFI tuner to dial in the fuel and ignition. A Vance and Hines True Dual exhaust system was mounted up to the chassis.
Both front and rear suspension was treated to a one-inch lowering, which may not sound like a lot, but really changes the almost “too tall” look of the stock height. Of course one must consider the change in ground clearance when cornering. Can you say sparks? A 21-inch Ride Wright Fat Spoke front wheel and tire assembly replaced the stock 16-inch unit, while out-back a matching Ride Wright 18-inch wheel and tire was bolted up to the swingarm. Avon Cobra rubber was added to both with a 150mm rear tire. Up front, matching fixed mount Ride Wright rotors complemented the wheel. Custom Werks smoothed the rear fender, and Frenched-in the turn signals and rear lighting flush with the rear fender surface. The front fender was stretched and smoothed to get just the right profile over the wheel. Darwin stretched the saddlebags and also painted the stock latches to match the rest of the graphics. Custom Werks hand fabricated the dashboard as well as spiffing up the stock gauges with billet aluminum surround-rings.
Cyclesmiths supplied the handlebars, foot pegs, and super-comfortable concave Banana floorboards. Long-distance rider comfort and touring potential was left up to Corbin for the saddle. Also helping in the long distance comfort is the Klock Werks’ windscreen that directs turbulent air away from the rider. An eclectic assembly of sound equipment keeps Pat’s ears happy which icluding upgrades such as a Kenwood stereo receiver, Alpine amplifier, and Hertz speakers. B