Are you saying right now: "We need another Evo Sportster build like a hole in the head"? Well, too bad because I am tearing into my perfectly good swingarm Sportster and making it into a hardtail.
I purchased this bike a few years back and was totally burned by the previous owner. It had a chunk missing from the front piston the size of a quarter, had hacked up wiring, bad brakes, and looked too much like a bike from the 80's. After rebuilding the top end and having a tenant hit my bike while it was parked, I got a bug up my ass last year to try and fabricate a Crazy Frank style fender for it. After having installed the light housing from BNC, painting, and making a new seat for it, I rode it for a summer. I liked it, but I wasn't happy with it.
When I first joined Chopcult, I was lucky enough to meet a member who took me under his wing and started mentoring me in everything Harley. He had been pushing me for a long time to do the chop on the bike myself and I finally felt it was time. I researched the hardtail swap all winter long. It was neck and neck with Haifley and TC Bros for a long time. The one issue I kept coming across with the Haifley kit was trying to get a rear brake caliper for a decent price to use. I ended up going with the TC Bros hardtail. I slowly started saving everything I had to put toward the build. At Born Free, I stopped off at the TC Bros booth and eyeballed every piece of theirs I could find. After having spoken with everyone in the booth, I felt confident in my choice and pulled the trigger. While waiting for the parts to arrive, I took it to Sierra Stakeout in July and realized that I needed a sissy bar to pack all of my shit while riding.
Flash forward to October 1, 2019. My bike and parts are stored at my mentor's home because I can't chop my bike in my apartment. I'm sweating, this is huge. I don't want to ruin a perfectly good bike. Fuck it, too late now. I started tearing into it. I figure I will build a new harness using a few great threads here as a guideline. I did notice there are not many threads here where the TC Bros hardtail is used for a sportster. I want to document as much of this build as I can, but let me know if I am boring you to tears.
I plan to get as much in on this bike before the wet weather takes over. Luckily, the Norcal Swap is next weekend and I am looking for some parts. I'm probably ambitious or very naive in how much I am hoping to accomplish by 1/1/20, but we will soon see. So far tonight, I have gutted the wiring, removed the seat, fender, and tanks. Baby steps, but I want to be thorough. I will update with more pictures as they come along.
I purchased this bike a few years back and was totally burned by the previous owner. It had a chunk missing from the front piston the size of a quarter, had hacked up wiring, bad brakes, and looked too much like a bike from the 80's. After rebuilding the top end and having a tenant hit my bike while it was parked, I got a bug up my ass last year to try and fabricate a Crazy Frank style fender for it. After having installed the light housing from BNC, painting, and making a new seat for it, I rode it for a summer. I liked it, but I wasn't happy with it.
When I first joined Chopcult, I was lucky enough to meet a member who took me under his wing and started mentoring me in everything Harley. He had been pushing me for a long time to do the chop on the bike myself and I finally felt it was time. I researched the hardtail swap all winter long. It was neck and neck with Haifley and TC Bros for a long time. The one issue I kept coming across with the Haifley kit was trying to get a rear brake caliper for a decent price to use. I ended up going with the TC Bros hardtail. I slowly started saving everything I had to put toward the build. At Born Free, I stopped off at the TC Bros booth and eyeballed every piece of theirs I could find. After having spoken with everyone in the booth, I felt confident in my choice and pulled the trigger. While waiting for the parts to arrive, I took it to Sierra Stakeout in July and realized that I needed a sissy bar to pack all of my shit while riding.
Flash forward to October 1, 2019. My bike and parts are stored at my mentor's home because I can't chop my bike in my apartment. I'm sweating, this is huge. I don't want to ruin a perfectly good bike. Fuck it, too late now. I started tearing into it. I figure I will build a new harness using a few great threads here as a guideline. I did notice there are not many threads here where the TC Bros hardtail is used for a sportster. I want to document as much of this build as I can, but let me know if I am boring you to tears.
I plan to get as much in on this bike before the wet weather takes over. Luckily, the Norcal Swap is next weekend and I am looking for some parts. I'm probably ambitious or very naive in how much I am hoping to accomplish by 1/1/20, but we will soon see. So far tonight, I have gutted the wiring, removed the seat, fender, and tanks. Baby steps, but I want to be thorough. I will update with more pictures as they come along.
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