Lowbrow Dirtster Build

I decided to finally break down and but a HD, and decided a 1200 Sportster would be the way to go. Light weight, nimble, plenty of torque, and because we are doing more and more HD parts it made sense to really learn the in's and outs of the bike. I found a 2003 1200XLC anniversary model locally for a good price. The bike was fairly unmolested which was exactly what I wanted.

The dea that formed in my head was a dual sport style bike, I plan on riding the hell out of this and I want to be able to take it on road, as well as in a more hostile environment...say like the EDR run through mexico, down dirt and rocky roads! I also just like look of that sort of bike, and rarely see anything like that. Definitely not your normal Sportster.

I first started by ditching the large aftermarket aircleaner and breather bolts and replacing them all with BCM Willis bolts and a Ribsey aircleaner. I also replaced the HD carb top with a Biltwell Rippled stainless carb top. I have a huge advantage as we have a ton of great parts on the shelves and I really wanted to use a lot of them.

One thing I knew for this style of bike was that I wanted to ditch the stock forward controls and go back to mids. I got a set of take offs from ebay and put em back where they belong.

While I was at it I added in a set of Sanderson footpegs and a Mooneyes points and derby cover.

That's going to be the shiniest dual sport ever! Just tilt the engine into the sun to signal for help if you run out of gas...

sweet.. someone else with chrome.

Originally Posted by marsupial

That's going to be the shiniest dual sport ever! Just tilt the engine into the sun to signal for help if you run out of gas...

Yeah It will be a bit shiny haha, I have removed a ton of chrome, but I don;t mind shiny bikes as long as not every part is chromed!

Originally Posted by KackAttack

sweet.. someone else with chrome.

Lol damn, always gotta be somebody on here throwing their worthless 2cents in.

I knew one of the biggest pains with this particular model would be this stock HD riser with all the wiring and connectors squirreled away inside, but it was definitely going away and the wiring getting simplified. For now I disassembled everything and stripped the top tree down. I bolted on a set of the new Biltwell Thunder Risers, first pair off the shelf!



I also took off the giant stock headlight and replaced it with a Bates style 5 3/4" headlight, just a 4 wire swap but what a difference that made to the look of the front end!

I opted to use a set of the new Biltwell Moto bars which fit the whole look of the bike had in mind.

im digging this bike. what are your plans for a seat and tank?

coming along great man, can't wait for the finished product.

Will definitely be following this!

I like where this is going!

subscribed..
really looking forward to see it done..
and i like how it's going down...

Kinda interested in seeing the updates on this one!

I was originally thinking about just keeping the stock fender and cutting it down, but I wanted to do something a bit different.

I always like the look of the Fat Bob fenders but I didn't like the kits that are sold(direct bolt on Bob fender kits) as they just look too long to me and I wanted more of a race look. I took a stock fat bob fender and cut it down by more than half and just started messing around with the angle and position of it. It helped that I also had the seat I planned on running on it, a Biltwell Banana Seat. Finally at some point I had it in a position that really seemed to conform to the seat and it just looked really cool too me, and the decision was made.

I marked the position I wanted, marked, and drilled the fender using the front stock mounting holes on the rear frame rails. If you look closely you can see I also used the abs plastic lower fender/mud guard section as well. I drilled the rivets out from the stock fender, and mounted it to the inside of this fender to keep the electronics clean and dry.

For the front of the fender I used the stock mounting point again, using a 1/2" bung as a spacer.



I marked the frame rails where I wanted to cut them, leaving them a hair long so I could grind and file them down to a nice contour. **Note: If you will be offended by seeing someone doing permanent changes to an anniversary model Sporty- Do Not continue reading this thread! haha I took a bit of pleasure in the next step!

I cut and rough shaped the frame rails and drilled the rear mounting hole for the seat and bolted it all together.
Here is the fully mocked up rear fender and Banana seat! I still have some finish work to do such as radiusing the lower corners of the fender but I will do this before they come off for paint.

subscribed. love the fender / seat combo, just needs a set of high & tight pipes, and i'd ride it as it is!

Originally Posted by darkdesign

subscribed. love the fender / seat combo, just needs a set of high & tight pipes, and i'd ride it as it is!

Thanks man! There is quite a lot more work being done than that though!

I guess with SO MANY SPORTYS being built right now it had to happen....
I got the same seat, same fender that I picked up at swap a couple weeks ago, and I have the EXACT bike I'm building it out of..... I just don't have the killer shop and tools and parts at my disposal!

Looking forward to watching this build, guys!

The seat and fender look great together.

Originally Posted by enzoline

You've got the rear looking good. Are you putting the taillight up under the fender or side mounting it. In my opinion that big tank must go, a very small tank would take it back to being more proportionate since you shortened up the back so much.

The tank is already gone, I just haven't gotten those pictures posted yet! I will try to get the next batch up tonight! I am running tail lights under the fender, I had a cateye style mounted a couple days ago, but after harassment from a few people I am going to run dual titmouse tail lights from after hours choppers under there.

Originally I was considering keeping the stock tank for the larger capacity, but after modifying the rear section it just looked wrong. I pulled a few tanks off the shelf but the one that looked the best to me was one of our sporty tanks. I have never been a huge fan of this style tank honeslty, but it just fits the build so well!

This tanks fits the stock 96-03 Sportsters, so it was a painless swap. The one modification I did was cut off the vent tube from the bottom of this tank and weld it in solid. At this stage I have a pretty huge pile of take off parts, and not one HD logo left on the bike!

you going to sell some take off parts?