But, if I’ve ever seen a bike that pretty much fits every little tick in Mark’s head about what a custom bike for him has to be, this is it. It’s everything he says he needs (he’s very specific) including some absurd horsepower from the S&S 143-inch mill and a lack of vibration which is one of the things FXRs like this one are known for. As any late model Harley rider will tell you, a little bit of rubber mounting for a colossal V-twin engine goes a long way. It’s gotta have great brakes and real suspension with real travel. Plus it’s gotta be comfy with a few amenities to make those long desert stretches seem a bit shorter. As you can see, Mark is far from being a jaded motorcycle dealer who enjoys golf more than motorcycles. As I said, this bike has it all ─ at least as far as Mark Barnett goes.

   By now, I should probably let you in on who built this as it’s only polite. And, that would be, drum roll please, Jacob Cutler, owner of Barnstorm Cycles in Spencer, Massachusetts along with dad, Doug, plus Nick Reynolds and the rest of the Barnstorm team. Jacob built this high performance bagger for the 2016 Hot Bike Tour and this thing had to be one of the baddest bad ass bikes on that ride. I mean, 143-inches of S&S loveliness punching out 165hp and 155lb-ft of torque in a relatively lightweight touring package alone puts this bike of the far side of bad ass. What Jacob’s concocted is a sport tourer/adventure bike/drag racer/high speed tourer/canyon carver that’s basically what my boss has wanted for decades and here it is sitting right in front of him loud and proud.

    Starting with an innocent 1987 FXLR (or Low Rider to people with H-D initial problems), famous for its vibration-canceling rubber engine mounts and tight and tidy frame dimensions for crisp handling on twisty roads, Jacob knew what he had. It was a win-win design from the Motor Company that the majority of Harley lovers didn’t take to in the expected numbers, but to many of those who went to the FXR side of motorcycle life, it was and still is the only way to fly. Mark’s always been and still is an FXR freak.

   The only frame mods Jacob made had to do with getting that big 143 S&S engine to fit where an 80-inch Evo previously did. An Evo’s a pretty tight fit to begin with so there was a bit more work involved than just moving a tab or two, but that’s where the 143 sits now along with a BAKER Drivetrain DD7 internals housed in a 2008 Harley tranny case. Yep, that’s one of Bert Baker’s seven-speed transmissions with a gear for every occasion ─ from burning out of the hole to hyper high speed cruising and every little lovely bit of throttle twisting in between. The Barnstorm lads did exchange the spindly OEM swingarm for a beefy and beautiful aluminum Street Pro version built by Brock’s Performance which also allowed for a bit more tire clearance as well as being able to extend the wheelbase by three-inches if necessary. If you’re called out, it’s good to have everything you can on your side.

    The S&S engine was built by Barnstorm’s Steve Berthiaume to make sure every one of the 165 horses were ready to bolt. One thing that makes day to day usage of this engine possible is the S&S 70mm Throttle Hog EFI setup. Otherwise, they’d have to be some hulking carb stuck with the hard core duty an engine like this brings to the table leading to all sorts of hassles that the EFI eradicates in one fell swoop. No classic tear drop air cleaner either, but a huge K&N-style high-flow filter to fill those huge cylinders with fuel and air. Barnstorm whipped up those multi-piece stainless headers with a Burns Stainless Reverse Cone Megaphone muffler adding just the right bit of visual aggressiveness as well as aural symphony worthy of a movie soundtrack. Technically, it’s listed on the Burns’ web site as a muffler, but I wonder what their definition of muffle is? It does look ace, though, and that’s important. A man’s (or woman) gotta like their pipes just as much for looks as sound.

    The engine itself is in stock Darth Vader mode which is like a black hole of a V-twin that doesn’t let any let hitting it escape. It’s a dark brooding engine except for the 143-inch bragging on the S&S air cleaner and the lovely stainless exhaust. There is a bit of very subtle bling on the BAKER Bully primary cover in the form of machined aluminum against the black background that just adds a bit of zip to the dark look of the engine, but that’s about it kids. Barnstorm stayed with mid-controls for ultimate control and comfort, having a lot of foot (and seating) positions on a long ride is always welcome and having a bit more control if things get out of hand is A-OK too. Barnstorm modified the Baker Bully cover so the mid-controls could work through it. Thoughtfully, there’s also a BAKER +1 oil pan that gives the engine a full five quarts of oil and a little more cooling too.

   Keeping things in control are those completely different braking setups. Up front, a slotted perimeter rotor made by California Custom Wheels mounts nicely on one of their handsome 21-inch wheels. An eight-piston Buell caliper gets its shove from a clean set of Performance Machines hand controls and that should probably be enough for anybody. Out back, another CCW wheel, an 18-incher, sports a Lyndall Racing ceramic rotor grabbed by a four-piston Brembo caliper or as they say in Italian, “afferrò per a quattro pistoncini Brembo pinza.” Either way, it’s all nice stuff and all up to Mark’s standards so far especially when you say it in Italian. Yeah, he’s a Ducati freak too, big surprise. Both wheels are covered in Michelin rubber, a 120/70-21 Commander II up front and another, a 150/75-18, out back. Great, agile-sized footprints for superb control, braking and handling.

    Suspension was a top priority with the skinny tube OEM fork being replaced by a much more robust and adjustable Corsair inverted front end by GigaCycle Garage with a set of their CNC’d triple trees too. I don’t think a comparison between old and new is needed. Out back, a set of Fox Racing prototype IFP R FXR (man that’s a lot of acronyms) specific shocks which Jacob says should be available soon. By the way, these are not lowering shocks, nope, they’re a full 14-inches for good travel, good ground clearance and a decent ride. Up to this point, I can’t imagine Mark Barnett being disappointed by anything so far, unless he’s changed his game plan of the perfect bad boy back road desert blaster that has power, comfort and a stereo.

Mark would approve of the decidedly different approach Barnstorm took for this build.   

The tank should look at least familiar having its roots on a 2008 FL before being extensively remodeled into the curved/slab-sided affair you see before you. I absolutely adore the way Barnstorm molded in the LowBrow Customs Fuel aluminum cap on a platform a bit like a bridge on a modern powerboat. Very cool stuff sirs. Fenders consist of an extremely sharp looking, modified Sportster up front and HardDrive American V-twin Products FXR rear fender. Both look appropriately sporty and perfect for this application.

    There is a bit of tinwork (so to speak) that definitely grabs the old eye and isn’t even tin and that’s that unusual looking fairing. Seen that one before? Well it’s off an original Harley-Davidson Tour Glide with a twin-headlight bezel that looked more 1963 Corvair than motorcycle headlight back in the day. The headlight bucket itself looks completely different although I don’t think much has changed. Barnstorm’s choice of a high/low beam LED light bar from Rigid Industries takes the original shock and awe of the Tour Glide’s dual lamps to a whole ‘nother level of “WTF?” Whether it’s this new lighting system or the blacked-out fairing mounted turn signals or is it the modified Klock Werks crazy-lip windscreen, I don’t know, but it does look slimmer and trimmer in this use. Barnstorm spent a serious bit of time fabbing up a new clean set of mounts to make it fit perfectly.

   Just as important is the back of the fairing where Barnstorm showed their electric skills with a complete Kicker audio system for those like Mark who have to have their talk radio jabbering away on a lonely desert farm road. Unlike Mark, when I‘m riding I temporarily stop participating in everyday life. Being a boss must be different. The only real instrument on board will not be familiar to most readers as it’s a RACEPAK IQ3S Street Dash that covers the serious basics of instrumentation like oil pressure, temps and speedo stuff with a lot more than I can comprehend needing, but it’s there for a reason. And it’s so racy looking too, just like the ones on Mark’s track bikes. He should fell instantly comfortable.

    Another nice bit of panel beating involved those simply stunning aluminum frame covers that are not only intensely shaped into being, but serve up a lovely side of mirror finish on the surface. I’ve always been a fan of chrome or highly polished panels surrounded in paint whether on the tank or just about anywhere. Take a good gander at those panels, though, and imagine what went into making all those curves and palnes in one panel then do it again to reverse match. Kudos to whoever formed them.

   The, there’s the style element in the room, those saddlebags you never thought you’d see on a Harley custom bagger. Those ADV-style units made in Germany by Touratech function like they’re supposed to with a style that may or may not be stylish to you depending on your bent towards adventure bikes. They’re so different than our FLH style bags we’re so used to that they are referred to as panniers rather than saddlebags in the rest of the world that’s not under Harley’s spell. Again, first use I’ve seen on a custom Harley bagger and I’m sticking with that conclusion.

   The handlebar and tall risers make me think for a second if that’s comfortable for me or not. It’s probably not bad at all, I always get tricked by a fairly low bar sitting high on risers. If it was just a regular old mini-ape, I probably wouldn’t even have mentioned it. One thing that had to be a bit handy was having Mustang Motorcycle Seats almost in Barnstorm’s backyard as long as your backyard is 30 miles away. That’s pretty damn big for a backyard, but not too far to travel to get a Fastback custom seat from the likes of Mustang. With plenty of well-thought-out padding and a scooped seatback that almost qualifies as a back pad to hold you in place when you’ve called up all 165 horses with your right hand or support on a day’s hard ride. Either way, the attractively racy solo-saddle decked out in the colors of the paintjob looks the biz and comfortable too for a change. Mark would demand that so check that one off too.

    Paint, paint, paint, it’s always about the paint and this bike is no different. But whaddya do with it? Paint it like a psychedelic comic strip or skulls and Viking murals or half-naked women? Nope. Barnstorm passed the buck to Brendon Parsons of BP Custom Paint who whipped up a design that’s reminiscent of some of the light earth tones Harley was comfortable with back in the ‘70s. The tan-ish white, root beer and orange hues bring back a different time and a different almost relaxed result that looks more factory than crazy custom. At first I really had a bit of a time getting used to the large tank panel with no logo or badge or whatever, but it’s okay. It’s just a big panel looking for a bit of something, though. Overall the paint fits in and in a custom like this with strange aluminum saddlebags, er, panniers, BP Custom probably made the right choice. Okay, I’ll admit it ─ I’m just not a big fan of brown. There, I said it so give me some respect.

    So, yeah, this high performance, dare to be different, custom FXR bagger is not something you see everyday. I know I wish I did and Mark does too. Right in his garage.

   For more info on what the zany lads at Barnstorm Cycles are up to, visit http://www.barnstormcycles.com/ or all the social media you got. They’re waiting for you and so is this bike that’s for sale too.