It wasn’t always Corné’s intention to take it this far as he was actually building this as a daily rider for his wife Celeste. Like all things motorcycle, it started to get more involved on Day 2 and things just spiraled from there. “I’ve always wanted to build a bike from the ground up and with her wanting something like a bobber, the bike seemed a really good fit for her,” said Corné. “It started out being built with stock wheels and basically just bob it out, keep it kind of traditional. But, I always wanted to go the solid wheel route with a springer front end as well, but all those things were kind of put aside because I didn’t have the funds for it.” Sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it? Corné continued, “Time went by and I got a good deal on some solid wheels, but to accommodate the wheels I needed some sort of a wide glide or springer, but a springer was too expensive.”

Corné’s donor bike, an ’87 883, was not exactly a minter. “When I got it, the shocks were welded on there and the tail section was hacked into pieces. I had no idea whether it was a runner or not, but when I got it running about a month later, I was really pleased,” he said. Luckily for him he had a keen Sportster support group at XLForum.com who provided a wealth of information and advice along the way. Taking heed of their advice led him to purchase a complete, weld-on hardtail from Kansas Kustom that incorporated a 4” stretch. “They make a really good product, it’s a solid piece and welded right,” said Corné. “It doesn’t look too short or stubby like some of the others.”

With the tail welded in place and the Fat Boy wheels mounted, Corné had a roller. Up next was the engine which he sandblasted to get rid of the tired black powdercoating and gave it a raw metal look he liked better. Hopping this up was not part of the plan as he said, “I’m happy with it the way it is, where I ride it I hardly get it into fourth gear. To putt around town, it works perfectly fine and feels really good and crisp.” Out back, the stock ’87 brake does its best in concert with a front caliper yanked from an ’02 Heritage. “At first I wasn’t going to run a front brake, but my wife didn’t want to run without it. I can’t blame her, it’s just not safe,” said Corné. Two heads are definitely smarter than one.

Surprisingly, the tank is OEM including the paint. “The tank is also in the stock location, I didn’t mess with it. I was looking at mounting it in a line with the backbone, but it sat too high and looked really odd,” said Corné. “I was looking for something stealthy and I didn’t want to draw your eye away. I think it was the right choice.” Complimenting this simplicity is a sprung solo saddle by Rich Phillips Leather with a set of always purposeful drag bars just a short reach away. Part of the bike’s simple charm is the lack of fenders. “I had a fender prepped and ready to go on there, but my wife said, ‘Take it off, it doesn’t look right.’ She was right, it looked too completed, too traditional bobber,” said Corné.

Summing up his first build, Corné said, “Compared to my Ultra Classic, it’s okay, it’s not hateful to ride. It’s not very forgiving, but it’s a fun bike to ride. I feel good about this one with all the good feedback especially from my peers, the guys on the XL Forum. It’s hard to appreciate what you’ve done until someone gives you that feedback, that it’s pretty damn cool.”