That’s exactly what you’re looking at here with this stunning Heritage Softail built by Covintons Customs out of Woodward, Oklahoma. If you’re not familiar with Covingtons, it’s a family run enterprise that has been seemingly customizing Harley-Davidsons since the first year of production back in 1903. While not exactly true, founder Jerry Covington has been at the helm customizing Harleys and cars before letting the next generation of Covingtons step up to the plate for their time at bat. There’s been a lot of focus on big wheel baggers because that’s where the money is today, but Covingtons is never afraid to trick out whatever they feel like. They still turn out a fair amount of Softails too and this 2012 Heritage Softail is a perfect example of what they do.

   Okay then, it’s not stock by any means as just about everything got changed during the build, but it’s only street related problem to me would be the amount of time you’d have to spend cleaning this beauty to keep it in top notch condition. Ah, the pain of owning a custom bike. One thing that hasn’t been changed is the stock Softail frame keeping all the factory street geometry intact so that alone should shout down most potential haters. Believe it or not, that’s a stock-style swingarm although the chromed engraving covering it takes it into serious custom world. Same goes for the similarly engraved forks that shimmer at the slightest hint of sunlight. So far, so good for street use.

  The OEM wheels were shunted off to wherever stock wheels go and replaced with a set of Ride Wright Fat 50 diamond spoke wheels. Here’s where things begin to deviate from stock with a 23-inch up front and an 18-inch out back replacing the pair of 16-inchers originally supplied on a FLSTC. There’s plenty of sidewall on the whitewall tires for  good ride and handling traits compared to a 30-incher so it certainly wouldn’t have the low-aspect ratio problems 30-inch tires have. Personally, I think they look damn good and should be no excuse to get all hot and bothered about. You could ride these anywhere you felt like it, but they sure do look trick as hell especially with the diamond spoke treatment. A pair of custom rotors replaced the ugly stock units front and rear, but for practical purposes, the stock calipers still have a job.

  Sometimes things have got to take a hit on a build if you’re going custom and here, the right stance required a good amount of lowering. Okay, you might lose some lean angle, but that’s nothing special as most Softails even if they are stock as all get-out seem to have been hit by the lowering stick. I like the look of low, but I sure do hate the ride, but nobody has ever claimed that being beautiful is easy. This build just wouldn’t work at stock ride height so that’s a compromise worth taking. 

  One thing that Covingtons has successfully accomplished here is keeping the stock Heritage profile even though it’s quite a bit different. You can see its Heritage design DNA, but you know it’s had some gene work done along the way. Both fenders built by Covington look like they’ve still got some Heritage in them although they’re a sleeker design than stock by a factory mile. The overall look of fenders along with the whitewall diamond spoke wheels brings a bit of what I’ll call sprightliness to the kinda clunky, but cool look of a stock Heritage. The stock tank is still in use and Fat Bob-style tanks never have or will go out of style as far as I’m concerned.

   Covingtons Customs did catch me by surprise, though, when I checked out the Road King-style headlight nacelle. I had to think for a minute about that as it’s rare I ever see a Heritage without its windshield on. I tend to notice the dual running lights that I really like more than the headlight shell. Since I’m not a windshield kinda guy, I can’t help but like what’s going on here with this nacelle and running lights. It all fits together well and I don’t miss the stand-alone Heritage unit a bit. Out back it’s a little more of the same as I again had to think about whether a tombstone-style taillight was stock or not. And, no it wasn’t I remembered as I got my brain in gear and realized the closest stock setup is on a Deluxe. This is not one of those. I guess I just don’t notice stock taillights as none I know of are anything special. The tombstone is mounted perfectly and it looks so much better with the plate mounted below it. Nice job Covingtons.

  What you feel and touch should be very familiar to a Heritage owner other than the attitude enhancing apes. The foot and chromed hand controls are Motor Company stock as is the seat, but the reach to the bars is not. The apes sure do look cool and bring a bit of a L.A. lowrider–style to the bike. Plus, if you’re looking for looks and anybody wanting a potential show bike like this does, nothing does that quicker than a fairly stout set of apes. And, if you don’t like apes, that’s okay. Just change ‘em to what you want and be done with it.

  One thing’s for sure, if it’s a Covingtons Customs’ build, it’s gonna be able to kick some butt. The Covington family is all about high performance and they made sure they put some extra oomph into the Twin Cam 103. It’s not the typical air filter and pipe change with a tuner thrown in, but a Screamin’ Eagle Stage IV kit. That kit includes  CNC ported heads, higher compression 10.5:1 pistons and rings, 58mm throttle body with hi-flow injectors, SE-259 cams, perfect-fit pushrods, gasket kit and heavy duty clutch spring. All this stuff along with a good tuner kit and a free flowing air cleaner and pipe work can be good for around 100 horses at the rear wheel. That’s a nice punch above stock using all Motor Company parts. What’s not to like about that setup, especially when it’s connected to something as rad as a BAKER Drivetrain 7-speed gearbox just because they could? Nothing that I can see.

   The rocker box covers are a Covingtons product and one of the main reasons to change to them was for engraving their smooth surface so it matched what has probably got to be one of the most engraved-overall bikes I’ve ever run across. There’s engraving everywhere you look from the tips of the long fishtail exhaust to the fork legs and anything not painted in-between. The engraving gives the engine a strange luster that’s full of bling, but the 3D affect of engraving mellows things out while making it even more interesting. Whenever I see engraving I just don’t notice it and run, but I have to check out every single bit of it no matter where it lays. It’s one of those things I’ve never done, but it intrigues me whenever I run into it.

   And then there’s the paint. Covingtons hit a home run on this one with a stunner of a design that doesn’t look overwrought, but could almost be factory if someone at the factory had big cojones and good taste. The various shades of blue metal flake panels bordered with black striping and shading just gleams flake in the sun. Other than if you hate blue for reasons I don’t want to know about, it’s a beauty with graphic work you have to get up close to appreciate. Altogether, the paintwork, chrome, and engraving along with those whitewalls make this bike pop from any angle. You couldn’t miss it if you tried and from what I know that’s what a successful custom build is all about, being noticed.   

  So mi amigos, this is a dual-purpose bike not in the sense of how they describe adventure bikes today. But, in the sense of being able to ride it as well as show it, it’s a true dual-purpose bike that’s not lost a bit of the inherent Harley goodness it started life with. And, if you would like to put your money where your mouth is, it’s for sale at http://www.covingtonscustoms.com/. By the way, it includes the passenger saddle, bags and windshield of the stock Heritage too so if you want a custom bagger you could make it one yourself. Covingtons Customs has made the custom bike a lot of you are calling out for so it’s time to put up or shut up. This bike has no excuses and I’d expect the same from you too.