
Lewis Clark Builds His Dream Deluxe
Story by Buck Manning
Photos by Rodent
Everybody’s got a dream bike riding around in their head just waiting to get out and hit the road. Open up their heads and you’ll find a range of bikes from radical ground-up bikes to high-performance street fighters to heavily-customized baggers to mild customs of their favorite Harley. Mild customs? Yup, not everything has to be an over-the-top, spend-every-last-cent ride to satisfy an owner’s two-wheeled fantasy and if you don’t believe that, take a look around you at the next gathering of bikes you run into. Most bikes are personalized versions of what makes that particular owner feel that they’ve put their own touch on and made the bike truly their bike. The 2009 FLSTNI Softail Deluxe feature bike belonging to U.S. Army Captain Lewis Clark is a perfect example of taking a box-stock H-D and, using his own taste, making it a bike he can truly call his own.
Lewis, stationed at the 1,700 square-mile Fort Bliss just outside of lovely El Paso, purchased his Deluxe last July after thoroughly checking out The Motor Company’s latest offerings and smartly using his military options to get the platform he wanted. “I bought this through the military program and had it shipped through Barnett’s. At the time I wanted to go to a lot of chrome and the Deluxe, out of the box, gives you a lot of chrome,” said Lewis. “Also the paint scheme caught my eye. I liked the Old School turquoise and white, reminds me of an Old School car. The combination of the chrome and the paintjob really grabbed my attention.”
But buying the bike was only the beginning as it is for every Harley owner. Everybody’s got their own idea of what the model should be and Lewis was no different. “I had what I wanted to do in mind for the most part. I would browse the Internet and find pieces on some other bike I’d like and adapted them to my bike,” he said. “I had most of the customizing done at Barnett’s. I’ve a faithful customer of Barnett’s and recommend them to all my friends. A few already have ended up buying a bike there.”
Engine-wise, Lewis basically left the Twin Cam 96 alone. “I did change the pipes [Vance & Hines Big Radius] and air cleaner [Joker Machine] and I went with a Harley-Davidson super tuner. Those changes made the bike perform better and gave me more torque and more top end. More importantly, it gave me the sound I really wanted,” he said. “I am more than happy with the performance of the 96” motor, it goes as fast as I would want to go on it.”
The most distinctive change was Lewis’s choice of a new front wheel which takes it right out of being showroom fresh to personal statement on two wheels. After checking around, he opted for a 21” Sinister Big Daddy fat spoke wheel and stayed the Deluxe style course by mounting up a skinny Metzeler whitewall. “It definitely gave it the looks and the handling pretty much stayed the same. You definitely notice the weight, the big fat spokes, the bigger wheel, and construction of the wheel ― it makes the bike feel heavier. I won’t say it’s better, but it’s definitely not worse,” said Lewis. “The most important thing was that I’m running a 3.5” wheel and I’m only running a 3” tire up front, they don’t make a 3.5” whitewall tire. It’s not recommended by the manufacturers, but for the most part, safe as long as you monitor tire pressure.”
Like all changes, one thing led to another like the custom world’s version of dominos on wheels. “Because I went with a bigger, heavier wheel up front, I wanted stronger brakes,” said Lewis. “The four-piston Brembo was rated pretty good and I knew I needed to upgrade my brakes and at the same time, improve the styling with the chrome-finish Brembo brakes.” The new chrome caliper got bolted on to new chrome lower fork legs and along with 50 fat spokes, the front end took on look that riders addicted to shiny things would envy. Other changes included chrome H-D hand controls and Nostalgia grips along with a switch to Accutronix foot controls. “Accutronix provided me with a grooved look and it flows through with my theme throughout the bike. They do make some pretty good foot controls too,” said Lewis.
One thing I had to ask Lewis about was how he fit this bike as it sits stock as he’s not a short guy and the stock Deluxe gets a little cramped for people of stature. “I changed the handlebars to Wild I Chubbys Street Fighter bars that look identical to the Fat Boy look and I went from pull backs to straight risers ‘cause I’ve got long arms,” he said. “I’m ordering a new seat this week. With the handlebar setup I did, it improved the riding position a lot, but I’m going with a Mustang Fastback seat which should be perfect as it moves you back an inch-and-a-half.”
As for the future changes, the only thing left Lewis is considering is a change to is a chrome swingarm. “For the most part, it’s pretty much done. It’s just the way I want it. It’s a fun bike. It’s just a bar hopper, something to go out and have some fun on. It’s definitely not a touring bike, but I’m not a big cross-country guy,” said Lewis. “Hopefully I’m going to pass it down to my six-year-old son Zander and it can stay in the family for a very long time.”
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