But there are ways, both clever and crazy, that we can have our motor oil and drink, er, use it, too. First you start with a bike that won’t break the bank, this 2007 Harley-Davidson XL 1200N Nightster, for example. The buy-in is not huge, say about $7,500 to $8,500 used ($9,595 new), give or take.
Now it comes down to what is actually custom. For many riders, a cam/carb/pipe kit is all they need. The bike puts more power to the pavement, sounds cool, and runs right. But this “simple” setup will lighten your wallet at least a grand, installed, and probably more. For far less you can just go with better breathing pipes and air cleaner, especially if you don’t have a carb to replace or re-jet, like this Nightster. But we all know that’s just the beginning. A new handlebar, hand and foot controls, wheels, seat, lights, maybe a set of heads, and a hot paintjob often follow to some degree to the baleful ring of the cash register. This will have you smashing your piggy bank to death. For a true blue budget custom, the idea is to cleverly make the bike seem like you’ve changed a lot, without actually ripping it apart. Certain styling cues come into play when remaking your machine into a head-turner.
Burly Brand of La Palma, California, put our feature Nightster together initially to show off its Burly Bars (available in 12”, 14”, and 16” heights), that are made for narrow front ends, such as found on Sportsters, Dyna Street Bobs, or any bike suited for narrow bottom bars. “The bars on this particular bike are a narrow-bottom, 14” ape [$110] that we developed at Burly last year,” said brand manager, David Zemla. “The Burly Bars look great but still provide good steering leverage.”
As most riders know, if you change the height of the handlebar, then you almost invariably need to adjust the length of cables, hydraulic lines, and wiring. Burly Brand has a clean and inexpensive solution. “The Burley Cable Kit [$200] is specific for the bike model and handlebar height and contains all you need to swap out bars,” said David. “The Burly Bars look great but still provide good steering leverage.”
It seems one change always leads to another as he said, “And then we decided to take it further, adding the Mustang Tripper solo seat [$240] and the Vance & Hines Short Shots staggered duals [$460].” David noted that the Vance & Hines Short Shots did not require re-mapping. “It sounds cool and runs great,” he said. “The vinyl Mustang seat is an inexpensive upgrade. It is more comfortable than stock and adds some lower back support.”
The front fender was pulled to enhance the bobber profile the bike already sported. For added coolness, the Nightster was lowered 2” up front and 2.5” out back using the company’s Slammer Kit ($300). “There is an incredible demand for lowered bikes,” said David, “but most of that was from women, shorter men, and others with some stability issues, riders with leg problems. The Slammer Kit is selling very well. It works very well, it is inexpensive, and it’s cool.”
Burly Brand is focused on making parts for ease of installation and economy. Most can be installed by anyone with a minimum of mechanical know-how. Since motorcycle shops charge upwards of $85 per hour for labor, your econo-custom loses a lot of its “econo” if the hours pile up. The Burly-built (bolted-on is more accurate) Nightster creates a cool ride for a lot less than you might expect. For $1,310 in parts, plus whatever you need to pay in labor for what you don’t want to install yourself, you can ride away on a custom that looks like it cost much more. Burly Brand offers a few kits that deliver a pricey profile at an everyman price. “The cool part of that bike was that we were able to build it so cheap,” said David. “The Nightster is relatively cheap to customize. It was easy to transform. A lot of what Burly does is economic conversions. We used very few parts to make this bike look that cool. The bike handles quite well and is a lot of fun. What more can you ask for in a custom?”
Up Close: Burly Slammer Kit
Even though the Burly Brand Nightster was assembled to showcase the company’s Burly Bars, the bike’s centerpiece appears to be its Slammer Drop Suspension Kit. According to Burly, “The new Burly Slammer Kit is a combination of dropped fork springs and stubby shocks wrapped up in one easy to install and price friendly package.”
The Slammer Kit uses a shorter main spring and what Burly calls a compensation spring, which fills out the top void created by a shorter main spring. The compensation spring is made of flat as opposed to round wire and is designed to completely compress under the weight of the bike. According to Burly, this allows the forks down travel, “creating the best ride quality possible for a lowered bike.”
What impresses the most about this lowering kit is how damn simple and quick it can be installed. Burly claims the complete Slammer Kit takes less than an hour to install.
The Burly Brand website has a short video showing a woman that Burly claims is not a mechanic easily swapping out the stock 883 Sportster’s 13” rear shocks for the Burly Brand 10.5” shocks via the upper and lower bolts. She moves on to the front end, removes the handlebar clamp, pushes the speedo aside, removes the two fork bolt caps, and pulls out the old springs. Then she replaces them with Burly’s main and compensator springs, adds a couple of PVC spacers, reinstalls the fork caps and bar/speedo combo, and presto chango, the bike is ready to ride with a whole new look.
If you’d like your Sporty lowered 2” up front and 2.5” out back the easy and correct way, check out www.burlybrand.com or call 888-367-1871.
Builder: Burly Brand
Burly Brand has been around for some 18 years according to David Zelma, brand manager. The company was created by White Brothers, which sold out to Motorsports Aftermarket Group. MAG quietly owns a number of notable parts makers, such as Vance & Hines, Progressive Suspension, Performance Machine, Roland Sands Design, Kuryakyn, and Mustang, among others.
The size and scope of MAG gives its divisions some advantages, including technology sharing and economies of scale, not to mention the ability to share and swapping resources, like parts for projects such as the Nightster. At the core of Burly Brand is the company mantra: “Committed to Custom.” But one could say the company is also committed to real world economy.
“Everything we do is committed to customizing your bike, on a budget, with quality parts that are easy to install,” said David. “The Burly Bars and Slammer Kit are a perfect example of what we do for all of the Harley models. They are within the purchasing power of most riders, offering options otherwise not available to budget bikers.”
In the past, Burly Brand has drawn on the talents of such industry icons as Darryl Bassani and Denny Berg. The company has been designing and innovating for years. And now it is expanding while so many other makers are down sizing. “Burly Brand now offers a line of handlebars for Yamaha cruisers, including most of the upper end of the Star Motorcycles’ line,” said David. “We are about what is cool, what works, and what is affordable. And let me tell you, our customers really appreciate it.”
All of Burly Brand’s products are developed in-house, utilizing extensive R&D. The company does not sell direct to the public. It uses distributors such as Biker’s Choice and Drag Specialties. For more information on Burly Brand products visit their website www.burlybrand.com or call 714-367-1871.
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