The FLTR didn’t stay stock for long as the Twin Cam 88” engine was upgraded to a 103” giving a serious performance boost with a host of Screamin’ Eagle parts including the heads and cams by Performance Harley-Davidson of Syracuse, New York. This proven Harley performance package is a sure-fire winner when it comes to power and reliability, but it doesn’t come cheap as casework is necessary, for one thing, but the end result is worth it power wise. Rick chose Screamin’ Eagle pipes as a reasonable decibel maker and power enhancer instead of going the oftentimes obnoxious “Can you hear me know?” (of course we can and your bike sounds like it’s running sh*tty) route that people take thinking louder equals faster. Rick proceeded to rack up the miles commuting to his Ford dealership and runs through upstate New York until he had a good 10,000 miles on his bike and decided to start phase two of his FLTR transformation, changing the stock look.

Shane Gatto of Shane Gatto Customs in Syracuse, New York, got a call from Rick explaining what his vision for his bike was and based on what he had heard, Shane was the right choice to do it for him. “Rick’s pretty well off and knows what he likes and what he wants,” said Shane. ”He came to me on a recommendation from Performance Harley-Davidson which couldn’t do what he wanted ‘cause it was too custom. We worked out a plan and I didn’t try to push stuff down his throat.”

Part of the plan was to give it some beef out back in the form of a Fat Baggers Inc. 200mm rear tire kit. Luckily for Rick, Shane is an FBI dealer and knows the ins and outs of this mod. “We use as much stuff of theirs as we can. Their fenders are very good and they put a lot of R&D into their fat tire kits,” said Shane. After stripping the bike to the frame, motor, and transmission, Shane and right-hand man, Ray Hart, installed a Harley 6-speed gearset when it came time to add the extension to the output shaft for belt clearance around the fatter rear tire. “I try to use Harley stuff where I can for my customers in case they do have a problem down the road, it’s easy for them to get it fixed,” said Shane. RC Components supplied a set of their Venom wheels with a 200mm Avon on a 17-incher mandatory out back and a 21-incher up front filling the stock fender nicely. “The 200 FBI kit with the Avon is a pretty slick setup,” said Shane.

Speaking of mandatory, it seems no self-respecting customized bagger doesn’t sport a set of mini-apes and Rick’s is no exception. Shane installed a set of Wild 1 Chubby 10” bars and kept ‘em clean as could be with hidden wiring. “They’re really cool, the rise is good, the pullback is perfect, and with the fairing it’s a nice setup,” said Shane. Scott at Ace’s Auto Trim did some reshaping of the stock seat, added a gel pad for comfort, and re-covered it. “That’s what’s nice about Scott,” he added. “He’ll do it just the way you want it.”

The paint scheme was all Rick and he took the bodywork back to his dealership and had in-house painters Greg Buker and Kenyon spray on the elegantly simple Cobalt Blue and white paint. The eagle and flame graphics were tastefully done by Dan Jackson and do look like something the factory coulda’-shoulda’ done. “They did a fantastic job.The Cobalt Blue just has that ‘pop’ that’s unbelievable. When we got it back, we gave it the chrome and the look to go with it, but made sure not to go overboard,” said Shane. “It’s a great bike, it looks beautiful, and the Harley guys really dig it.”