Like anything Harley, though, our mystery Fat Boy owner/builder just couldn’t leave well enough alone and decided to have at it and don’t spare the bling. No problem to me as everybody’s more than entitled to build their own bike as they see fit. Not only is the end result a sure eye-catcher, but it’s got a hell of a hot rod heart sitting dead center of the build. Nope, no stock old Twin Cam 88 was going to satisfy this owner so a hell of an engine got built to re-power this FLSTF into something with both a bark and a bite.
The TC 88 inhaled an S&S Big Bore kit that gave a final cubic-inch count of 106-inches and included bits like a pair of CNC ported S&S heads, 585C chain drive cams and all the other stuff like pushrods and tappets to make this all work. Even the crank was replaced by a new S&S piece too so it’s still legally a Harley engine, but . . . With the increased displacement also came the need for a greater volume of fuel mixture so an S&S 58mm throttle body wearing a classic S&S teardrop air cleaner handled that duty. Spent fuel was exorcised by a pair of short, big tube shot gun exhausts with a bit of a hooligan attitude. The right side appearance of the engine is a traditional chromey bling that most Harley freaks prefer, but the primary on the left side brings on the body colors of the bike in a most unusual way. Check it out for yourself if you haven’t already and you’ll see what I’m blabbing about for yourself.
The trademark solid disc Fat Boy wheels of 2001 gave way to a set of 50-spoke Fat Daddy wheels from Ride Wright that couldn’t have been farther away on the wheel spectrum than the OEM wheels. Well, at least they’re still in the fat spectrum of things anyway. Up front a Drag Specialties brake caliper grabs a custom rotor while out back the OEM Harley caliper does the same. Plenty of brakes for a bike making plenty of power, I’d have to call that fair and balanced. Whitewall tires on red rims front and rear make the brakes the absolute last thing you’ll notice about the wheels, though, it’s a stunner of a color combo by itself.
Body-wise, this Fat Boy is more of a resto-mod that a customized beyond recognition bike and that’s fine by me. My blue-collar background leads me to personally lust after builds that still keep their stock dimensions and basic profile intact. Somehow that makes them more familiarly comfortable for me to approach and think about possessing. That’s exactly what’s going on here although the front fender is no Fat Boy item, it’s a Drag Specialties FL Smooth front fender without a lick of anything other than fender. There’s no trim or lights or any other chrome bits, just the more squared-off FL shape rather than the round fat Boy fender. Out back there’s a stock Harley mud guard as they were once called still attached to the factory fender stays like Willie G. intended. Top it off with a stock tank and dash and it’s ready for paint.
Dark gray metal flake paint serves as a great base coat for the red scalloping bordered by white pinstriping for a simple, yet striking paint job. Combine that finish with the white LePera seat and the beach bar attitude of cool and you’ve got a sharp ride that’s sure to get noticed. My only potential bitches might be the shocking white on the primary and rear pulley that just seem a bit out of place like someone was trying a bit to hard to get your attention. But, hey, that’s why they call them custom bikes. The spirit of America lives loud and proud in every Harley-Davidson from stock to custom and everything in between. Even those with white primary covers.