The rebel chopper and the redneck bobber - by John Dao

It started out as a childhood dream. I wasn’t out of high school and wanted a choppah already. I would see my dad ride off with friends almost every weekend and it sucked to just stand in the driveway and watch ‘em leave….  Anyway, I finally got my Sportster and it has always been my favorite. At first, it would piss me off to hear people refer to ‘em as “girl bikes”…. I laugh at this now, but, back then it wouldn’t take much to get me going… LOL…

So as I said, I always wanted a Sportster and finally, was able to get one and what a time it was to get it!!! My friend David who lives really close to our house has always had contact with dirt bikes as a kid, but he got himself a Sportster just about the same time I did, funny, ‘cause it’s the same model and same year and we didn’t even plan this! So, as soon as the word got around, I gave him a call. We hooked up to check out the bikes and ride around in a couple a’ beat up 883’s that nobody really wanted except us.  As time went by, and not much time, we started having trouble with the bikes, technical problems actually. My bike had caught on fire before I bought it or so we heard, so the electrical wiring was pretty crisp. It had an S&S super E carb with air leaks and way too big jets for an 883.   My rear wheel was a little off  because the rear swing arm was bent.   Only heaven holds the answer to that! LOL… It would sputter when I would go from idle to mid range rpm`s… LOL…. You people understand it needed work.

On the other hand, Davids’ bike was needing work on the tranny and he rode it till it wouldn’t ride no more. This also happened around the same time as mine, so we started working on ‘em, changing parts, fitting parts and making parts, although I know it’s hard to believe, but in this part of the world, you just don’t come across everything you want and need when you want and need ‘em.   Now I’m not gonna go into details about why you don’t… because it would just change the direction of my concentration… So we put our melons to work and came up with some pretty cool ideas every now and then.   Keeps your bike runnin’, so no prob, huh?   David took care of his tranny, brought back some parts from the USA and he got himself an S&S super E, brand new.   I had never seen one in a box before…LOL.   He also got a couple of  curved drag pipes,  a big ol’ ape, about 18 inches, I think… some grips and forward controls.   We got to work and put it all on his bike and it looked awesome… really, a 70’s style sportie with an evo on it.

We then went to work on mine, with my dad and a couple of friends from a local custom motorcycle shop.  We re-did the wiring,  took care of the air leak,  got a second hand rear swing arm, rejetted the carb and changed my stock ignition module for a Dyna Performance 2Ki.   I had a gameboy laying around and somebody else had the Dyna Performance 2Ki laying around, sooo… we swaped!! LOL!!!  Now we had a couple of nice riding sportsters. One looked like a seventies sportie choppah and the other looked pretty stock with a butt ugly head lamp!

Well, we went out riding for a couple of nights to get used to the bikes and went to the bar to have a couple of brews.   It was all good, until one night,  I got really drunk at home and decided to race to the bar, “loser buys” I said!!   I got into a pretty bad crash and was left with only one solution; it was time to get my sportie chopped….so we got to work.  Besides sending the tank to get straightened; my Dad had in his garage some old wide front forks and a couple of police edition mag wheels laying around which he gave to me they were both 16” so it was perfect.  It looked short and fat, and I liked the look.

We took the engines apart on both bikes, bored the cylinders and brought them up to 1200cc, and did minor porting on the cylinder heads.  After painting the bikes, I got hold of some very nice headers a cousin of mine had laying around, worked on the S&S air filter cover, took care of minor details that were pending and that’s it!

We finished the “Rebel Choppah” ta’boot with my own redneck bobber to pay proud homage to my grandfathers’ “Capt Jim’s Redneck Bar” and the South!!

Change Is In The Air - by Joe Lanza

Ok- Let’s be frank about this. We all love to ride new bikes.   Swing your leg over a factory-fresh saddle and you feel transformed,  like something out of a comic book.

Take a 2009 883 Sportster for example. When I bought mine, it had 1000 miles on it, looking like it was brand spanking new all polished up on the showroom floor.  The HD dealer had no idea what I had in store for them.  I was a villain on the prowl.   I wanted a deal.

I had been looking for a bike that was good on gas, since the untimely death of my 1980 Yamaha XS850. Nothing like hot scalding oil to ruin your day. (And a good pair of pants… and socks…. and shoes.) That poor old bike gave me 46 miles to the gallon even on cold days.
“Something out there has to be better”,  I was going to find it and work every angle I had to possess it.

So dealer scouring I went, nothing was overlooked.   I rode Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, KTM, Ducati, and even a Big Bear Chopper Bagger. Nothing seemed to fit my need….

My demands were these:

• High Gas Mileage- My 30-year-old carburetor triple got very decent gas mileage. Surely something fuel injected could leave it in the dust!!

• Highway Drive ability -Nothing worse than getting out on the highway on a 450 and watching the Semi-Trucks pass you like you are standing still.

• Functionality-Good handling, capability for storage, and some electrical capacity for the technical goodies us 20-somethings cannot seem to be without.

Not too complicated right? I mean there HAS to be a bike out there for me right? I should be falling all over them there should be so many. Little did I forget the sometimes “ancient” and “outdated” considered company of Harley-Davidson.  My Stepfather owns a 2008 Ultra Classic. He was going to take it to our local dealer for some much needed spring-cleaning and suggested I go along.  “C’mon Dad” I said, “those bikes are way too much for what I’m looking for”…little did I know?

So to Kutter Harley-Davidson of Monroe I went. Based in Janesville, WI, Kutter is a dealer fortunate enough to have the kind of following to allow them a second location. Upon walking in the smaller store in Monroe, I was greeted by the smell of fresh rubber, leather, and the faint smell of burned gasoline. Anyone, who’s fired up their bike after sitting for a while knows what I mean. The smell of approaching summer.

After further inspection I noticed the pictures of board track racers, and early 1900’s bikes and their riders. My Great-Grandfather rode several bikes during that time period. A Flying Merkel, a Curtis Twin, an Indian, and, of course, a Harley-Davidson. They seemed to circle the room in a swirl of time transportation and a brief glimpse of the history that this brand represents. Why, just looking at all the neat old parts and… CRASH!!!

Chalk it up to plain absent-mindedness or whatever else you want. I was so engrossed in the scenery that I didn’t look where I was going. I literally fell head over heels over a bike and display.

I immediately rocketed to my feet… looked around like most men do, to see if anyone saw me, and tried to pick up what remained of the disturbed display.   The salesman who was working that day noticed my little act of stupidity.  “So, what do you think of this bike?” He asked.  Crap… Did I hurt the bike?  “Well, since you asked,” I said, “I’m looking for something that can do all of this….” And I rattled off my list of expectations.

We talked for several minutes and he showed me the informational tag hanging from the handlebars.

I about crapped my pants.

“60 MILES PER GALLON!!!” I exclaimed. This had to be a misprint. Can a 09 883 Sportster really do that? I had to find out. Fast.

I laid it all on the line for him. I wanted to ride that thing, and hard. If it can take everything I can throw at it, and still get me somewhere in the ballpark of 60mpg’s. I would consider myself sold.

To make a long story short, I put 4 tanks of gas through that bike. Now I’m not very good at math, but the little girl behind our gas station’s cashier counter is very quick with a calculator.

How does a combined average of 56mpg grab you?

Not bad for a USED bike if you ask me. The previous owner had it 6 days shy of a year. He put 1000 miles on it, and had the service already paid for. Not to mention all of the extra parts that were already installed. Things like… Forward controls, windshield, rear fender luggage rack, LePera solo seat, and some chrome “Sportster” pieces.
Put all of these things together and I got just what I was asking for. A bike that can keep up on the highway, get high gas mileage for the already diminishing wage I’m getting, and the availability for storage like nobody’s business. Have you seen all of the stuff available for a Sportster lately? Good God.

I bought my 2009 HD XL883L in March of 2010 with 1000 miles on the clock. It’s August of 2010 now and I have over 9000 miles of absolute joy at the controls of my Sportster.

“Outdated” and “Ancient” my foot. Change is good.

Customer Ride-Steve Rose

I live in the land of the Big Twin-Milwaukee. Many people I know own Harleys, but no one I know owns a Sportster, except me. It is a 2007 Nightster I purchased for $7500 dollars with only 600 miles on it. I put a Thundermax tuner in it along with Vance & Hines competition series 2 into 1 pipe and a H-D heavy breather intake. It has Progressive Suspension drop ins up front and Licks 10 inch shorties in the back. Black forward controls and Licks 3 inch mirrors finish the mods so far.By far the quickest Harley in my garage and very fun to ride. I take a lot of ribbing when I’m out on my “chick bike.” I think its pretty funny too. No one will race me when I’m on it. Steve Rose

3″ Chrome Mini Mirrors

are

BACK IN STOCK!!

For those waiting patiently for the 3″ chrome mini mirror…its finally back in stock.  This bare bones beauty mounts in the stock lever mirror mount location.  Its fully adjustable in height and side to side movement.  custom without the clutter!!  Get em while they last….

Hand Pinned Helmets

ON SALE NOW!!

Licks is hooked up with some of the hottest pinstripers in the industry and we are having a blow out sale on every one of our in-stock custom pinned Biltwell  helmets.

If you have ever wanted to incorporate a hand crafted piece of hot rod nostalgia into your biker lifestyle… we have your FIX!! Best of all Licks is able to bring this incredibly unique, one off product right to your doorstep.   No two helmets are alike guaranteed!!

Lets face it… You cannot find a product of this quality anywhere on the net for a price like this. Order online today…these custom gems are made the old fashion way….hand-crafted, one at a time with the artist’s talent and passion poured into each one.  Make your friends DROOL with envy………

Customer’s Ride

We often receive pics from customers wanting to show off their scoots and all the cool mods they have done.  We recently received this submission from Charles in Beatrice Nebraska.   We thought we would share the mod list and some cool pics with everyone…thanks for the submission Charles…

Here is a few pics of my 2005 883r.
With the Le’Pera bare bones seat, and the struts, she sits pretty low.
Chopped the rear fender
Side mount license plate w/ model A light.
buffalo drag bars.
Vance and Hines short shots.
Removed front fender, speedometer, front blinkers, belt guard, passenger brackets, and of course most of the rear fender.
you can see the solo bag I purchased from you guys..(love it by the way)
Really pleased how it has turned out..
Thanks for letting me show it off.

BAD N BLACK SHORTY SHOCKS

Looking for attitude that backs itself up with action? Our new Bad In Black Shorty Shocks give your bike that illusive bad ass low ride stance while delivering the most comfortable ride available in a custom shock. The new Black Shorties measure 10” eye to eye and have been specifically engineered with a universal spring load that can smoothly handle riders from 150 to 325 lbs. Black Shorties also feature adjustable spring ratings to attain softer or stiffer ride response to match your preference (spanner wrench included). The Licks’ Black Shorties will give your bike serious attitude and superior suspension performance. These blacked-out short shocks are available for 1991 through 2010 Sportster and retail for an amazing $199.00 — hands down, best deal on the web.

Its was like Christmas in August when we opened a package from Chopper Dave’s Casting Company today.  First off,  let me say that anyone who has received anything in the mail from Chopper Dave has got to admit his packaging paper ROCKS!!   Once we got passed all the buxom beauties on the perfect panty paper, we uncovered a very cool surprise!  Dave took it upon himself to do up some cast Licks Cycles points covers to fit Sportster and Evo big twins.    AJ and I were psyched!!  Thanks Dave!!