♠ Motörheadster ♠: Putting it all Together

Speedometer Placement

Hey... I'll be the first to admit it, when it comes to some of the changes I made on the Motorheadster, not all the ideas were mine. I saw a side mounted speedo while I was surfing the flikr photography site. I was simply searching the word Sportster and I came across a Japanese bike with a side gauge. His was a little different because he attached it to the frame.

Then I found this picture on flikr under the photo stream title 'Dirty Girtie'. The builder is Bonneville Motorcycles. I originally thought the engine mount would work better than a frame mount and this snap proved it.

Here is a side shot. What a great looking bobber!

Next up, two Nightsters. I didn't like where the gauge was positioned on either bike.

This just wouldn't work on my bike because the coil is mounted here. I do like the way he finished it off. Very clean.

But this next bike... (no offense) all I can say is I hope this is just the mock up!

I did try putting my bracket in front of the tank like this guy did but it just didn't look right. In my opinion, it's just too high. I also don't like the fact he took off the housing. I would be worried about moisture getting in there and it just doesn't look finished. On a Rat bike that's one thing, on this new Nightster, well... to each his own as the saying goes.

Sprocket cover

This is where I got the idea for my sprocket cover. I found these pictures on the photobucket website under the photo stream BOND--007.

He put way more holes in his but the outcome is awesome! I was going to shave down my cam covers like BOND--007 did but I decided to wait until the end of the riding season.

I found a step by step example of how to do it yourself on the Street Choppers website

Here is the web address if you want to take a look.

http://www.streetchopperweb.com/tech/0612_stcp_part_17_build_off/index.html

BOND--007 also had previous pictures of his bike with the original cast aluminum rims. I had always wanted to paint mine black and once I saw his newer posts (after he painted the rims) I knew I was on the right track. BOND--007's sporty is really well done, it's worth your while to check it out.

The Paint

The air cleaner on this model of the Nightster is black and gave me the idea to just paint mine for now. However, I am looking for a 'Spade' or 'Snaggletooth' to replace my Harley-Davidson emblem on the plastic cover. In the future I may look at changing it to a velocity stack.

The striping on this tank is nice and clean. It helped me in making my decision. But I liked the idea of going black on black.

Heat Shields

Harley-Davidson has just unveiled it's new Screamin' Eagle heat shields for the Nightster. They are just over $200. The only problem... I need shields with a cross piece.

I found this picture on the XLForum website (I don't know the owner or who posted it).

After a little photo shop magic, PRESTO! A drilled cross piece. It helped me visualize what my pipes would look like and I decided to go for it.

Front end

My front end is stock but in the future I would like to put a springer front end on my bike. These pics are from Boneshaker Choppers. They build bobsters and chopsters using Flyrite Choppers frames and parts.