Kyle Rice has learned a lot about the bike builder’s craft over the years, growing and overcoming its inherent challenges to be the craftsman who turned this 1992 Harley-Davidson FXR into a pretty cool chopper. Or, as he tells it, “I wanted to challenge myself and push my limits; feel the pressure. I wanted to be perfect but quickly realized that wasn’t happening. I wanted to become a better fabricator (and show what I’ve learned over the last few years), be a better sheet metal shaper, a better painter, and a better upholsterer than I was. I feel like I’ve dreamt of this bike for years, waiting to find my style and build up the skill level to actually make it happen. I’ve been chasing this one for a while.” His history with chopped iron goes back a couple of generations. Kyle’s grandfather also built choppers way back in the day, like sketchy long chops in the ’60s in Southern Illinois. He had Harleys, BSAs, and Triumphs. He messed around with everything mechanical, and so did Kyle’s father. Unfortunately, grandfather passed away a year after Kyle was born. That left Kyle with stories and photos. “I wanted to build this bike to keep that flame burning. I think my grandfather would be proud of this one.” See the full feature and learn more about Kyle Rice's story in the current issue of Hot Bike Magazine at https://store.hotbike.com/products/hot-bike-2023-volume-3-usa-only-1 or sign up for a full subscription and support independent publishing at https://store.hotbike.com/products/hot-bike-2023-print-digital-subscription-usa-only

Big thanks to@getBenTmotofor the great video!

Have you ever considered a turbocharger for your Harley-Davidson? With Trask Performance's Tornado Turbo kit exclusively from Drag Specialties, now you can in an easy and efficient manner. We trekked over to Trask Performance's HQ in Phoenix, AZ to get the new Tornado installed on our project 2022 Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST. In a few hours, we were able to bolt on about 30 more horsies and 40 foot-pounds of torque. Not bad for an afternoon in the desert!

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve been fans of this Dual Sport Sportster ever since it graced the cover of Hot Bike back in 1991. Well, it just so happened a little birdie (Mark Atkins aka the Butcher) hipped us to the Dual Sport Sporty’s current whereabouts. As it turned out it remained relatively unchanged, and it was in impeccable condition. In fact, the dual Sporty was getting ridden quite a bit by the current owner, a 78-years-young Bob Scott of Hesperia, California. We had to go out and pay Mr. Scott a visit to see how the bike was holding up. After an afternoon of photographing Bob ripping through the high desert on the dually, we knew this bike and its story were worth another feature. It just so happened that we tracked down previous editor, Buck Lovell, to write the follow-up piece to his original article from 1991. Enjoy.

In this installment of Hot Bike's Tech Tips featuring Danny "Motorwitch" Wilson, we dive into the drive and clutch upgrades you might need when adding horsepower or torque performance.

In our last installment, we covered the first service on a Milwaukee-Eight Harley-Davidson (in Touring and Softail configurations). In this installment, I am going to cover the commonly overlooked items that are impacted when adding horsepower, the factory big twin compensator and the factory clutch. I’ll break down the differences between the stock parts versus the more performance-oriented drive components. But first...
I hear a lot from our customers, and it seems to be the opinion of
the “master tech” on the forum, but a lot of people seem to think that stock Harley parts are shit. This is not the case. Stock parts are designed to handle the bike in the stock configuration, and they do so very well. When you start to build more power some of the supporting components simply aren’t designed to take that kind of abuse. Because our Low Rider ST is getting the Trask Turbo treatment it will be making far more power than the stock compensator and clutch were engineered to take, which is what we’re changing them out.

Let’s talk about exactly why we’re changing the compensator and
clutch out. One of the first parts that will fail with more power is the compensator. The compensator is basically a ramp system with springs. It is designed to absorb the shock from acceleration and deceleration. If the compensator is deleted that shock will be absorbed by the clutch hub bearing which will fail rapidly. Aside from the mechanical use, it also provides you with a smooth power delivery and a much more pleasant riding experience.

For this we are using a Baker Drivetrain (https://bakerdrivetrain.com/) compensator assembly, which has a decreased ramp lobe diameter which significantly reduce velocities on the part, ultimately reducing wear. The radial width of the ramp lobe is increased which reduces the PSI loading, again increasing the lobe of the part and reducing wear. There are seven supporting spokes that structurally tie the inner ramp to the hub of the sprocket.

The mass of the sprocket is concentrated towards the center so that the ‘flywheel effect’ is minimized, which reduces operational noise. The parts are all made in America of heat treated 4140 steel alloy.

The next component is the clutch. I’m sure most of you know what
a clutch is and how it works, but we’ll cover it anyway. The clutch in a big twin is a basket with starter ring gear, a hub pressed into a bearing, and a series of plates that are friction and steel.

Evolution Industries’ (https://www.evolution-industries.com/) clutch assembly is my go-to clutch for many reasons. The main clutch components are made of forged 7076 steel, which automatically trumps some of the weaknesses of the stock configuration. When you get this clutch, it’s complete. I simply soak the plates in ATF, install it and I’m done.

The Evolution clutch also has multiple options for spring pressure. The default springs handle up to 150 horsepower, but the heavy springs can handle up to 240 horsepower. You can also use different spring rates to get lower effort without sacrificing performance.

This setup is as good as it gets for your bike, so if you’re planning on building some power this will sort out your primary drive. Please check out the video that accompanies this article, which provides the step-by-step installation so that if you decide to do this yourself you can do so after purchasing a few tools you may not have. We’re already working on more videos for you guys so until next time stay tuned and ride safe.

The Harley-Davidson Pan America is one unique motorcycle, especially for the Motor Company. The guys at FXR Division didn't see it as an eyesore or a mis-step from the Milwaukee manufacuring juggernaut, no. They saw an opportunity to redefine what an American-made touring machine could and should be. With that being said, the once polarizing Harley ADV, is leaps and bounds one of the most thoughtful and cutting-edge customs we've seen in quite some time. When H-D approached FXR Division to participate in their HD120 celebration with a brand-new Pan America to build to their liking, they jumped at the opportunity. Our man on the street (not literally), Rob Fortier, happened to be out in Phoenix this past January, right after they got the notification from H-D, though it wouldn’t be till the end of February that they took delivery of the ’22 Pan America, leaving them but four months to design, execute, and complete the bar-raising build for its debut at the 14th Annual Born-Free Show! Tthis was a total collective effort to produce one show-stopping bike, and to properly give credit where credit’s due, I gave the three gentlemen behind the beast the opportunity to do so in their own words, which you'll have to read in the all-new Hot Bike magazine ON SALE NOW!

Get the ALL-NEW Hot Bike Magazine and Subscribe and save by visiting store.hotbike.com.

We fell in love with Kento Oketani’s (aka Fury) Iron Head desert sled when we first saw it at Born-Free 13 (2022). Of course it wasn’t given it’s proper credit because it wasn’t recognized in print. So we have to do something about that which is why we featured it in the first issue back, Hot Bike Issue 1 2023. Fury’s first-time custom build was definitely a home run and we look forward to seeing his next bike.

🎥: @TimSuttonPhotography