There’s an old saying that’s spun around the motorcycling community that goes, “It’s not if you go down it’s when.” Basically we are all going to take a spill, minor or major, at your own fault or the negligence of someone else sometime or another. Unfortunately, Jeff Hemm owner of Tazmo Customs in Southern California found this out the hard way back in 2008 when he was in a motorcycle accident that caused $7,500 worth of damage to his 2003 Anniversary Edition Softail Heritage.

Determined to get back in the saddle, Jeff decided to take his unfortunate incident and turn it into a more positive part of his life. He decided to rebuild his crashed bike into the dream bike he had conjured up in his head with his own style.

To get the project rolling, so to speak, Jeff stripped the bike down to the frame so that he had a clean slate to start with. After making sure the frame was straight and ready to be put back into commission, he turned his attention to the mill. The 88ci engine was torn down and rebuilt to a 103ci stroker with a Screamin’ Eagle stroker flywheel assembly, CNC Screamin’ Eagle heads and HTCC pistons, S&S; 585G cams, and a Power Commander III. To back up the engine, Jeff got his hands on a JIMS six-speed trans while the stock H-D primary was used to tie the engine and trans together.

While the engine would get the bike down the road, Jeff knew it would be the bodywork that would catch people’s attention. To achieve the look he was going for, Jeff picked up a pair of Russ Wernimont fenders to cover the chrome 50-spoke Fat Daddy wheels. The front fender was stretched 4 inches while the rear fender was stretched 9 inches to get the tail dragger look he wanted. Jeff continued the stretched look by picking up a set of H-D hard bags and Klock Werks Saddlebag Extensions. The extensions were glassed to the bottom of the bags and the bags were mounted to the Softail frame with custom brackets.

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“Long and low was the theme of the bike so the front suspension was lowered 2 inches with a Progressive kit while a Hi-Lo Air Ride system was mounted at the rear to allow Jeff to drop the bike to the stops at stops.”

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Long and low was the theme of the bike, so the front suspension was lowered 2 inches with a Progressive kit while a Hi-Lo Air Ride system was mounted at the rear to allow Jeff to drop the bike to the stops at stops.

Up top a set of chrome Cyclesmiths Beach Bars were used, while a set of the company’s 19-inch Banana Boards were employed to hold Jeff’s feet. Speaking of chrome, Jeff threw chrome at just about every part and accessory on this bike, such as the swingarm, calipers, nacelle, Headwinds turn signals, Küryakyn Mustache Bar, and many more parts.

While Jeff knew the chrome would gleam in the sun, he really wanted the paint to stand out and draw people in. To accomplish this feat he went with a HOK Tangerine Candy with Vivid Black and airbrushed accents. The end result was a flashy yet classy hot rod style flame job.

After three months of long hours, Jeff was finally able to roll his once smashed and crashed Softail out of the shop and out into the sun where it could once again shimmer and shine. While the bike is a 100th anniversary edition Harley at heart, it now has another anniversary associated to it, the day it was reborn onto the Southern California roadways as a sexy bagged and flamed Softail. HB

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