Sweet Tracker | Phil Little Racing Body Kit
The SXR body kit is the way to go for achieving the street/dirt tracker look without breaking the bank. The parts I chose for this project were: tail section with seat and taillamp assembly, side number plate, gas tank with gas cap and dual petcocks installed, mud guard, and chrome license plate mount. And for fun, Phil threw in a couple pieces of my favorite candy.
01. Since the stock rear fender had been removed for quite some time in order to fit the 19-inch wheel in the rear, I got started by removing the required 7 inches from the frame fender struts in order for the tail section to fit.
02. With a Sawzall, I cut 7 inches (measuring from the back of the frame horns) off both sides, and then test-fit the tail section.
03. After the tail section fitment checked out, I used a grinder to rub the fresh cuts smooth.
04. A simple hand file was used to finish smoothing the cuts.
05. A little bit of black touch-up paint made it look like new.
06. The mudguard was the first to be installed and slid right in between the cross section of the frame underneath the seat. The mudguard protects the electronics from being damaged, and I simply secured it to the frame underneath where the tail section will mount.
07. Next up was installing the license plate frame to the body kit with the provided hardware. Four bolts hold it in place.
08 With the license plate mounted to the tail section and the taillamp already installed, I was ready to install the tail section. The tail section is molded to fit specific model years.
09. After the installation of the tail section, I used the supplied Velcro to secure the seat to the tail section, then I installed the side plate in place of the stock fuse panel cover. Installation of tail and side cover was complete at this time.
10. Moving on to replacing the tank, I simply removed the fuel line from the petcock and removed the front and rear fender mounting bolts and removed the stock peanut tank.
11. The Phil Little fiberglass tank holds about 3 gallons of gas and comes with two petcocks (regular and reserve tank). The tank mounts via this bracket that’s easily removed with two bolts (top and bottom) and is installed to the backbone. I bolted the bracket to the backbone and moved on to fitting the new tank on the bike.
12. I ran into a snag when test-fitting the tank. The stock ignition switch clearly had to be relocated. Next issue, I’ll show you how I rerouted the ignition switch so it didn’t interfere with the new tank. For this mock-up, I moved the ignition out of the way to finish installing the tank.
13. The bottom side of the fiberglass tank kit comes with two petcocks (installed), fuel line, and T fitting for coupling both petcocks together to ultimately run to the Mikuni carburetor. I hooked up the fuel lines to the petcocks (A), cut the fuel line down to size and mounted it to the petcocks and T valve (B), with plenty of fuel line remaining to reach the carburetor. Hose clamps will be installed later.
14. Once that was finished, I installed the tank to the bracket and on the backbone of the frame, and the mock-up was complete.
15. Here you can see the Sweet Tracker in its final stages of completion thanks to the Phil Little Racing SXR Dirt Track Conversion kit. The tank and tail section blend seamlessly and installation was a breeze. Stay tuned for the finished painted bike in an upcoming issue of HOT BIKE.
The Sweet Tracker is nearing completion, especially now that most of the essential go-fast parts have been installed to get the bike riding ahead of the pack, but visually, the Sweet Tracker had a long way to go…until now.
Phil Little Racing’s SXR Dirt Track Conversion Kit for Sportsters was the reason I started this project in the first place. I think I received a press release four years ago, and I immediately knew that I would do my own street tracker conversion some day. I contacted Phil about a year ago and mentioned my interest in his product. Phil is a warm, friendly bike enthusiast and was eager to help me achieve the look I was going for with my stock 2000 XL883 Sportster Hugger. He has an array of parts available for achieving the street tracker look, but I was only interested in the SXR gas tank ($495), and the SXR tail section ($495), which includes LED taillamp and license plate frame. The body parts are available in orange, black, or white. Made from fiberglass to fit ’86-later Sportster models, the Phil Little Racing SXR Dirt Track Conversion Kit for Sportsters is an inexpensive way to drastically alter the look of a stock Sportster.
Phil started flat track racing in the ’70s and made a few fenders for friends, which spawned the start of his flat-track-inspired business venture, Omar’s Racing, which specialized in street tracker body kits for Yamaha XS650s. He sold Omar’s in 2008, and focused on his next venture after receiving tons of feedback from Harley Sportster owners asking him to make a kit for the entry-level Harley. Well, Phil obliged that request and, as they say, the rest is history.
Being that this was such an easy upgrade, I did the installation of the SXR kit in my home garage with my neighbor down the street, Leonard, to serve as a hand model.** HB**
Source:
Phil Little Racing
(952) 935-8833 | phillittleracing.com
