Trask Performance 2018 Hot Bike Tour Softail
All of our invited builders for the 2018 Geico Hot Bike Tour were working on crunch time, including Nick Trask and Trask Performance. But he had some extenuating circumstances that would make some people go fetal and drool if they had to build a motorcycle in 30 days though. Earlier in the year, Trask Performance suffered catastrophic damage; fire consumed the entire fabrication department. So on top of rebuilding and keeping the business going during that cluster, the Trask team knocked out this 2018 Softail Breakout to boot.
This was Nick Trask’s fourth year competing at the Geico Hot Bike Tour and his finished Breakout is a clean rider’s-ride with lots of power, like you’d expect from Trask Performance.
Jeff Allen
Nick himself likes the new Softail platform in general, citing it as smooth with plenty of power and good handling as well. You know by now that he wasn’t the only invited builder who opted for the newer Softails as the clay with which to mold their tour creations. Choosing the Breakout was different, but Nick’s reasoning behind that was pretty solid. He wanted something less upright and sporty like a performance Dyna or FXR and more like a classic pro street custom. With its wider back tire and overall stance, the Breakout was a very good place to start for that because the pro street style is all about long and low.
Of course, it wouldn’t really be a Trask creation unless it had at least a few parts from the Assault line like that air cleaner. The 2-into-1 stainless exhaust is his shop’s work as well.
Jeff Allen
The bike also helped with the time crunch, which was far and away the biggest challenge any of our invited builders faced. Factor in that earlier fire damage and you can see how this machine serves as rolling testimony to how good Nick’s crew is at excelling under pressure.
Those industrial-looking struts and that clean rear fender are his too.
Jeff Allen
It’s the same sort of pressure we in the magazine business know very well and can appreciate. Hot Bike may have gone out of print, but for more than four decades it was our honor to showcase the work of shops like Trask Performance. More than once the shops in this industry stepped up to help us with articles or shows on the shortest of notices and we thank them for everything they’ve done and the lasting legacies they create to the world of motorcycling that we all love.
Trask’s Breakout isn’t as long as some of the pro street iron that was coming out at the turn of the century but it’s certainly in the same family.
Jeff Allen
No chrome to see here, folks. There is lots of flat, satiny black though.
Jeff Allen
Blue on the tanks and rear fender gives just the amount of color Nick wanted.
Jeff Allen
The nacelle, spoiler, and fairing were all custom made in-house.
Jeff Allen
Hard angles define the spoiler just like they do the nacelle.
Jeff Allen
Trask’s builds usually pack a lot of power into the engine. You’re damn right he uses floating rotors for better braking.
Jeff Allen
The shop crowned its pro street Softail with a diamond-stitched solo saddle made in-house.
Jeff Allen
