Chick Magnet Harley-Davidson Trike
"Everybody should have the chance to experience the knees-in-the-breeze and the hair-in-the-air feeling," said Gazza.
THREE WHEELS are sometimes better than two for one reason or another. I thought it was about time to include my family in my passion for motorcycling by building a tough, fat, streetable Harley-Davidson trike.
My custom Fatty and Road King were sold to pave the way and it wasn’t long before I had my hands on a trike that needed a total rebuild. The result is this tricked-up trike that is one of, if not the only, Harley four-seater trike still registered and going nowadays, thanks to the new and ever-changing laws and guidelines set down by the RTA.
With mates like Choco and Dan any rebuild is possible. Choc started by fattening up the front-end which included triple trees designed by A1 Cycle Engineering and made from 48-mm billet alloy widened to take the massive 180 mm front tyre, with an extra 3 degree rake added. The blinkers, headlights and front guard were also modified to suit by Choc. The rear-end was strengthened and fattened up at the same time.
With advice from Neil at East Coast Customs, a polished, 96-cube S&S motor and a Riviera six-speed gearbox was purchased.
Thanks to my mates, Merv and Donny from East Coast Trikes, for their help. The boys reckon building the trikes is the easy part, getting them engineered and registered is another story.
Thanks also to Branko at Branko Built Motorcycles for helping me sort out the S&S motor and gearbox.
Dan from Brushfire Custom Paint had the job of stripping and rebuilding the trike in less than two months to be ready for a bike show on the Gold Coast. To his credit, he did it. He stretched the tanks and painted the frame and body with his far-out designs and creations as he has previously done for me and others. When you want the best, go to the best. With the creativity, colours and designs of Dan’s paintwork, it was sure to be a stand-out in any crowd. Inside intricate flame-work are hidden faces, skulls and hands. He’s even gone to the extent of hand-brushing the pinstripes.
With major effort from Dan and his crew, we managed to make it to the bike show on the Gold Coast, taking out Best Trike and Best Custom Paint against some pretty tuff competition.
On the trike’s most recent outing, we travelled to the Long Flat Rally where we had a bloody ball and took out Best Three Wheeler.
My partner Kelly and I have turned our passion into our business offering professionally chauffeured Harley-Davidson motorcycle and trike tours to the public. Everybody should have the chance to experience the knees-in-the-breeze and the hair-in-the-air feeling — the bug many of us riders manage to catch and keep. What better way to experience that than to come for a ride on our custom trikes and bikes.
pics by Tony; words by Gazza
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