Chopa Harley-Davidson Night Train

HAVE YOU ever been excited and frightened at the same time, a little like sharing a bubble bath with both Pamela Anderson and Julia Gillard. Well it was this sort of reaction I had with Luke Sicree’s Harley-Davidson Night Train. I was bloody excited when I clapped eyes on it for the first time in real life, a bit giddy like a school girl; then he fired it up and I wet my pants. It sounds angry, let’s just leave it at that.

Essentially, it was a low km Night Train when Luke first picked it up in Queensland. Stock as a rock. He shipped it across to Perth to begin what was to become a fairly fast, 18-month full-rebuild.

“I made a pact with myself that I wasn’t going to put any parts on the bike that weren’t the best I could find,” Luke stated quite proudly. And he stuck steadfastly with his pact, kicking off with dropping almost $6000 in Roland Sands Design diamond cut rims. “They were the best so I bought them,” he said.

Wrapping the Heartland 250 rear-end with a 260 wide tyre, and American Suspension Black Mamba upside-down forks, completed the rubber and stance package. Imagine the rims and tyres being the sharp black stilettos worn by Halle Berry as Catwoman, and the rest of the outfit is the body-hugging black leather catsuit, and throw in a whip and some handcuffs for good measure. Yikes!

Getting it down in the wheels is a hydraulic suspension system that lets Luke have it pumped up for riding down a curb; or slammed low-rider style for those stylish cruises down the cafe strip in Fremantle on a warm Sunday afternoon perched on the suede, hand-stitched seat by Universal Upholstery.

Despite the Harley-Davidson frame never having been cut or chopped and all the angles remaining factory standard, this Night Train certainly looks the goods. Its fuel tank and exposed backbone were designed by Luke and fabricated from scratch by Ryan at Custom Modifications in Malaga. Ryan’s name is synonymous in the Perth bike scene. Proof is the sheer number of awesome bikes in previous editions of Ozbike that he’s had his hand involved in. He and Luke also built the custom handlebars on the Night Train with hidden internal wiring and throttle controls. Wielding his paint gun like a wand, he applied the deep black paint (the ‘only’ proper colour for a Night Train) with pure sterling silver scallops and hand pinstriping.

To give the motor some extra push, Luke added an extra 100 horses via a 95 cube S&S upgrade kit including bigger barrels, pistons, head, and cams from Super Cycles in Osborne Park. He wanted the best throttle response without suffering the reliability issues of stroking as the bike has always been destined as a regular ride. Combined with a hydraulic clutch and contrast-cut Arlen Ness hand and foot controls, this Harley-Davidson is ready to roll with the best of them.

To keep an eye on all the important stuff, you’ll notice a small but informative Dakota gauge. It’s a multi-tasker which displays speed, tacho, alts, and is a trip meter to boot. Hanging off the side of the frame is one other small gauge that keeps track of the suspension’s pressure in the tank. Matt from West Coast Dirt Works handled most of the fitting.

Luke had a lot of influence from his dad during his impressionable years growing up around his collection of modified cars. Sadly, his dad passed away during the build so Luke has fittingly attached a memorial plaque just behind the forks. “Loud and big was how Dad liked ’em,” Luke says, “so he would have been happy with how this has come out.” I’m sure he’s staring down on Luke from Heaven with a big smile… and a set of earplugs.

Now that it’s all complete, normally a build of this type would be safely tucked away in a shed with a protective blanket and only brought out to trailer to shows or the (very) occasional sunny day for a spit and polish. Not so with Luke’s Night train. He’s got a tight relationship with his equally as enthusiastic mates and they spend every spare minute cruising the streets of Perth or doing day trip rides to country pubs for a cold beer and some lunch.

And what do you do when you’ve got some annual leave up your sleeve? You grab your mates and head off to the USA for three weeks of coast to coast cruising on hired Harley-Davidson Fat Boys from California, hitting some shows like Sturgis along the way. By the time you read this, he’ll be safely back in Australia with a whole heap of road trip tales and hopefully some inspiration for his next project. Yes, Luke is planning another build, not to replace and sell his Night Train, but something a little more serious in the power department to add to the growing collection. Top quality parts and high performance—loud and big—his dad will be proud!

Words & pics by Brian White.