up straighter than it had previously. Chris watched
in horror as one big gust of wind pushed the bagger over onto its right side. Chris, feeling sick inside, picked up the bike and the damage he saw
was disheartening to say the least. A call to the
trusty insurance agent got the bike on a path to a
full recovery, and, a little more! Mike suggested that
while the scoot was being repaired it might as well
get a full-on rebuild. Chris talked things over with
his wife, and she was in total agreement. Her only
caveat, keep it ride-able, no trailer queen. Now
that’s a woman!
The engine received the aforementioned
Thrasher kit, and the stock primary went away in
favor of a 3” open belt drive. A new stretched fuel
tank was added, and Brian Plihal set to molding
parts to achieve the clean lines the bike
now enjoys. Work on the bike was
progressing nicely when a
month into the build, a third
back surgery sidelined Chris
again. During his recovery,
the build continued, with
Mike doing fabrication,
Uncle James handling painting, and a
ton of powder coating was handled by
Liquid and Powdercoat Finishes. Chris
eventually healed and
jumped in to help get
the bike finished. The goal
was to have the scooter
ready for the Wide Open Bike
Show.
24 Wide Open
With a little over a week and a half to show time
and the bike 95% complete, Chris and Mike came
to a startling decision. The ass of the bike didn’t
flow like the front ha lf did. Chris went home,
jumped on a bagger forum, and miraculously
found a set of TOL Designs bags, side covers, and
a rear fender that would give the bike the look it
needed. A deal was struck for the TOL Designs
goodies, part of which involved trading the bike’s
existing Bad Dad parts. Chris pulled the parts and
drove 10 hours to the Illinois border in a snowstorm to secure the parts. Now just one week before our show, the final leg of the build kicked in at
full speed. I love a happy ending, and this ending
doesn’t disappoint. The bike was completed in
time for the show, and the rest, as they say, is history. Check out the accompanying photos and the
extensive spec sheet for Chris’ Best of Show machine. I’ll let them do the rest of the talking. Nuff
said!