WhipLash Reincarnated "My Vision"

It is time to focus attention back to my first LOVE! My Sportster! It has been sitting for a long time but it is now time for it to be worked on and put the way that I have always wanted it to be, A HARDTAIL! I have thought about it for a long time and I think that I have the majority of the build planned in my head, it is now time to execute it. There is one major aspect that I am fighting with though, an d that is to give it an all out high compression engine or to leave it alone and just do a slight engine upgrade to a 1275? Only time will tell what will happen with the engine as it will b e the last aspect that will be addressed for the build.

To give a visual in your mind, WhipLash will have a drop seat hardtail welded to the chopped frame with a 4" stretch. The tins will include the 4 gallon gas tank that I was using when WhipLash was parked, the rear fender will be in the same spirit as well with a fender that wraps around the majority of the rear wheel housing at minimum a 180mm tire. The handlebars are going to be something different as well. For that I am choosing to have them come to arrow point facing forward while sitting on top of a springer front end. For the controls, I am going to still utilize forward controls.

The paint is something that I am not going to reveal until it is done, but I will assure you that it won't disappoint. My tastes as far as paint goes has changed over the years as well as the usage of chrome. Other details I am going to leave out for now until we get that far in the build.

Below are a couple of pictures that I have. One is the inspiration, and the other is younger JohnnyBiker when I first finish the vision of WhipLash. Please engage, in this thread. Offer your opinions and ideas, who knows, I may just listen!

Def look better as a hardtail more fun to ride cooler. Try to keep bottom railevenly paralell to the ground. So pay attention to the neck rake when ordering frame.

Yes Sir. The fork measurement will one of the most challenging aspects of this build for me. I will have to enlist some help as it is a very crucial.

Where I am going to have to begin is to once again put a welding gun in hand. It has been many years since I have welded. I was by no means a pro but I could get the job done. The tool gathering begins.

That's JohnnyBiker of old dude. LOL In this case I am going to cut it for sure but as far as the engine is concerned, that depends on the rear wheel choice. A 180/200 takes about 10 Hp away from you so I will have to make sure that there is enough there. Yes, I have done done some business with Low Brow already for my wife's bike. i like them a lot and I am sure that I will do some more business with them, but they don't have everything that I am looking for.

Well, the first snafu already happened, but I will get back to that in just a bit. Today I was out asking some questions that I did not have the answers to and I am happy with what I was able to find out. The positive for today is that I talked to the place who's hard tail I am going to use and found out pricing and turn time. The cutting and welding of this particular part I decided that I am going to let them do it, especially since that is a tig welding job.

Now, as I just mentioned in the post directly above this one, I was planning on going all out with the engine. BUT, today I started looking for the correct wheel set up, I am having trouble finding what it is that I need/want. For a 180/200 tire, I need a 5' spool (hub). Guess what, I can't find any of those, at least not for a spoke rim. I may have to stay with the stock wheel dimensions.

+1

I agree with you to a point. I can point out numerous cases, especially with dealing with Harley's that your "stock is best" adage just isn't true. Let's talk about Harley Davidson and spring loaded tensioners, compensators, the newer generation big bore kits for M8's, the breather systems for M8's, issues with fluid transfer in the M8's. And Let's not forget about the numerous oil pump designs for the the M8. Shall I continue?

Whiplash isn't intended to be a stock bike. I'm anticipating all sorts of headaches with this build, I just need to go slow and think through the process carefully.

Sorry for the all text to this thread so far. I am working on this project but the work that I am doing so far just isn't materializing into anything tangible as of yet. Like I said, I have the picture in my head but as always, the mechanical execution is something of a different color.

I have the rear wheel ordered. I did go with a 16"x5" all black with chrome spokes. that wheel was a little difficult to find but I did find it. The wheel is for an 08 and up Sportster so that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. There are some things that I am going to have to check with the wheel as I have decided that I want to go with a .750" axle so I may have to run reducers inside the hub because of the this wheel is 25mm, just under an inch. I will go and check out my options early next week.

Now it is time to move on to the front wheel. I changed my mind on the front wheel as far as the 19" is concerned. I decided that I am going to run a 16" fatty on the front.

Why not 21” wheel

I am not a fan of big wheels on bikes. On some bikes it looks ok, just as long that it isn't on my bike.

But look how cool it looks.

I like the fatter front tire in almost all applications in comparison to a tall skinny tire. Always have. In my case, since the rear wheel will be a 180mm, I think the fatter front just makes sense. Better flow in my opinion.