Harley Davidson ironhead sportsters

One of my favorite past times in life are my motorcycles. I have been riding for years and I love the biker lifestyle; especially because I don`t drink anymore (LOL). There is nothing compared to what I call two wheel therapy and the freedom I feel on the road. I have ridden across the United States over 20 years and I have been blessed to see the beauty of our country from two wheels.

Years ago I wanted my first Harley Davidson but as a young man I was broke. I had several motorcycles at the time; a dirt bike, a couple of run down Yamaha`s, and some other Japanese models. The one motorcycle I had never owned was a Harley. I had ridden several Harley`s as some of my friends were good enough to loan me theirs; but I had never owned one myself. I came into a few thousand dollars that year and I bought a 72 Iron head sportster. All my buddies made fun of me telling me it was a junk heap and that AMF Harley`s always broke down. I was determined and I didn`t care what they said; I was now the proud owner of a Harley Davidson. The bike had kick and electric start and I remember I was almost afraid to try and kick it.

When I got home that evening I could barely contain my enthusiasm; I tore the straps from the trailer as a mad man addicted to drugs and my fix was moments away. I let down the kickstand, put on my helmet, and fired her up. To my great surprise she started up like she was waiting for me and ready to roll herself. Over time I rebuilt that bike into one heck of a chopper. She was on a 77 low-rider frame with a weld on rigged. Because the bike was on a big twin frame I was able to put regular fatbob tanks on her as well as other big twin parts. She had 16" apes and 6" risers and a narrow glide dual disk front end. She was solid black with 61 tank emblems and a cat’s-eye dash. The motor was stock except we put 9-1 Keith Black pistons in her and she had great compression. The funny part that most people loved about the bike was that it had a Kawasaki rear end and brake system on it.

That old bike blew a tranny on me at about 80 MPH on Interstate 285 in Atlanta GA; how I didn`t hit the pavement only god knows and I believe he was there. I still plan to rebuild her someday, her name was Rebecca after a really rebellious and mean girl friend I had at the time. I never spent more than a few thousand building that bike, probably more than I should have but it was a great motorcycle and fun to ride.

The point I wanted to make is that if you want a cheap Harley or a neat bike to build a bobber out of; I suggest an Iron head sporster. They are usually around $1500 to $4500 and are easy to build. The bike I have in the picture up top is a great bobber. It has a suicide shift on the left and a left hand brake. I have all the wiring internal on the handle bars so it looks clean. I have less than $3500 in the bike. I originally had a suicide clutch on it but I kept laying the bike down to be honest so I changed it. The bike is small fast and a definite head turner; I love to take off down the road and watch people look at the suicide shift as I go by. You can find Iron heads all over on EBay, craigslist, and other motorcycle websites. You may not like them, but they have one of the best sounding motors Harley ever made. Good luck building your first chopper cheap!