Living the lowlife
LePera’s new Villain saddle for Harley Tourer models takes high style to a new low with what is unquestionably the sleekest and unique-est bagger seat we’ve seen in a while. What’s especially striking about the design is how it presents a thoroughly custom profile while simultaneously providing a long operator perch with back support as well as a comfortable and secure pillion. Well done. Artfully sculpted and stitched, and constructed with the quality materials LePera’s renowned for, the Villain costs $508.
LePera www.lepera.com 818.767.5110
Mar bars
Continuing their campaign to keep your damn boots where they belong, the folks at Heel Guard have taken the guardrail concept that’s proven so effective on operator floorboards, and moved it aft. The new Passenger Heel Guards are simple in design and subtle in appearance, and a worthwhile investment in the unblemished appearance of your exhaust pipe and side cover finishes. Fabricated of high-grade steel and given the triple chrome plating treatment, they’re as sturdy as they are shiny, and installation is a bolt-on snap with no drilling required. The price is $69.95 each.
Heel Guard www.heelguard.com 406.689.3102
Going native
Harley-Davidson’s new Tribal Collection includes a number of custom components including footpegs, shifter pegs, brake pedal pads, and the two products shown here, the Tribal Collection Hand Grips and Tribal Collection Mirrors. What they all have in common is the jagged black tribal motif popularized by tattoo fanciers and rendered here in bas relief, which in the case of the hand grips is achieved using a combination of a black metal shell overlayed with grip-friendly black rubber. They use a glueless attachment design for easy removal when the need arises. The mirrors feature the motif in deep castings on the mirror bodies and gracefully curved and fluted stems. The hand grips go for $89.95 and the mirrors run $129.95. That’s less than the tattoos would cost you.
Harley-Davidson www.harley-davidson.com
Pump it up
With the introduction of their new Air Suspension for Dyna Models, Legend Air Suspension brings to the diverse Dynas the Gates Kevlar Air Spring technology, deflective disc dampening and twin-tube construction that have proven so effective and versatile in other applications. The suspension system includes a pair of air shocks finished in either black or chrome, an onboard compressor, and a handlebar-mounted actuating switch for pumping up or bleeding off the pressure while on the roll, allowing for instantaneous adjustments to road and load conditions. Installation is reportedly easy, with detailed step-by-step instructions to guide you through the process. The price of the system in either finish is $1,599.99.
Custom Chrome www.customchrome.com 800.359.5700
Catch a wave
The new HA-2 Hidden Antenna from eGlideGoodies is a stealthy little device that provides exceptional reception of AM, FM and Weather Band radio waves from within the recesses of your bat-wing fairing. The straightforward installation requires no power or ground wires, and once it’s in there you can jettison the stock whip antenna that’s been poking you in the eye, beating against the garage door and making a mockery of your bike cover. All that for only $29.95. Good deal.
eGlideGoodies www.eglidegoodies.com
Retrofix
Of the many refinements that have come to the Twin Cam motor since its introduction in 1999, perhaps none was as welcome as the replacement of the inconsistent and occasionally troublesome spring-loaded cam chain tensioners with hydraulically-operated units. That change came first to the 88-inch Dyna models for 2006, and then to the entire Big Twin line-up with the intro of the Twin Cam 96 for 2007. Now, with their new Screamin’ Eagle Hydraulic Cam Chain Tensioner Plate Upgrade Kit, Harley’s made it possible for owners of earlier Twin Cams to reap the reliability, endurance and performance advantages of the improved setup. This kit features a billet cam plate that permits the retrofit of the hydraulic apparatus, as well as the included late-model oil pump that improves flow and scavenging appreciably while providing the juice necessary for the new tensioners. At a price of $429.95, it’s a great investment in your motor’s longevity—to say nothing of your own peace of mind.
Harley-Davidson www.harley-davidson.com
Room at the top
Optimizing available storage space while also keeping tools and personal items readily accessible is a challenge familiar to all bagger vagabonds, and a challenge that the designers at Lid Gear have simplified elegantly and economically. They’ve designed three accessories for the task, the Lid Organizer ($29.95), Tool Organizer ($29.95) and Bag Pouches ($15.95/pair), that replace the stock saddlebag lid tether with a whole lot of handy packing capacity. The organizers are tri-fold affairs segmented into well-designed pockets to accommodate your essentials within ready reach. The pouches hang from the tether mounting fasteners serving a similar function. The ideal set-up, to our thinking, is a set of all three items—a tool organizer on one side, lid organizer on the other, and a pouch for each side—and Lid Gear seems to agree. They currently offer that combination at a pre-season discounted price of just $55.
Lid Gear www.lidgearonline.com 509.635.1286
Artistry in leather
As is so often the case in the custom motorcycle industry, the elaborately tooled Seatdreams Custom Seats started with a craftsman doing a favor for a friend—and then another. In this case it was the leather carver at Mernickle Holsters, and as the story goes, the unique seats thus created caused a stir and a demand from other riders for similar one-off works, and a business was born. Seatdreams takes your existing seat and your own personal artistic vision and produces a unique leather creation you can both admire and sit upon. Once created, the actual design becomes your property so you can be assured you won’t run into another example of it on another bike—ever. The medium used for these artworks is vegetable-tanned tooling leather, and pricing, naturally, varies by design.
Seatdreams www.seatdreams.com 775.575.0802
Stretching the point
If you’re looking to get in on the current tail-dragging custom bagger craze, Matrix Cycle Works offers one-stop shopping for Extended Bags for your Harley Tourer. They manufacture these bags as complete units using Kevlar and fiberglass, giving them substantially more capacity than stock bags with add-on extensions. Both basic extended bags and ultra-custom slanted versions are offered, and either style can be ordered to match up with whatever exhaust system you’re running—dual, side-by-side, or no muffler cut-outs at all for radical short pipe rides. Also available on all styles are flush-mount LED lights/indicators. The bags are provided with a primer finish ready for painting, and prices start at $1,100 a pair.
Matrix Cycle Works www.matrixcycleworks.com 951.354.7916
