Vanity plates
If you’re looking for a quick and easy means of beautifying your bagger you’ll want to consider the new Chrome Muffler Bracket Cover Kit from Harley-Davidson. Consisting of a pair of bright chrome fixtures, the kit conceals the stock exhaust brackets beneath the rear of the saddlebags that have long been considered a cosmetic flaw by purists. Since they’re covers rather than replacement brackets, installation is a snap, and the result is a dramatic visual improvement—and another spot to dab chrome polish on detailing day. At $49.95, the price is as attractive as the product.
Harley-Davidson www.harley-davidson.com
Dock solid
With the Wheeldock chock, you can easily and safely haul your precious scooter in the back of a pickup with-out stressing the suspension with cinched tie-downs. The easy part comes both from the chock having no ramp or step to muscle the front tire over, as well as its unique securing mechanism that makes locking the tire in place as simple as stepping on a foot lever. The safety factor comes from the patented gas cylinder used to deploy and hold the lock-up in place. The company offers snap-in spacers to tailor the chock to various front tire widths, so the Wheeldock can accommodate whatever bike you’re hauling. Once in the chock, the bike is held solidly in place while you add additional tie-downs to immobilize the rear end. The Wheeldock doubles as a free-standing chock for parking upright in the garage, which is a boon both for space considerations in cramped quarters and for ease of performing routine maintenance services. The Wheeldock comes powder coated with all required mounting hardware and a lifetime warranty for $259.95.
Wheeldock
Greg’s Custom Cycle Works www.gregscycles.com 727.461.4840
Surefooted
Dress them up in a pair of the new improved FXRG3 boots from Harley-Davidson Footwear and your feet can weather just about anything the road and weather gods can whip at them. These all-purpose, all-climate riding boots bring a long list of features to the fray, starting with waterproof leather backed with breathable Cordura and a lining of impervious Gore-Tex. For all-day comfort they use what they call ShockAbsorbers Twin Pad Comfort Technology as well as removable dual-density polyurethane sock beds. The soles used on the FXRG3 give superior grip and oil-resistance in virtually all circumstances. Available in men’s sizes 7–13, a pair will run you $210.
Harley-Davidson Footwear www.harley-davidsonfootwear.com
Bright idea
Slowly but inexorably, LED lighting is replacing the hoary incandescent bulb in motorcycle lighting applications and you can get out ahead of the curve on your 1999-or-later Harley by retrofitting your stock taillight with this new LED Tail Lamp with Bar & Shield Logo. You might even rack up some style points in the exchange. This unit boasts a 20-lamp array of quick-responding, long-life LEDs and houses them in a black or chrome-wrapped receptacle covered with a shiny clear overlay. Both red and smoked lenses are offered, and installation is plug-and-play with your stock connector. The price is $139.95.
Harley-Davidson www.harley-davidson.com
Three-ring circuit
While most exhaust system designs go to great lengths to conceal the crossover passage connecting the headers, West Coast Choppers strikes off in the opposite direction with their new Nomad 2-into-2 Exhaust, not only exposing the crossover in all its functional glory, but going a step further by making it the dominant visual element of the custom setup. This system features stepped headers with low-restriction baffles and is designed to fit both carbureted and injected Softail models. They’re offered in polished 16-gauge stainless steel for $1,089 or chrome-plated mild steel for $989.
West Coast Choppers www.westcoastchoppers.com 562.983.6666
Discrete heat
For the cold-weather riding season ahead, Harley-Davidson has upgraded their entire line of heated riding apparel with the patented Gerbing’s Nanowire technology that replaces the current spaghetti of internal heat-producing wires with a silvered fiber-embedded material that provides a uniform radiation throughout the garments. That’s a significant innovation that will make winter riding that much more of a practical, comfortable activity. And in the interim, in the cool periods of late summer into fall, that same technology has been incorporated into their Battery-Operated Heated Vest and Gloves, giving you all the benefits of the innovation without all the wiring pigtails, battery hook-up, and plugging-in protocol of serious chilly motoring. Instead, these garments rely on integrated lithium batteries for the required juice. That makes mounting and dismounting a much simpler task while still keeping warmth available on demand as conditions warrant. The gloves come in both men’s and women’s styles for $170, and the unisex vest runs $195.
Harley-Davidson www.harley-davidson.com
Peripheral panache
Oh, you know you need one. A place to plug in your toys, that is; your cell phone or GPS or PDA or MP3 or HRA (i.e., heated riding apparel). That’s just the way it is these days, but plugging in on most bikes requires installing an outlet, and most options on that front look like obtrusive afterthoughts. Wire Plus Powersports Electronics has changed all that with their new collection of subtle custom Power Ports that install above the horn bell—or anywhere else on your bike where there’s an appropriate bolt available. Instal-lation is a simple two-wire connection to the battery terminals. They’re offered with either chrome or black powder coat finish in single-port configuration for $69 or with a pair of outlets for $94.50.
Wire Plus Powersports Electronics www.wire-plus.com 620.221.2417
Hot link
The Black Anodized Custom Gear Shift Linkage takes The Motor Company’s fade-to-black accessory campaign a step further, and with its machined slots and Bar & Shield revealing the bare aluminum substrate it’s a natural complement to any blacked-out motor. It’s a versatile part as well, fitting pretty much any Softail or Tourer made since 1986. This linkage also cleans up the bike’s stock appearance with bright acorn nuts and bolts, and a transmission lever cover. That’s a lot of custom dazzle for $129.95.
Harley-Davidson www.harley-davidson.com
