Buells are known as race-bred machines, with their innovative chassis and high-end racing components tying an old-school air-cooled twin to the latest in corner-carving technology.
In recent years,
their...ahem...affordability has made them a prime jumping-off point for choppers. Those same prime components that make for an exotic streetfighter serve equally well on a modern chopper. Where else can you get a 100 hp motor, inverted frontend, and low-profile radial tires and wheels for under $4k? Increasingly, crashed or simply unloved Buells have been resurrected into an afterlife as low-down and dirty rigid frame street rippers. In fact, it happens all of the time.
What has to be far less common is one of these recoined choppers making the trip back to the racing side of the tracks, having a second re-birth as a racebike. But that is exactly what happened when popular Speed Channel show Pinks set their sights on Seattle. Calls went out to all the shops in the area that were crazy enough to bring a bike to (potentially) sacrifice on national TV. Felony Flyers (FF) answered the challenge, though at the time they didn't even have a bike ready!
In the five days afforded, the Kent, WA-based shop could have just built a serviceable all-business race machine, but instead they pulled out all of the stops and built a damn nice custom instead. You might think that a Buell/XL-based machine like this one was chosen for its combination of speed, light weight, and overall cheapness (should they fail to win their race), but in fact, FF is a focused shop that specializes in creations based on Harley's "four-cam" powerplant...otherwise known as the Sportster.
While this bike certainly has the look of a down-and-dirty old school racer, the Flyers put a number of sweet styling touches on the machine. Check out the bomb-shaped oil bag, complete with a skeletal hand gripping it from underneath. The balloon-like Dunlops, riding on blacked-out Heritage Softail spoke rims, and the rough rust-colored finish with pinstriping laid over the top, all conspire to produce a look akin to a later-day kustom kulture hot rod.