Yu could have heard a pin drop when I sent out the e-mail. I had been invited to Arizona to ride all the Sucker Punch Sallys models, including the three new models, The Swinger, The Hot Rod, and Slim. There were two people invited to go, and I was going for sure. The other spot was up for grabs, and the first one to reply to my e-mail would get to go with me. The big winner was-drumroll, please-Alex Hearn, our Group Editorial Director. That limey really loves the SPS-style bikes, and pulled off the road on his bike in the middle of LA rush hour traffic to send me the winning e-mail via Blackberry because he was so pumped.
A few days later we arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, and got to see the new models first-hand. We were bussed out to their state-of-the-art facility in Scottsdale for a couple of days of riding these new machines.
The big surprise at the intro was the early-styled swingarm chassis that they developed exclusively for their new bike, appropriately called "The Swinger." They also took their pure custom Shovelhead (it was actually built by Jeff Cochran as his personal bike) that was on the cover of this publication and turned it into a full-blown production bike called "The Hot Rod." And finally, they were introducing the 2008 "Slim," which features a skinny rear tire, 7/8-inch upside-down handlebars, and the smallest headlight and taillight allowed by law.
They still offer one of the best bargains in the industry when it comes to production customs. There is no question that the crew from Sucker Punch Sallys has really gone out of their way to build a reputation for putting together the best bike for the money. Heck, they even offer most of their bikes in rolling chassis form and have even come out with a bike kit called The Workin' Man's Special, which comes with a motor and tranny, for $10,250. While all of the new models are priced slightly higher than the Traditional Bobber's base price (it comes in just under $20,000), they have to get more expensive when you're adding things like a Shovelhead motor, or a swingarm and shocks, or a set of billet controls.
Well, we have talked enough about the trip; let's talk about what it is like to ride the bikes...
66 Bobber
MSRP $21,995
The 66 Bobber is another model that has been part of the Sucker Punch Sallys line-up for a while. But this is the '08 model, and it was hands-down Alex's favorite of all of the bikes we got to ride. He was tossing this bike around like a super motard and had a big grin on his face the entire time. This bike has an 80ci Harley-Davidson engine, six-speed tranny, rigid frame, Sportster-style tank, 16-inch front wheel, and Super Bars. By the end of our trip, Alex had actually gotten the guys from Sucker Punch Sally to agree to build him a long-term road test bike that he is going to be writing about in Motorcyclist. This bike gets two thumbs up-if there were more thumbs, we would be holding them up for this fun machine.
2008 Traditional Bobber
MSRP $19,995
Did you think we were going to get out of Arizona without throwing a leg over the model that the company was founded on? This bike is about as bare bones as a production bike comes. Some would say that it is the perfect blend of reliability and attitude. It comes with a Harley-Davidson crate engine, a six-speed transmission, and an open primary drive. It also features a peanut tank, spring seat, and ape hangers. There is no telling how many of these bikes the crew from Sucker Punch Sallys have rolled out the door so far, but they have purchased a big rig, a trailer, and a big-ass building in Scottsdale to put them all together. And as long as the crew keeps making this bike, we will keep loving it. Two thumbs up for this one.
2008 Sled
MSRP $21,995
This isn't a new model, but it was there, so we hopped on it. As kind of a cross between the Traditional Bobber and the chubby Swinger, this bike has all of the early styling cues like the 16-inch front wheel, split fuel tanks, and wide knuckle bars, but still has a rigid frame and is limited to a 80ci Harley-Davidson engine. While Alex liked the positive feel that the wide front tire offered, as well as the riding position, I wasn't crazy about the handlebar choice on our test model. But they offer four different bars for this model, and switching them out is fairly easy. That being said, this bike only got 1-1/2 thumbs up.