Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
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Meet Harley’s H-D1 Bike Builder
It’s a no-brainer that Harley will never launch a CVO Sportster, but with the company’s new H-D1 factory customization program, who needs one? The Sportster 1200 Custom (starting at $10,299) has lived in Harley’s stable for years, yet this incarnation is the first to fully live up to its name. Previous models were only custom in the sense that they came with a few different parts than other XLs. H-D1 factory customization lets prospective Sportster Custom owners choose from several options on seven aspects of the bike—wheels, handlebars, seats, paint, foot control position, security system, and engine finish.
1. Okay, you’ve gone online, come up with your design, gone down to the dealership, and ordered it. After that, your plan goes off to the factory to bring your tailor-made Sportster Custom to life. It all starts with parts racks like this one. Each of these fenders was painted to customer spec and is waiting its turn on the assembly line.
H-D1 factory customization is the newest element of Harley-Davidson customization that allows customers to build the 1200 Custom from a selection of options that are installed as the motorcycle is assembled on the line by Harley-Davidson’s factory workers. H-D1 factory customization enables personalized fit, function, and style. By selecting different wheels, seats, handlebars, paint, and engine finishes, the customer can dramatically alter the look of the motorcycle. Different combinations of foot-control location, seats, and handlebars can be selected to adjust the fit of the motorcycle to a rider’s stature. With H-D1’s factory customization Bike Builder tool, the customer will have the opportunity to order a 1200 Custom in more than 2,600 combinations.
The H-D1 Bike Builder online tool is available on harley-davidson.com and as an iPad app. The customer can view the bike they are creating as different options are selected. The customer can then print out a description of his or her bike and bring it to a Harley-Davidson dealer to review the motorcycle with trained staff, select additional accessories to be installed by the dealer to further customize the motorcycle, and then place an order. You can expect to be riding one in as little as four weeks from the time an order is placed with the dealer. Delivery timing may vary depending on demand, and will be communicated to customers at the time of order. H-D1 factory customization is available only through Harley-Davidson dealers in the United States and Canada.
H-D gave us a Sportster Custom to play with that had gone through the H-D1 treatment. It’s a copy of one that was ordered and sent out to a dealership. The original had other additional Harley parts added to it when it arrived at the dealership; it’s just part of the whole H-D1 process that keeps dealerships involved in the customization process while letting customers personalize their iron even further. We’ll talk about the road test next issue, but first we thought we’d give you a little look into what happens after you place your order with H-D1 factory customization.
2. Likewise with this 16x3-inch cast aluminum wheel. Its machine-cut finish is one of three options available for this year’s Custom. Also, this is the same one on our test bike.
3. Our drivetrain was put together separately. Later on, a crane will set it inside our black frame where it’ll be bolted in place.
4. Out on the line, black controls go onto the chromed handlebars. It would be cool if we could go with a black-on-black look. Hopefully, Harley will put more finish options into next year’s mix for more of a selection. Right now, you get whatever handlebar finish you want so long as it’s chrome.
- 5. That crane we talked about earlier? You can see it at work as two workers guide it into the waiting Sportster frame. Assemblies like the handlebars/controls, frontend/front wheel, and the motor are mounted to the chassis as finished units instead of individual parts.
6. No, that ugly blue thing isn’t the rear fender. It’s a HardGuard protector. Harley put it over the painted sheetmetal to protect it while the bike is being constructed.
7. Much like with the motor, another crane comes into play for joining the frontend assembly to the frame neck. Afterward, the handlebar assembly, gas tank, and foot controls go on for final assembly.
8. …followed by a test run in this sound-proof room. The bike passed muster and got shipped to our eager little hands for two weeks of prowling the mean streets of LA. More about that next issue.
By Mark Masker
Bear in mind it’s critical to always make sure you ride your motorbike with protection. Ensure that you keep on genuine carbon fiber helmets.
Bike Essentials: Installing an Air Cleaner
As we all know one of the easiest and best looking upgrades to a stock Harley-Davidson is to swap out the stock air cleaner for an aftermarket unit. While just about everybody under the sun makes a replacement, as of late Roland Sands Design (RSD) seems to have some of the best looking on the market.
An installed air cleaner.
The last time we were at RSD’s Southern California headquarters, Roland was telling us of his new Clarity Line, where each of the intakes and engine covers had see-through windowed compartments so each part can be see working in action. We thought the kid was nuts, but low and behold a few weeks later we got a box from RSD and inside it was an air cleaner with a clear faceplate. We tore it out of the box with much curiosity and studied it for a while with discerning eyes. After pulling it apart to investigate it further, we found it to be well built just like the other RSD parts we have been in contact with. The clear Lexan outer cover is permanently installed at the factory so that no worries regarding an airtight seal is achieved. The filter element is also made for RSD by K&N. We were happy about that fact due to K&N’s reputation of having great elements that last a lifetime if cared for correctly.
All of the rest of the machined parts and attachment hardware were top-notch making this one of the most interesting and well-built intakes we have seen.
We had the filter out of the box already. We also a nice bike with its stock breather box still on it within arms reach, so we decided to give you a window of opportunity to see this particular installation. Just so our readers could be crystal clear on how to properly install it.
1. The RSD Clarity air cleaner came complete with all the needed hardware to install it on any Twin Cam motor.
2. We started this swap by pulling of the OEM Harley ham can cover.
3. The attachment hardware was pulled from the outside of the air filter element.
4. From there we pulled of the stock filter element from the OEM air filter’s backing plate.
6. Using the supplied RSD hollow breather bolts, we loosely attached the new billet aluminum backing plate to the engine’s heads.
7. A new RSD gasket was slid between the bike’s throttle body and the RSD billet backing plate.
8. We then installed the backing plate to the throttle body with the supplied Allen bolts torqued to 8 lb-ft. We also used thread-locking compound on all three of them.
9. The breather bolts were then torqued down to 15 lb-ft of torque.
10. Special rubber breather tubes were slid into the machined spaces in the backing plate to better direct the crankcase fumes to the intake.
11. Once installed you can see how the breather tubes would direct the fumes into the throttle body.
12. The secondary plate was installed over the breather tubes. It just slides into place and cleanly covers all of the backing plate hardware.
13. Before we installed the filter element and Clarity faceplate, we made sure to clean off any fingerprints from the inside of the Lexan window.
14. The filter and faceplate were attached to the backing plate with five billet aluminum stand-off spacers and stainless steel Allen bolts. We used thread-locking compound on all of them before honching them down to 8 lb-ft of torque.
15. After a total of 20 minutes of tech time, we trashed the ugly OEM intake and classed it up with some glassy goodness and better breathing. Now when the throttle is cracked you can see the butterfly putting on a little show inside the filter and hear cold air getting sucked into the engine.
by Jeff G. Holt
