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Some bikes start with a plan. Diamondback started with a raffle ticket. Timmy DeVos, out of Colorado, dropped fifty bucks on a set of wheels from Steel City Blacksmithing and won. From there he built an entire '81 Shovelhead around them, and brought it out to the Idle Hands Chopper Show. Twisted Everything Josh Boggs at Steel City Blacksmithing (we did a spotlight on him and his divorced XLCH "Alimony") is a blacksmith first, and the wheels have that twisted-steel look all over them. Once th …

Riding season doesn't have to end when the leaves drop. The difference between parking the bike in October and riding into December is staying warm, and nothing does that like heated gear. Layers only trap the heat your body makes. Heated gear makes its own. Gerbing has been building heated gear since the 1970s, and we just added their whole lineup to the shop: jacket liners, jackets, vests, gloves, pants, socks, and all the controllers, batteries and wiring that run them. Here's how it all wo …

Every show has one bike people keep walking back to. At the Idle Hands Chopper Show this year it was Michael LaBree's. He's out of Vermont, and he showed up with a chopper that's got a 440 Arctic Cat snowmobile motor where a Harley engine should be. Everybody's already got a nickname for it. We just call it the snowmobile bike. The Drivetrain The motor is an early-'80s Arctic Cat 440 pulled out of a sled. It's bolted to a '79 Shovelhead transmission, so the back half of the driveline is pure …

Before you can order the right gasket, cam, plug or air cleaner, you have to know what engine you've got. Harley has built a handful of big twin and Sportster engines since 1936, and a lot of parts only fit one of them. This guide shows you how to tell them apart by looking at them, how to read the VIN and engine number, and which years each engine was used. Jump to: Quick ID Chart · Reading the VIN · Knucklehead · Panhead · Shovelhead · Evolution · Twi …

Harley-Davidson just pulled the cover off the 2027 Sprint 440, and it's the cheapest new Harley in a very long time. It's a 440cc single-cylinder cruiser co-developed with Hero MotoCorp, assembled in York, Pennsylvania for the US market, landing at $5,999, and it's the bike Harley is betting on to get new riders in the door. Here's everything Harley has put out on it so far. Photo: Harley-Davidson The Short Version Air/oil-cooled 440cc single, 27 horsepower, six-speed, 412 pounds wet, 26.4-i …