2003 HARLEY FLSTI

Article & Photos by: Rob Robinette aka “Bulldog”

Finally the day came when I was able to buy my first new Harley. I had toyed with different models but the look and the size of the Fatboy was the perfect fit for me. It has the look of the old sleds from the FL front end to its big tires this bike was the one. Now that I had decided which bike, it was time to order it. In 02 you had to order your bike and wait about 8 months or so to get it, so I had plenty of time to slowly ease my wife, Christy, into the idea of buying a Harley and for me to put away some more cash. Well a buddy of mine ended up getting a Low Rider with the same paint scheme as mine (Black/Silver) and there was no way I wanted to be riding next to him with people thinking we had the same bikes! Now, I know those of you who ride know the difference between a Fatboy and a Low Rider, but the average Joe doesn’t have a clue, so there I go back to Omaha Harley to change my order to an EFI model with the Gun Metal Pearl color to be different. My salesman, Paul, looks at me and motions with his finger to follow him to the back room, there in front of me is the bike I just went in to order! He says the guy who ordered it was told by his old lady “NO WAY”!

Paul says, “I’ll knock off $600 and it’s yours.”

What could I say but “YES!” I figured I could sweet talk the wife….Easy huh? As you guessed I got a huge chunk of my ass removed, but the bike stayed and she now enjoys the bike as much if not more than I do.

To the present, even though I thought by changing the color due to not wanting to look like my buddy’s bike, I ended up looking like every other 03 bike out there! No way! So, I started the track to make this bike MINE! I have gone through three different handle bars & exhaust, four seats and three paint jobs. Now, I know this sounds like I have a money tree (I DON’T!) I was able to sell what I didn’t use, except the paint is another story. The first paint job was very original, I took it to a local guy with a very good rep, but for whatever reason he seemed to do a very average and quite below par job and it took him 8 months! To say the least I was very unhappy with it, so I took it back to be fixed during the winter, again, after four months of excuses it looked worse, I mean what did I do to deserve this! I did not even put the sheet metal back on I took it to a friend of mine that had a body shop, he said he would strip it down and repaint it for me quick! That was good because in about 40 days or so I had a trip planned to meet my buddy Kevin from South Carolina, after checking in with the painter day after day he assured me He would have it finished. You probably already guessed….it came down to a couple days before I had to leave and not done yet so, Mike at Sprockets, Inc. was there to help a brother out! He put the skins on and got me on the road with my pal Robie to meet Kevin in St. Louis then to the Ozarks to meet my folks, spend the night and then head back to Omaha. Now, what I have failed to mention is the new paint job even though different was no better in quality than the first one! Wow, at this time I was ready to leave the bike in a ditch, but the trip went smooth and it just so happened I picked up a rather large rock from a semi on the way back, that left a very nice half dollar size dent in my tank, so this time insurance was going to repaint it! Finally I was able to find a painter worth a dam, Bruno from “Bruno’s Autoworks, Inc.” did a great job!

The rest of the bike is mostly me that is the chrome pieces, braided lines, exhaust, etc… Now I owe Mike from “Sprockets” a lot of credit! He installed the D & M 200mm Big Tire Kit along with misc. this n that items that I either did not have the right tools or the know how to do myself. Mike knows his stuff and didn’t mind me calling all the time on how too’s. It took me a long time and a lot of changing of the mind, but I was able to make this bike unlike any other Fatboy. I’m very happy with it and ride her as much as I can!

TECH SHEET

GENERAL

Year & Make: 2003 Harley FLTSF/I

Model: Fatboy

Owner: Rob Robinette

Time: A little at a time & a few beers

Chrome: Just about everywhere!

ENGINE

Year: 2003 Twin Cam 88

Lower End: Stock Harley

Pistons: Stock Harley

Cases: Stock Harley

Heads: Stock Harley

Cam: Stock Harley

Air Cleaner: Very Cool

Exhaust: Street Walker’s RPG’s

TRANSMISSION

Year: 5 Speed Harley

Engine Sprocket: Stock Harley

Tranny Sprocket: Stock Harley

PAINT

Painter: Bruno’s

Color: Candy Apple Red w/Real Fire Ghost Flames

FRAME

Type: Stock Harley

Rake: Stock Harley

Stretch: Stock Harley

ACCESSORIES

Bars: 1.25” Beach Bars

Fender: Wide & Low

Tail Light: Works sometimes

Seat: Harley Low Profile CVO Springer

Shocks: Legend Air Ride

200mm Fat Tire Kit: D & M Customs

WHEELS

Front: 18” Performance Machine

Rear: 18” Performance Machine

Front Tire” Avon Venom

Rear Tire: 200mm Avon Venom