Wide Is Right
WIDE IS RIGHT
CELEBRATING THE 90TH IN HIGH STYLE
HOW DO YOU COMMEMORATE 90 YEARS OF Harley-Davidson motorcycle manufacturing? If you're Denny Berg, product development manager for White Bros. (24845 Corbit Place, Yorba Linda, CA 92687; 714/692-3404), you start with a 1990 Softail, pry open the company's extensive parts and accessories catalog, and loose the floodwaters of creativity on a machine that celebrates Harleys both old and new.
“We didn’t want it to look like everyone else’s credit card bike,” says Berg of his latest creation. “The styling is kind of the fat 30’s and 40’s look, but with really high-tech parts.”
Much of the bike is not new. The frame, WP front suspension, Performance Machine brakes and wheels, hot-rodded engine and chain-drive modification were used on another Berg creation, the radical “Porker” (see CW, April, 1992). But after a Japanese enthusiast purchased the Porker’s cosmetic pieces, Berg was left with little more than a rolling chassis.
Berg began the Wide Bro, as the bike became known, by welding up a new fuel tank. “It holds 5 gallons, just like the stocker, but it’s 4 inches wider,” he says. The Arlen Ness rear fender was given the same treatment. “I just split it down the middle and flberglassed it up.”
Engine modifications were limited to the intake and exhaust, and include a pair of 34mm Mikuni flatslide carburetors. The filterless mixers have voracious appetites, and will inhale your pants leg if you’re not careful. The White Bros. Side Pipe exhaust, a tastefully loud system that conceals its baffling in an internal pipe surrounded by a monstrous 3-inch chromed shell, is the only other change. Everything else, including the 80-cubic-inch displacement, Wiseco 10:1 pistons, Crane 1101 camshaft, adjustable pushrods, roller rocker arms and Patrick Racing modified cylinder heads, remains unaltered from the Porker bike.
Polished and shortened by 2 inches, the Dutch-made WP fork has massive 54mm machine-tapered legs and 40mm sliders, and is adjustable for compression and rebound damping. At the rear, Foumales ride-height-adjustable Pan Cruise shocks replace the Stockers.
Braking is supplied by Performance Machine rotors and calipers front and rear. The front brakes are full-floating 13inch rotors clamped by six-piston calipers. A single 11.5inch rotor and four-piston caliper handle rear braking duties.
Braided-steel lines are used throughout, cut to exact lengths for a clean, uncluttered appearance. Performance Machine also manufactured the 3.5 x 18-inch front and 5.5 x 17-inch rear wheels; both are shod with Pirelli Match rubber, a 140/70 up front and a 160/70 out back.
Unlike many radical customs, the Wide Bro is as fun to ride as it is to look at. The riding position-dictated by the 38-inch wide handlebar, dished Corbin saddle and modified floorboards-is surprisingly comfortable, especially for around-town cruising. Once up to operating temperature, the engine performs flawlessly, churning away nicely from stoplights and encouraging full-throttle romps through the five-speed gearbox. Handling is good, given the bike’s lengthy chassis and conservative steering geometry. And considering its limited travel, the suspension does an admirable job of isolating the rider from bumps and chuckholes.
Don’t expect sportbike levels of ground clearance, however. The fiberglass fenders are not only wide, but very near to the pavement, as are the Berg-modified floorboards. Overexuberant cornering speeds will easily ground hard parts. At least stopping the bike is no problem. The PM brakes work wonderfully, offering excellent power and feel.
So, how much would it cost to reproduce the Wide Bro? About $25,000, claims Berg. But those numbers shouldn’t dissuade anyone from creating their own version of the Wide Bro.
“Realistically, this bike could be duplicated by the average guy in his garage,” Berg says. “And if you retained the stock suspension, wheels and brakes, the cost would be a lot less than $25,000.”
Matthew Miles
