Biltwell EZXL Sportster
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across some murky shots of this Harley Sportster in a workshop. It was one of the cleanest, classiest Sportsters I’ve ever seen, with beautiful paint and a perfect stance. I found out that it was owned by Bill Bryant, the driving force behind Biltwell Inc. And luckily for us, Bill’s now had it shot properly so we can take a closer look.
“The bike started life as a homely 1999 Sportster 1200 without much ‘Sport’ in it,” says Bill. So he decided to take off as much as possible, and put back only what was necessary.
Every bit of wiring was gutted, simplified and rerouted. On went a new ignition, cut-down mufflers, black wrinkle coat powder on the outer covers, and polished mags. “I made a couple of simple bits like the headlight, coil and plate mounts,” says Bill, “and shaved the fender tabs off the fork legs. But there’s no major fabrication anywhere.” (Hence the name, ‘EZXL’.)
Instead, Bill fitted a multitude of well-chosen Biltwell parts: pegs, the carb top, tail light, riser, bars, throttle and grips. The air cleaner is from BCM, and the stainless rear loop was made by Wompy at Still Kickin’. The seat is a modified Biltwell foam and pan combo.
After fitting some Progressive Suspension 970 shocks and stiffer fork springs up front, the bike turned out to be a blast on local fire roads. Bill even raced it in the Hell On Wheels rally. “I only low-sided once. I went home tired, filthy and totally satisfied,” he says.
Images by Sheldon Ivestor. Check out Biltwell’s hard parts here and follow their news on the Biltwell Facebook page.
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