Thoroughbred Springer
If there is one joy I get from my job it is seeing the satisfaction and pride on an owners face when they unveil their prize whip for the first time for my opinion or a chance to be featured in our magazine - it is priceless. This story was much like that, I was at the Rodders Life show when I saw a bloke walk past with an OzBike shirt on so I pulled him up to comment on his shirt and introduce myself and the first words from his lips were, can you feature it? The procedure is, I have to see the bike first and the bike was only days away from completion so I asked if some pics could be emailed to me. With many of the photos sent in by owners the pictures weren’t big on detail but the description giving mention spray job by Joe Webb (Joe Webb is arguably one of Sydney’s if not Australia’s premier Airbrush Artists) sealed the deal for me.
Bike owner Doug Glavan tried to keep the original integrity of his 1997 Softail Heritage Springer when designing it and what he has come up with is a tasteful and individual example of a Heritage without losing any of its heritage or charm. Doug has only been riding Harley’s for the past five years and whilst he always liked them only got the bug as he puts it after his wife got him a ride with Wild Ride. Doug recounts having being picked and taken around the bloke and thinking I have to have one and immediately started searching the Web and found the Springer in Melbourne, the bike was owned by a Black Uhlan’s member who was going through a bad trot and was pretty crook (sick) and had to unload the bike. Agreeing on a good price Doug shot down to Melbourne and picked it up. The bike was the original full dresser and Doug as with most Harley owners started adding his own touches and started by pulling the bags and accessories off and adding his own accessories (mostly chrome) and again like most decided to go all out. The first thing he did was to get good friend Vince Surace to give him a hand to strip the bike down and get the tins to Joe Webb to be sprayed whilst the bike was being rebuilt and modified - Bad Arse Seats were given the seat. The bike was off the road for six weeks, there was more chrome fitted and the gear shift linkage road and struts sent to Melbourne to be chromed. The seat was trimmed with flame stitching , a Kuryakyn number plate holder fitted, head bolt covers painted and flame running boards, pegs and grips fitted to match the seat. Chrome hand controls, blinker bezels and oil filter fitted, even the bleeding nipples on the chrome reservoirs had to be chrome. Doug went with 1 1⁄4’’ Burley Bars which Vince internally wired, Kuryakyn blinkers and skull air filter fitted and fish tail pipes.
The motor had very low mileage and didn’t need repainting. The tins (mud guards and tanks) were originally white with a red pin stripe and after speaking with Joe they decided to keep traditional styling and Doug didn’t want to go wild with flames and skulls rather a back to the future styling as Doug puts it a new version of what it was. He decided on laying down a Candy apple red base with gold pinstripping, silver graphics and cream highlights for that traditional look.
Happy with his creation Doug says ‘’the only thing left original were the wheels and gearbox and the wheels were being replaced with 100 spoke gold spoked rims; everything else has been chromed or something done to it. I try to get out as much as possible, most every weekend and I get a lot of guys stop to look at it. All I wanted was that clean traditional look and I recon I got it!’’
Our Dixie chick cowgirl is 18 year old Caitlyn Hestelow, a horse breeder Caitlyn was right at home on the ranch and loved the shoot. How’s this a country girl at heart our Dixie Chick would prefer picking
flowers at her second job on a flower farm rather than shopping and says how she hates shopping but lucky for us loves modelling!