A Little Brother for the Devil?

This concludes the first month of "The Diavel Made me Do It"! Thanks for visiting and adding your comments. In the last month I tried to mix it up with different experiences associated with light modifications and a few runs. We'll see whether or not the blog endures.

Usually I chat on this blog about the virtues of the Ducati Diavel and runs that I'm making on the bike. However, there are other plans somewhere in the works down the road for a little brother for the Ducati.

Log Item: I've been pricing out just parts, paint, rubber, etc. on what would be a custom motorcycle build around a new (as opposed to reconditioned) Harley Davidson knucklehead engine. It's a $20K problem by the time I'm done with it. When you add the price of a bike lift that I'd want to build it on ($1600 + shipping) and some tools (I prefer Snap-On, in fact one of my fantasies is to just buy-out a Snap-On truck), it's well in excess of $20K.

The Diavel is an off-the-shelf bike. It's a crotch rocket that I use in one way. It's not an HD and it's not a dirt bike. As with motorcycles, knives, guns, cars, trucks and all tools, you pick the right machine for the right application. Can you have too many machines?  No.  Definitely not. Not if you're willing to pay cash.

Getting the right Harley D. means building it myself. I understand that those who don't ride much won't get it, but trust me, it's true.

A HD that I built for $20K could easily retail for $35K (such is the nature of Harleys), and when you consider sweat equity, it makes some sense. I don't know when or if I will start on a Harley project. Right now I'm just chewing on the notion while I'm riding the Devil.

Note Jockey Shifter

There are many options to consider with an HD, not the least of which is whether or not I'm balzy enough to put a "suicide clutch" and a jockey shifter on it. (Hand shift rather than foot shift). When you consider that this bike is for playing around on - short jaunts - and maybe taking (as opposed to riding all the way) to Sturgis, the shifter, common on the early Indian motorcycles (below), appeals. 

Indian with a jockey shifter.