Cobra Motorcycle Exhaust & Pipes - Not So Stock
Just to Ride Everyday
As originally appeared in Hot Bike
Cobra Engineering Exhaust Pipes - Parts - Accessories Denny Berg is the manager of the Special Project Division at Cobra Engineering in Yorba Linda, California. He was given the task of showing off some of the goodies that Cobra is known for, such as smooth-flowing running boards, and good-looking and sounding exhausts. first thing he needed to do was figure out which bike he should showcase the products on.
Denny had a small pow-wow with co-workers Ken Boyko and Mike Rinaldi, and after a flip of a coin, the choice was made to makeover a stock ‘00 Fatboy. The biggest problem was getting this bike in the shop and off the road. See, the owner was one of the guys who worked in the shop, and it was his everyday rider. It took some convincing and a backup rider, but he finally gave up the keys after he was told the bike would be done in less than 30 days.
The first order of business was to strip the bike down. Denny rolled the bike onto the lift, and in less than six hours, the only thing left was the frame. The motor would stay with the factory-black paint, but the rocker boxes, the cam cover, the lifter blocks, and the air cleaner cover were rechromed. With the heads off, Denny had the valves redone and all the ports polished.
A set of Cobra Lo-Boy Shotgun pipes handled all the exhaust. the transmission, the top side covers and support plate were treated to some new chrome, and while the top cover was off, the shift forks and return springs were replaced. After it was all back together, it was covered, bagged, and put to the side of the shop until it was time for it to go back into the bike.
The frame and sheet metal were next to get reworked. The frame was treated to a sandblasting and molding session, making all of the welds and any rough spots look like they disappeared. The gas tank was sanded down, and a small ding was repaired to have a smooth place to lay some paint. The rear fender was also given some attention. They trimmed down a little off the sides, and filled the old mounting holes, redrilled new holes, and repositioned the fender so taller wheels could fill the space. Just the Low-Boy front fender from Drag Specialties needed the mounting holes drilled. Finally, the chrome on the oil bag was removed and prepped for paint.
The task of giving this everyday rider some new color was handed over to the crew at Zeak’s Design in Riverside, California, where all of the raw metal was sent into the paint booth. When it finally came out, it was covered in Sunset Pearl from House of Kolor. To add to the paint, some platinum pearl graphics were airbrushed to look like the H-D 100th anniversary emblems. With the paint dry, it was sent back to the Cobra team; where the mad dash was on to get it back on the road.
The frame was placed back onto the lift, and the motor and trans were the first things to go in. The front end was wrapped in all-new chrome covers and lower legs and bolted up to the frame.
To get this bike mobile, a set of PM Vintage wheels were slid between the swingarm and the fork tubes: 21 x 3.5-inch up front, and a 17 x 5.5-inch out back. Both of these were covered in Dunlop rubber. Stopping came from the matching PM rotors and polished H-D calipers. For the rear, adjustable Progressive Suspension shocks would smooth out the long ride to and from work.
The final assembly was wrapped up with Denny chroming the H-D hand controls, securing them to the speedster bars from Drag Specialties, and adding H-D risers, mirrors, and a Screamin’ Eagle dash assembly. The foot controls are H-D; however, Cobra has a new style of floorboards and matching passenger boards, called Swept, so a set of both of those had to go on. Lighting up front came from a Screamin’ Eagle headlight, and a Drag Specialties taillight will let you know he is stopping, and seat from Drag Specialties will cushion his ride.
All in all, the Cobra crew built one hell of an everyday rider, with good looks and cool accessories, but most importantly, one that would not be lost in a crowd of stock bikes. Keep your eyes open for this one sailing by in the carpool lane.
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- Thunder Bob
