Turn Steaming Piles of Ugly into Cool Softails

April 29, 2016 By jeff najar

Kyle Shorey’s latest kit

Kyle Shorey of Speed Foundry builds killer sleds that are available via kits. Have a Softail that needs a little somethin’ somethin’ to kick it up a level? Yep, you’ve come to the right place.
Well, I had to find out so the day before the 2016 Dallas edition of the J&P Ultimate Builder Custom Bike Show I headed out to his shop at the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke, Texas.

It was a cold and overcast day in North Texas and the hangar that Speed Foundry resides in offered little shelter from wind whipping in from the North.

Outside the Speed Foundry Offices

I rolled in to hear about Pinkie, a 1991 bitter and twisted Softail Standard with just 9000 miles. The bike featured a pink, baby blue, and pearl white paint scheme. And the cherry on top was an all-white alligator white pleated seat. Kyle said that the bike was so ugly that he had to ride it around a bit just for the comedy of it.

Once Pinkie arrived at the Speed Foundry shop it became a test bed for all of Kyle’s creative ideas. He disassembled everything except the frame and drivetrain.

Kyle designed a rear fender kit that is attached to the rear swing arm and curved fender struts that are connected to the axle. He found a late model 2000 – 2007 swing arm to accommodate a 200 tire. To keep the alignment correct he set up a chain drive. The rear wheel is off a late model Fatboy solid rear wheel.

New Fender Kit

He removed the saddle and fabricated a new seat pan for a spring seat. He then fabricated a frame cover to hide the electrics.

Next up was the tank. He split the stock 3.25 gallon gas tank and narrowed it 2.5 inches. He then added a set of Sportser bars. The FL front end was lowered 2 inches. He powder coated everything gloss black.

Fabricated a new seat pan for a spring seat

The front wheel is a spoke 23″ by Ridewright Wheels. Speed Foundry also supplied grips, foot pegs shifter and brake pedals. The custom transformation took about a week.

He received so much positive feedback on his build that he decided to create a fender, seat and tank kit. With just a few hand tools and a couple of hours a guy can transform a Softail bike into a custom sled.

Mission Accomplished – Shorey has created an excellent weekend project. And Pinkie is now a very cool and unique sled.

Sectioned custom tank

Rear fender and seat kit

Bike getting ready for the show

Speed Foundry located outside of Ft. Worth TX

Speed Foundry takes great pride in their work and most importantly their relationships with their customers.

They have worked hard to not only survive in this economy, but to grow each year…and have managed to stay afloat by being dedicated and providing top line customer service. Looking for a little pick me up for your softail, then give a shout at 817-475-1145 or 817-307-6146

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