Shakin' That Ass...

Rear muddy now cut, shut, painted and ON! The custom-made sissy looks just great. Have gone for a subtle orange metal-flake against hi-gloss black.

Having planned the bike in my head for months and collected parts as and when, I hit what I understand is a regular brick wall - WTF colour scheme am I gonna go for? Shoulda thought about it a lot earlier...

I'd love a real cool old-skool pinstripe & and wild Born Free look but pennies were against me. However, the paired down paint job really pops thanks to spray booth wizard Carl. Can't wait to see the bike complete with all tins attached.

Now hitting the final stretch - wiring to redone (time consuming & fiddly but Edge is handling it) and have gone for a reworked aftermarket Sportster-style front muddy which be painted to match the tank & rear fender.

The front muddy will be easily demountable for sunny days when it will be replaced by a strap-on Easyriders fender guard - but UK weather being what it is, I decided to get splash out on the cheap front muddy so I can get on the road early in the season & keep the grime off me face & the engine chrome.

The front fender is currently being fabbed to fit on the existing mounts on the Springer - seems someone at some time went for a deep full valanced skirt front fender and kindly welded some permanent mounts on the leading tube. 

The full cover Indian/Heritage styling I can do without - but the mounts have come in handy.

Tail end tinkering

Popped down to T-city to talk rear muddy lopping and sissy-bar angles. Most US bobbers have very short rear ends and I can only presume that's cuz they don't get the rain we get here. 
I'm no big fan of soaking wet sprays of rainwater and road crud up my back so have opted for a less extreme bob. 
Some of the look - but hopefully none of the water cannon effect.
Also talked sissy-bar height & angle. One of the probs of a softail, rather than hardtail, is that its far harder to get the angle onto the frame right. 
In addition, fitting the rear muddy as an integral part of the rear swing-arm leaves a yawning gap between the seat area & the fender which can never replicate the flowing line seen on a hardtail when the frame line runs straight down from steering head to rear axle and the seat can sit tight back against the rear mudguard.
In this case, I know I'm gonna have a gap - just need to ensure the eye isn't drawn to it.
The sissybar angle is part of that. Too upright or too laid back and it will jar. 
And because this is a softie and the bar's hard welded to the moving swing arm, it can't be too high or smacks in the back of the head may be the new reminder every time I've ridden over a speed hump.