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One Phat Boy
Our man Dave visits specialist parts and accessories distributor KPR Industries.
Brum said, “Dave, get over to KPR Industries and have a talk about the bikes they have in their showroom.” A few days later I was at their Kedron (Brisbane) premises and walking around a pretty special Fat Boy Custom with Director, Joe Kovacs.
One Phat Boy
This great-looker started life as a 2018 FLFBS 114 cube Milwaukee 8 Fat Boy and was built by KPR as an R&D project in conjunction with its owner, Heath.
Director Nathan Parry fitted it out with a huge inventory of Harley and KPR products to turn it into a real head turner.
Starting with the RC Component ‘Revolt’ wheels that really are one of the standout features of the presentation. The front has been converted to a 23” and is shrouded by a ‘B’Cool 23” 12 Gauge Thick No Wobble Front Guard’. Joe explained that the advantage of these fender is that for such a long guard it doesn’t rattle or vibrate at the lower end, like some lighter gauge materials. It’s also perfectly smooth so the painters love them. The wheels are finished off with Matching Two piece (Replaceable) Blade Rotors & Rear Pulley.
It’s also running the complimentary RC Components air cleaner that shows off the wheels really nicely, particularly in conjunction with the Genuine Harley Black-out engine covers. The exhaust is a Bassani Pro Street System and it’s running a Screamin’ Eagle race tuner.
The contrast cut theme is continued with genuine Harley ‘Defiance’ grips, footboards and rear pegs and it has Wunderkind Adjustable wide blade clutch and brake levers. It all fits together really well and the levers and grips sit nicely on the Genuine H-D 12” Apes mounted on Drag Specialties Hefty risers and clamp. It looks really tough.
The bike’s stance is enhanced by Platinum Air Suspension that can be adjusted to give it a really slammed rear-end look - or pump up the pre-load for better ride comfort. There’s also a second switch for adjusting ride height and cornering clearance.
The paint on the bike is by Zealous Airbrush Studio and is simply beautiful. The various gloss and matte black sections are separated by a series of silver and white pinstripes. The area in-between is finished with hand gilded nine-carat white gold leaf.
When asked about the job, Damo said, “We wanted something that was timeless. Something classic that would sit well on the bike and not look like it was from a particular era.” It’s a job very well done.
The presentation is finished off with KPR under perch indicators and a ChopZ FLFB Option 5 tail tidy in all-black.
Joe also pointed to some new products that have come out of Thunderbike in Germany. The front axle covers really tidy up the fork lowers and the swingarm pivot bolt cover kit takes away some of the “Bunnings Hardware” look. They have also used contrast cut KPR bolt covers on the rocker box cover, KPR tank Mount Kit covers and KPR Lifterblock Covers in an effort to replace as many of the cad-plated parts as possible.
Also worth noting is they now have a viable dummy-side flush mount fuel cap to suit.
After a good walk around and the run-down we headed out for a photo shoot and then Joe said the magic words, “Would you like to take it for a ride Dave?”
Everyone Looks at This Bike
The first thing I noticed was how ‘normally’ the bike rides. I think that’s the biggest kudos a ‘big wheeler’ can get - that it rides like a normal bike. That was a little surprising considering that this example is running the standard triple trees and geometry, but as Joe later said “It rides so well we didn’t see any reason to amend the rake.”
I also really enjoyed the riding position, great comfort and ergos that come with the 12”apes - and of course the noise coming out of the Bassani system is quite intoxicating.
Lean angles are what you would expect from a slammed Fat Boy although on a quick test ride I didn’t really get a chance to pump up the ride height to max. But that’s not what this bike is about anyway. It’s a head turning, feel-good, pleasure machine of the first order. It’s fitted with a very well matched inventory of quality products and it’s a joy to be aboard.
When I mentioned that to Joe back at the shop he summed it up nicely. “It’s why we call ourselves ‘Custom Motorcycle Consultants’ - and it’s why we build bikes like this for R&D purposes. So we know from experience how well things go together and we can plan and design our product range to suit.”
How well this Fatty is tied together is testament to that experience. You can see more of the range of KPR products at their web site: kpr-ind.com.au - or talk to your favourite bike shop.
Things I Liked
A beautifully integrated parts package, excellent 12-inch ape ergonomics, intoxicating Bassani sound and remarkably normal road manners for a 23-inch big-wheel custom.
Things I Didn’t Like
The slammed stance naturally limits cornering clearance, although the adjustable air suspension provides a practical way to improve it when required.
Things I’d Change
Very little—the contrast-cut components, concealed lighting, tail tidy and finely detailed black-and-white-gold finish already form a cohesive whole.
KPR Industries 2018 Harley-Davidson FLFBS Fat Boy
General & Engine
Model2018 FLFBS Fat Boy
BuilderKPR Industries
EngineMilwaukee-Eight 114
Fuel systemElectronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection
Air cleanerRC Components
ExhaustBassani Pro Street Turnouts
TuningScreamin’ Eagle race tuner
Drivetrain & Chassis
TransmissionSix-speed
Primary driveChain
Final driveBelt
FrameSoftail
SeatHarley-Davidson
Rear suspensionPlatinum adjustable air suspension
Wheels & Brakes
WheelsRC Components Revolt, contrast cut
Front wheel23 × 3.75 inches
Rear wheel18 × 8.5 inches
Front tyreAvon Cobra 130/60R-23
Rear tyreAvon Cobra 250/40 R18 AV72 81V
BrakesFour-piston fixed front / two-piston floating rear
Controls & Finish
BarsH-D 12-inch apehangers
RisersDrag Specialties Hefty
ControlsH-D Defiance and Wunderkind adjustable levers
Front guardB’Cool 23-inch 12-gauge No Wobble
Tail tidyChopZ Option 5
PaintZealous Airbrush Studio
FinishMatte and gloss black with white-gold-leaf pinstripes
About KPR Industries
After we covered the details of the Fat Boy I sat down with Joe Kovacs and asked him to, “Tell me more about KPR Industries”.
“We have been in business seven-and-a-half years now and we are importers and distributors for a wide range of products. Nathan and I bring over 40 years combined experience to the custom Harley industry. We are proudly Bassani Exhausts distributor here in Australia,” He began.
“We’ve done a lot of work with the Bassani product. Through hard work and much support from Bassani, our dealers and sponsored riders like Josh at HD Hooligans, Jamie from Karupt Customs and Ryan Rowley, we have managed to help develop Bassani Xhausts into a brand that was selling three pipes a year, to one that is outselling some of the more established brands.”
“It’s actually one of our company goals, to take the well-known older Brands that have been in the industry for a long time ,but are suffering, because of a number of factors, like online sellers etcetera, we feel that they haven’t been properly branded, marketed or represented, so we set about fixing that by promoting the name and giving the products the service they deserve. We are currently doing the same thing with RC Components wheels and their other product lines.”
When asked to list KPR’s main product lines Joe replied. “Bassani Xhaust, ChopZ, RC Components, we are now the authorised distributor for Paaschburg Wunderlich, a German company who make and distribute really top-end lighting solutions like “HighSider” just to name one, and we’re very excited about that product range. Some of the new LED indicators and lights are amazing. We also have a great range of Thunderbike products from Germany as well because they are really leading the way in components for the M8 models - particularly things like the underperch indicators, forward controls, flush mount gas cap covers, headlight peaks, and fastener kits. In fact we can supply anything from the Thunderbike range.”
Which lead me to the question, “How do people order your products?”
“From their local bike shop” Joe answered. “We pretty much service all of the Genuine Harley network and those dealers - and others - can order anything you want from us: Bassani, ChopZ, Heartland USA, Drag Specialities, Custom Cycle SAS Air Suspension and a heap more brands ever expanding. Your Heavy Duty readers can check out our web site, www.KPR-ind.com.au - We also have a dealer locator on there, and we’re working to get the full range of products online as quickly as we can.”
