The bike is built around his Harley-Davidson FLS Softail Slim, which like all Softails acts as a great canvas for customisation. The bike was stripped in the Sussex based workshop of Shaw Harley-Davidson with their Speed & Custom team getting into all the detailing after meeting with the prolific racer, and identifying all areas where the bike could have changes large or small to make it personal,
After complete breakdown the bike was mocked up to make sure the flow worked with changes such as an extended oil tank fabricated in house with the famous 67 added in metal to give a unique 3D metal effect. The front end was also changed with the slimmer FX style and again stripped so the legs could be Nitraded and fork triple tree custom painted to match the frame colour changes, with also an RSD Fork brace replacing the original front fender.
The handlebars and risers were replaced to give a very clean front end look, this with the use of the new Performance Machine Headlight to give the bike a fresh look and also complimented with Performance Machine Master cylinder and switch gear makes less always more. A huge front brake rotor with Performance machine caliper also give the bike more braking muscle, and great stance.
With the new custom painted frame the opportunity to create a cleaner built bike was allowed with relocation of some electrical components and the ability to reroute wiring to give a simpler looking build, with the replacement of parts, such as the Roland Sands Gas Tank, seat and seat pan and rear fender which has also had the Speed & Custom touch with a new rear spoiler which will house the stop and tail lights plus the licence plate. Also RSD Nostalgia chrome engine covers, clarity timer and transmission covers, and air breather with Performance machine adding to the list with their Open Primary, brake rotors and calipers, brake and clutch levers and switch gear, the wheels used are the spectacular Boss Contrast Cut wheels with the rear end going to 240mm using the Phatail kit again by PM, with a 21 inch in the front wrapped with Avon rubber.
A new front engine guard made in the Speed Shops fab room and added by anodising in black, with front and rear suspension lowered for a low and mean look, a moto gadget speedo was fitted to allow the bar area to look cleaner, once again the bike is another repeat of the Speed & Custom shops motoes of "DETAIL, DETAIL, DETAIL" and adds to their 60 plus portfolio of custom bike builds all based on stock Harley-Davidsons.
Being the Premier Dealer in the UK the Speed Shop has given added interest to the Dealership and now the UK based shop a client list with countries such as Angola, Beruit, Paris, Rome, Milan and Monaco, Australia and Russia on it, building bikes that are both individual and really rideable is Team Principal Steve Willis' goal, we listen, understand and get to know our customers the best we can because the detail is in the understanding of who owns the bike, the use, the look and their own vision, if you get this then the build is so much easier, especially with the talent that we are lucky enough to have in our team in the Workshops at Shaw Harley-Davidson, we hope this bike is another success both in the build and the delivery of expectation for Shakey.
T E C H N I C A L S P E C
RSD-Shakey Interview
How fast does that thing go?
It doesn't have a speedo, probably just as well or i'd spend too long looking at it!! Probably about 200 odd mph at UK circuits, just a little bit quicker than my Harley lol
For those that don't know what i do..
I'm the three times Britsh Superbike Champion and going into this season i'm 2 race wins away from becoming the most successful rider ever in the championship's history, i'm riding again this year for Kawasaki on a zx10r supported by Rapid solicitors
What made me 1st want to ride a motorbike..
For fear of sounding corny, for literally as long as i remember all i ever wanted was to be a motorbike race, kinda strange when mum & dad never even had driving licences, my first bike i ever owned was a Yamaha YZ100, the thing was a wreck but i loved it, i swopped it for a radio controlled car so you can imagine the state the thing was in!!!
How did bikes become a career instead of fun..
Well, honestly, the answer is with a fair bit of hard work, there were no silver spoons in my family so i saved every penny i got to buy my first race bike, luckily i won my 1st ever race and made rapid progress, 2000 was my 1st professional paid year racing..
What pushes me to risk life and limb every weekend..
i'm not much good at anything else ha ha, seriously, i love my sport, sure id make so much more money playing football or golf or something but racing's real, it's something thats just in you, i love my life!!
If i could do anything right now besides answering these questions…
I'd choose the winning lottery numbers or something lol, seriously, outside of racing i have a beautiful family so i'd spend more time with them!!
Worst crash…
Tough one that, i've had more than my fair share over the years, broken back, split liver, ankles, wrists, you name it i've probably broken it!!
Nobbies or slicks..
Slicks for a living, i'm not so fat at MX lol!!
Beer or wine,,
Wine i guess, i don't drink beer and never really have, i just don't like the taste of the stuff and definitely don't need a beer gut in my job ha ha
Whiskey or Tequila..
Don't think I've ever tried tequila but it'd be tequila for sure, i had a real messy experience with Whiskey once, about 16 years old showing off in front of some friends i drunk a whole load of it, probably the 1st time i'd ever had alcohol, needless to say a few hours later i was in a bit of a mess!!!
Whats the first thing i do when i get home..
Usually unpack all the crap that goes with racing so that my wife can get on and sort it all out for me!!
Fill in the blank…..
If at first you don’t succeed….make sure you never give up, if you work hard enough you will succeed
When you end up badly drunk … and you don’t remember a thing… get over it ASAP and say you'll never do it again
When in England always make sure you bring an umbrella… before you even think of going outside….
I think technology rocks… and it proves that things usually never stop moving forwards…
Lots of rules … Is a bunch of bullshit
If I ever meet my dad … again, I’m for sure going to call my mom first.
Life… Is amazing even though it hurts…sometimes
Words to live by?
This ain't no dress rehearsal so get on with it and enjoy!!!