Mitch G. of Auburn, Washington used the Throttle Addiction Deluxe Sportster Hardtail kit to transform his 2000 Sportster XL1200 in the ridiculously clean chopper you see here. This was Mitch's first crack at building a chopper. He's an automotive fabricator by day, but he dove in to this chopper build and absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Mitch purchased this Sportster with the intent of chopping and hardtailing it. He chose the Throttle Addiction hardtail kit because he thought it looked great, and included all the parts he would need for a fast start. This chopper spared no details, so Mitch took his time during the 4 month build. Being an automotive fabricator by trade, Mitch possesed a keen eye for design and quality, which is all evident in the finished product. Like most custom motorcycles, its never truly finished and he ended up tearing it down a few different times. The last time involved modifying and removing the stock Harley neck gussets and completing the custom fabrication to clean the front area up.
Donor Bike: 2000 Sportster XL 1200
Wheels: Custom 21" Spool Front / 18" rear laced to stock hub
Frame: Stock w/ Throttle Addiction Hardtail Kit
Bars: Custom Built T Bars by Mitch
Tank: Narrow Wassell
Seat: Throttle Addiction Cobra pleated (included w/ kit)
Oil Tank: Throttle Addiction HT oil Tank (Included w/ Kit)
Sissy Bar: Throttle Addiction (Included w/ kit)
Tires: Avon mkii safety mileage rear tire in 4.00-18 and Avon speed master front in 3.00-21
Front End: Mullens narrow 39mm trees, 4" extended tubes
Paint: Jesse IG: @bornntheusa101
Chrome: Metal Master Polishing
Powder Coat: Powder Vision
We asked Mitch what he though about our kit, and he has this to say "I was very happy with the hardtail. Being a fabricator myself, I’m pretty critical when it comes to fit/finish and quality of work. But I have to say, everything went together real smooth and I was impressed with the craftsmanship on this piece! Not to mention for a hardtail, it is definitely the better looking of the bunch for the sportster platform. As long as you measure everything out right it should go together no problem! I’ve always mounted the engine in the frame to pull everything together square prior to welding it up"
Mitch also had this advice to anyone thinking about hardtailing their sportster " Dive in! It’ll become a huge rabbit hole and consume a lot of your time if you really get into it, but in my opinion the sportster is one of the best bikes to cut apart and modify, especially for a first time builder. There is a ton of aftermarket support, parts and info out there regarding these bikes which makes it real nice. It’ll give you a really good grasp on putting together a bike before getting into something a bit older or more on the fabrication heavy side."
One of the elements that sets Mitch's build apart is the time he took to remove the stock Sportster frame neck gusseting. Harley designed the neck of the evolution sportster frames to include a stamped gusset plate. careful removal reveals a very clean neck tube, backbone and down tubes. Once the sheet metal plates are removed, you must resupport this neck area. mitch added the cross brace as well as the small gussets under the lower portion of the neck tied into the down tubes. The end result is a propper hardtail frame, leaving no resemblance to the original sportser frames. It's alot of work, but the beauty of the finished product cannot be denied!
This chopper build is an example of the amazing donor bikes that Sportsters make for a chopper build. The great thing about building your own bike is you can take it as far as you want. You can resuse many of the stock sportster parts form your doner bike, or like mitch, toss most of them and start from scratch! Our deluxe sportster hardtail kit includes the Frame, Fender, sissy Bar, Oil Tank, fender and seat. It a provides a great start for novice and seasonsed builders!
Please allow up to a 4 week lead time for production on Hardtail kit orders. Our Throttle Addiction weld on Sportster hard tail kit will transfor...
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The Throttle Addiction King and Queen seat is designed to fit perfectly on our Evo Sportster Hardtail. They pair up perfectly with the sissy bar i...
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The Throttle Addiction King and Queen seat is designed to fit perfectly on our Evo sportster hardtail. They pair up perfectly with the sissy bar i...
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This King and Queen Seat pan is designed to fit perfectly with our Sportster Evo Hardtail Kit. May work on other hardtail models. Get the seat pan...
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The Throttle Addiction Cobra seat is designed to fit perfectly on our Evo sportster hardtail. The front of the seat features a stainless steel ta...
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The Throttle Addiction Cobra seat is designed to fit perfectly on our Evo sportster hardtail. The front of the seat features a stainless steel ta...
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Seat pans are designed to fit perfectly with our Sportster Evo Deluxe Hardtail Kit. 16 gauge steel. 100% Made in the U.S.A. Include mounting ...
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The Throttle Addiction Solo seat is designed to fit perfectly on our Evo sportster hardtail. The front of the seat features a aluminum tab which ...
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The Throttle Addiction Solo seat is designed to fit perfectly on our Evo sportster hardtail. The front of the seat features a aluminum tab which ...
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Seat pans are designed to fit perfectly with our Sportster Evo Deluxe Hardtail Kit. 16 gauge steel. 100% Made in the U.S.A. Include mounting ...
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Hardtailing your Harley-Davidson Sportster is a great way to build an affordable chopper with thousands of aftermarket parts available for endless customization...
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