Reader Rides- Thomas' 1976 Superglide

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Thomas from Oregon, USA, is a email subscriber of Indian Autos Blog and a die-hard biker. Not just any bike, but Cruisers. We asked him to talk about his passion which has been living in him all through his life. This is what he said-

Daddy always had motorcycles, so I was raised around them. This one i bought about 6 years ago, its a 1976 superglide, designated FXE, it has been made into a model FL by the previous owner. had a 1200 cc engine, or 74 Cubic Inch. though I have since replaced it with a 93 Cubic Inch S&S stroker motor, runs on 92 octane gasoline. Premium, and is rated around 100 Horsepower as compared to the 67 horsepower from the factory.

I rode it into the Redwoods in Northern California, around 800 miles, round from where i live, I do the maintenance and upkeep myself, She does cost alot to keep in good shape, Tires, oil, tinkering and little this little that from time to time. I've put about 13,000 miles on her. and have had her up to about 115 MPH. This year I took a week's vacation and ran 1,300 miles camping along the way, was great fun. She is valued at $10,000 but i have much more in her than that.

Safety- Watch out for cage drivers (slang for 'car drivers') mostly. Modifications I have carried out are a new motor, wide glide front end, twin piston calipers, and hope full modifications include powder coating the frame and some new paint this winter, along with a 3 inch open belt drive, a 6 speed transmission.

Other bikes I own- 2003 FXDP Harley Davidson and it's rubber mounted engine is very smooth, 88 cubic inchs, its a ex Police bike I purchased in august 2008, its nice but my 76 shovel will smoke it, I also had a 1978 FX Superglide, brand new, had it for 3 years till it was stolen. I like the stylin of her. road machine , cruiser, the gas mileage is about 37 MpGallon with the STROKER motor, not that great, but power is the trade off.