By Allison Parker & Greg Drevenstedt / Photos courtesy Feuling Parts
Sturgis is just a few weeks away, and the bike in your Southern California garage is a 1985 Harley‑-Davidson FXRT. Now what? Most of us would give the bike a soup‑-to‑-nuts going‑-over, fix what needed fixing, and take it for a shakedown ride. Then we’d pack the hard bags for the 1,500‑-mile journey to the Black Hills, hit the road, and hope for the best.
But if you’re the crew at Feuling Parts, led by Luke Leatherman, you take a different approach. You work around the clock turning that old FXRT into a rip‑-snortin’ performance bagger.
Purchased years ago from Black Hills Harley‑-Davidson, the FXRT “was bone stock, O.G., everything but the tires and the seat,” says Leatherman in a YouTube video about the build. “It was just sitting, and the suspension was blown out. To be a rider, it needed a lot of work. We decided if we’re gonna do a build on this thing, it needed to be above and beyond.”
As with most builds, the Feuling team started with the engine. Out went the FXRT’s Evo, and in went a Twin Cam engine fitted with a pair of Feuling’s W3 cylinder heads. Developed by Jim Feuling in the late ’90s, the W3 was a 3‑-cylinder Twin Cam engine – a V‑-Twin with an extra cylinder added – that displaced 150ci (2,458cc) and made 150 hp and 195 lb‑-ft of torque. It was originally developed in conjunction with Harley‑-Davidson, but the Motor Company bowed out before the W3 reached its final stages of development. By the time Feuling passed away in 2002, only a small number of W3‑-powered motorcycles had been built.
“We had a set of the W3 cylinder heads,” explains Leatherman, who worked for Jim Feuling and now owns the company that still bears the founder’s name. “We really wanted to take this FXRT and turn it into a twin‑-carb Twin Cam engine. We had a special set of conversion cases that have the Evo mounts that allow you to build a Twin Cam engine. Outside of the cases, everything else is made by Feuling, from the cylinders to the heads to the 594 Race Series Camchest Kit.”
The W3 heads have Feuling’s big‑-bore cylinders with a 4‑-inch bore and a 4‑-inch stroke, for a displacement of 107ci. The heads have Figure 8 combustion chambers, an 11.25:1 compression ratio, 2‑-inch intake valves, and 1.65‑-inch exhaust valves, and the engine cranks out 120 lb‑-ft of torque.
A unique thing about Feuling’s Twin Cam is that its W3 cylinder heads are both front cylinder heads, with both exhaust ports facing forward so they get more airflow than having one rear cylinder head with a rear‑-facing exhaust port. The team fabricated a unique exhaust system, which includes Feuling’s patented Anti‑-Reversion chambers in the head pipes and dual exhaust pipes with dogball baffles.
A stock Harley has both the intake and exhaust on the right side of the engine, but Feuling’s twin‑-carb Twin Cam FXRT has the dual exhaust on the right side and a fierce‑-looking pair of intake manifolds with two Keihin 39mm FCR carburetors on the left side.
One of the challenges the Feuling team faced was the higher and more rearward location of the oil tank on the FXRT versus its location on the Dyna Glides they typically use in Twin Cam builds. They had to move the oil tank and customize the inner primary to make clearance for the intake manifold. The FXRT also has a lower oil capacity than the Dyna Glide, so Feuling added a Jagg oil cooler to increase oil capacity and better manage heat.
“When we made the decision to molest this ’85 T, we made the choice to put on performance components,” says Leatherman. “We looked for the best available, so we went with a Saddlemen seat, Legend suspension in the back, GP Suspension up front, Accossato brakes, a Barnett clutch, Bridgestone tires, and all the Thrashin Supply components that were available for the FXR.”
The build was a team effort. Everyone brought their A game and burned the midnight oil to get the FXRT ready for Sturgis. Feuling’s custom ’85 T made the 3,000‑-mile trip from Oceanside, California, to South Dakota and back. As Feuling wrote on its Instagram channel, “This unique Twin Cam Twin Carb build did exactly what it was meant to. Providing enough power to safely maneuver the endless highways and unique style to attract the eyes of everyone we passed on by.”
Feuling Parts: Race Series Camchest Kit - 594 Conversion Chain Drive w/ One Piece Pushrods; TC Rocker Box Breathers; ARP TC Cylinder Stud & Head Bolt Kit; ARP 12 point TC Engine Fastener Kit; Evo Primary & Transmission Stainless 12 point Kit; TC Points Cover; American Flag Logo Derby Cover; Endurance Beehive Valve Spring Kit; Gorilla Rocker Shafts & Bolt Kit; Map Sensor; Feuling Cylinder Heads w/ Figure 8 Combustion Chamber; Custom AR Exhaust System w/ Dogball Baffles; Feuling Cylinders, Big Bore 3.937‑in. / 107ci Engine; Remote Oil PSI Gauge Kit; Billet Handlebar Mount
Accossato: Front calipers, rear caliper, front master cylinder & lever
Alloy Art: Engine mounts, swingarm supports
Barnett: Clutch hub assembly, dual throttle & clutch cables
Bridgestone: Battlecruise H50 100/90B19, H50R 150/80B16
Darkhorse: TC Crankshaft 4 3/8‑in.
GP Suspension: 39mm front cartridges
Jagg: Oil cooler & fittings
Keihin: Dual 39mm FCR carburetors
Klockwerks: 8‑in. flare windshield
Legend: Rear piggyback shocks
Saddlemen: Step‑up seat
Thrashin Supply Co.: 6.5‑in. pullback risers, highbend handlebars, footpegs, shifter tip, shifter lever, shifter adjuster, bar bag, luggage duffle bag, rain gear