Phat Az 5/2010

One man’s insanity is another man’s normalcy. Some people would think it’s insane to strip their custom bike down to the Daytec frame and then cut the frame in half to add seven inches of stretch to the backbone. That is how Johnny Doucet spent his Thanksgiving a couple years ago. He is a tall guy who wanted to build a custom Bagger that fit him.

The frame now has 45° of total rake in the front end. With the frame stretched to accommodate his long legs, Johnny had to custom build the handlebars to make this long Bagger turn. The bars are clutter free; no risers, wires, cables or levers. Acceleration is now handled with an internal throttle and the clutch is actuated with an Exile twist clutch. With the clutch lever gone it was time to figure out the front brake. To eliminate the front brake lever, Johnny referenced his car days and used integrated braking. Johnny fabricated the gas tank himself, which turned out to be a much easier task than the saddlebags. Starting with two beetle bag doors, Johnny set about fabricating the bags. He had to enlist the help of his cousin, Bubba Doucet (which is the Louisiana equivalent of John Smith). The two cousins spent months getting the bags perfect. The ’59 Cadillac taillights are a nice touch. The front fender is a vintage Indian motorcycle replica which hides the front caliper and makes cleaning the wheel simple. The rear fender had to be fabricated since nobody had built a Bagger with these lines before. Since the lines of Johnny’s Bagger are so unique, a traditional fairing would not work. A busted Hayabusa fairing was enlisted. Johnny fabricated the mounting brackets, the side and dash panels were hand formed.

With the sheet metal completed, it was time to concentrate on the drivetrain. Since this is a long and heavy Bagger, a big-inch motor was required to power it. Johnny went with an S&S 107” motor that puts out 112 horses to the rear wheel. A Baker five-speed transmission manages all of that power. A 21” Sturgis wheel wrapped in Avon rubber rides up front with a hidden Performance Machine caliper and a half-visible Performance Machine rotor handling the braking. A 200mm Avon rear tire rides on a Sturgis 18 x 5.5” rim with a Performance Machine rotor and caliper handling the braking. The four-inch over front end is from Pro-One and features a hidden axle and seven degrees of rake in the triple trees. The super-white paint was given updated hot rod flames that feature a liquid metal look. Johnny threw in some ’57 Chevy Turquoise to add some color.

Johnny’s Phat Az Bagger is a daily rider that he built to show his customers exactly what he is capable of. Johnny now has a one-of-a-kind Bagger that doubles as a rolling billboard to advertise his fabrication talents.

For more information on Bad Az Bikez, call 337.230.6019 or visit www.badazbikez.com.

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