ArtBiker World Blog

Our good friend Les at MetalArts, and the man who made my oil bag blade, has come out with a really wonderful new product for your sled.  Adjustable levers are something that have not historically been available for Harley and these babies are top of the line… Check out the press release below and when you order, tell him ArtBiker sent ya…

Love, Respect, and Ride Safe,

ArtBiker

MetalArts is proud to announce the release of their new Patented Adjustable clutch and hand levers. Available in chrome or satin black powder coated, these new levers will provide a level of comfort and safety not previously found on Harley hand controls.

Adjustable levers should be standard on every motorcycle. 

Let’s face it… hands come in all sizes, from very small to very large. It just doesn’t make sense to have a lever that can’t be adjusted. 

The cost for adding a pair of adjustable levers will be well worth it in the long run. 
MetalArts’ Adjustable levers have a look similar to stock levers, made by precision machining of Aircraft Grade Aluminum. MetalArts’ levers make it easy to adjust the lever to fit your hand for comfort and safety. A thumbwheel allows you to adjust the clutch and brake lever in or out depending upon your finger length/reach. These Patented Pending levers are available to fit Harley Davidson Motorcycles. 

See web site for fitment. 

Available in Chrome finish or satin black powder coated finish. 
Take me to web site for more information

WHY YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT A SET OF METALARTS ADJUSTABLE LEVERS

SAFETY-

Have you ever have a close call while riding and felt you almost did not get on the front brake fast enough because you could not reach the hand lever without repositioning your hand first? Remember, 75% of your braking comes from your front brake. Both front and rear brakes need to be applied smoothly, gradually increasing pressure as needed. If you use only the rear brake because you can’t properly control the front brake you create an unsafe condition that may contribute to an accident someday. 

Ever ride in cold weather with thick gloves that make it difficult to reach the hand controls? 



COMFORT-

That extra length of pull needed every time you use the clutch is tiring after a day’s ride… Adjusting the reach of your clutch lever to fit your hand will make shifting gears easy and quick, without having to reposition your hand each time.

INTRODUCTORY OFFER

MetalArts will include a free Throttle Buddy for the first 100 sets of levers ordered.

Les Brown is my kind of guy… I dropped him a note to tell him I was interested in one of his “pig stickers” for my ’49 Panhead.  Not only did he offer his advice on which of his products he would recommend, but he went ahead and sent me a pic of his sweet little ’47 Knuck. 

But good taste in bikes aside… Les has owned and operated MetalArts for 24 years. Originally a bronze fine arts foundry, they have cast major pieces for people all over the world and says he has done “more table top bronze pieces than I care to think about.”  As you may have guessed by his bike, he is a rider, always has been.  Over the years Les began to design and make pieces for his bikes.  And you know what happens when you do that, soon you have all your friends and everyone from the local icehouse wanting you to make something for them too.  As the story goes, a few years ago, after the kids got out of the nest, he shifted gears to mostly bike parts and the rest is history in the making.

The products available through the MetalArts website are all of a very high quality.  Check it out for yourself at www.metalartsinc.com.  You will find that they are very well known for having some of the best air horns out there.  In fact, their home page touts that their loud horns are the alternative to loud pipes!  And with all the posts I have had to do recently about noise ordinances tightening and tickets flowing more freely, some of us may really want to consider some “get the hell out of my way” accessories.  Besides air horns, MetalArts offers a nice selection of air cleaner covers, shift linkages, and, the item I was most interested in, oil tank dip stick knives.

The oil bag blades come with a show quality chrome handle and steel blade.  The plug is billet T-6 polished aluminum and the 420 stainless blade is custom ground with a partial serrated edge.  The blade measures 3 ¼ inches and the overall length is 6 inches. I was very tempted to get the skull handle as, like many of you out there, I have a little thing for skulls.  However, the seat on my rigid is about an eighth of an inch thick and anything but a low profile dipstick would dig into my leg.  So, I went ahead and ordered up the knife with the iron cross handle.  It is low profile, has a smooth top in case my leg rests upon it, and the iron cross is appropriate for the bike I am going to put this on.

As you might be able to tell from the photos, the fit and finish is beautiful.  The blade has a nice edge to it, but I will be taking it in to get sharpened up a bit… but I do that with every blade so don’t make a value judgment here.  After ordering, Les had the part shipped to me very, very quickly.  It arrived in a nice package with a protective covering over the blade so as not to draw blood from the postman.  Nice touch Les.

If you decide you want to order one of these little numbers up for yourself, keep in mind that you will want to measure the opening of your oil bag.  The plug comes in two sizes, 1 3/8 in and 1 ¼ inch.  If chrome is not your thing, you might want to consider ordering a part in Bronze.  The folks at MetalArts offer that as an option to you. 

The rebuild of my Panhead is coming to a close and I will be putting this baby on as soon as everything is put back together.  I will post pics when that happens.

Love, Respect, and Ride Safe,

ArtBiker

here is a pic of my pan… before the tear down…  you can see why I wouldn’t want a sharp handle on the plug.