First off, I have to make a confession. I don't ride a Harley. Not because of any inherent dislike if the breed you understand, more that owning a Harley Davidson big twin is an aspiration I've never quite gotten round to realising for one reason or another. Either I've never quite had the cash, or I've been tempted away by some high-tech, high-performance Japanese bolide. For whatever reason, buying a Harley has always been something I've been about to do next. But seeing Billy's stunning Heritage Softail in the flesh confirmes my growing conviction that I have to own one of these bikes. Soon.

The big, chunky 'Glides have always epitomised the essence of Harley-Davidson to me. Billy's bike keeps all the qualities of the thundering Milwaukee twin with just enough customising to make the bike exclusively his own. After spending some time working in Washington State, Billy looked at importing a bike into England. When he worked out the freight charges and import duties he found it made more sense to buy a bike over here, and bought this bike new in 1995 from Eddy Wright in Leeds. Since then it has evolved in several stages to the stylish custom you see here.

In its most recent incarnation the bike features a stage two tuned motor with Singlefire ignition, a Kuryakin Hypercharger feeding the stock carb, and that tasteful Harley two into one exhaust. A 150 section rear wheel squeezes into the stock swing arm, the narrowed belt drive just clearing the extra rubber. To get a little extra range for his regular European trips Billy fitted six gallon fatbobs with aircraft fillers, and the sculpted Le Pera seats take care of passenger comfort between fuel stops. But of course the most stunning feature of this bike has to be the superb paint job by Skelly of Bradford.

This isn't the first bike we've featured with Skelly's paintwork, and judging by the quality of his work it won't be the last. Inspiration for the artwork came from the air filter emblem, a hand painted part that Billy picked up on the 2000 HOG run to Loret in Spain. Billy liked the miniature mural so much he took it down to Skelly, and between them they planned out the intricate swirls and scoops around the fenders and the tank side murals that echo the Spanish artist's original. The design evolved through several stages, and the end result that you see here really represents a collaboration between Billy and Skelly that belies the traditional relationship between painter and customer. Skelly started with a purple marbellised colour coat over a black base, then applied several coats of laquer to seal the base coat before starting to apply the graphics and murals. This meant that he could try several different approaches before settling on the final design; anything that didn't quite work being simply wiped off with thinners without damaging the marbellised base. As the design evolved it inevitably took rather longer than first planned, and the result you see here represents the results of three months hard work. These efforts were rewarded with an award for "best in class" at the Aire Valley HOG Oddball rally in Wakefield, the bikes first outing in a custom show.

What might not be apparent from the photos is the custom lighting that illuminates the motor. Two pink neons mounted under the tanks light the motor from above while four blue strobes underneath flicker and dance in the chromework. Another two blue strobes firing forward from the toolboxes light each side of the bike and flash off the marbellised paint on the front fender and tanks. In the dark the bike looks stunning, but the effect eluded all my attempts to capture it on film. You'll just have to take my word for it until you have chance to see the bike at one of the many HOG runs and shows Billy attends regularly. The lighting is one of Billy's specialties and he's provided a number of one-off systems for custom cars. If you want custom lighting for your bike or car check out his web site at www.billclubb.com. Billy is a founder member of the Aire Valley Chapter of HOG, and as you might have gathered is no stranger to mileage. As well as the annual run to Spain for the European HOG rally Billy is planning to visit his bikes birthplace in Milwaukee in summer 2003, and is considering shipping the bike to the States for the trip. Sounds like the ride of a lifetime to me. With my growing conviction to add a Harley to the contents of my garage very soon, I might just be in a position to go along for the ride.

Dr.Rod.