Henry Chriss is a big man with big ideas. At 6’4” tall, his 2005 Road King Classic just didn’t give him the leg room he was looking for. In his quest for a solution, Chriss started working on modifying his motorcycle to accommodate his above average height. This is where his past experience in competing in the auto sound industry came in handy. Chriss made fiberglass sound boxes for speaker systems in show cars. So after six months of tearing down his Harley and building it up again, making clay molds and fiberglass mock-ups, he finally had the look he wanted, a classy one-piece backside conversion that transformed his Road King into an eye-catching custom cruiser. And after winning ‘Best of’ in a couple of shows and receiving compliments on his bike wherever he rode, he realized his creation, the PhatBack Conversion Kit, had marketing potential. So he walked away from the security of an executive position with a prominent organization and formed his own company, Old Skool Cycle Werks.
 
Chriss’ kit is inspired by his affinity for classic cars. Drawing upon styling cues of a ’49 Mercury and a ’55 Cadillac, the PhatBack hails back to a time when fender skirts and running boards were the norm. The one-piece conversion kit is made from hand-laid fiberglass. It is molded to the shape of the rear end, replacing the busy look with smooth, seamless, recessed fenders and running boards. It also moves the saddle back, giving him the extra leg room he was looking for. Installation is a snap as no modifications to the frame or drilling is required. The PhatBack sits on the rear frame rails and uses the stock bolt holes. Simply remove the factory saddlebags, brackets and rear fender. You also take the rubber pads off the footboard and put them on the running boards that are part of the conversion. The PhatBack is intended to be a ‘do-it-yourself’ operation, and Chriss estimates that it takes about an hour to do the initial conversion. He also shows how to take it back off in an eight minute video on his site, demonstrating that you don’t have to be a certified mechanic to do the conversion yourself. His initial project fits Harley-Davidson touring models from the years 2000-2007.
 
What a concept – from cruiser to custom in less than an hour, and with a retail price of $2,499, that’s less money than the average Harley owner spends on chrome bolt-on aftermarket goodies for their bikes. If you’re headed to your favorite rally, toss it on, shine it up, and you’re ready to go. Planning on road-trippin’ and need the luxury of your bags? Then loosen a few bolts and slap the stock parts back on. There’s no risk to resale value, and the trade off in weight is about the same, as the kit is claimed to weigh about 28-30 lbs. According to Chriss, it also adds about six inches of leg room, which was the impetus for the project in the first place.

Adding length and width to the backside made me leery of how it might affect handling, but Chriss assures me that the bike’s balance and turning radius haven’t been compromised.

“During testing, I fiberglassed a rod to the bottom half and lowered and raised it and hit heavy lean angles until it touched. It is still perfectly balanced,” he said.

The conversion has caught the attention of the folks at J&P Cycles, the popular aftermarket parts provider, who have approached Chriss about featuring the PhatBack in their 2009 spring catalog. J&P has also asked him about displaying his bike at its store during Bike Week in Daytona.

But the PhatBack Conversion is just the tip of the iceberg. As I said before, Chriss is a man with big ideas. He wouldn’t have reached the executive level with companies like Nike and ARAMARK if he didn’t think big. Now he is proposing to “Add a little Jekyll and Hyde to your Ride.” He is following up his initial idea with the release of the PhatBack RT, a small, hinged storage compartment that he calls a ‘rumbletrunk.’ The RT version offers 1.0 cubic-foot of storage space without sacrificing the smooth, round lines created by the PhatBack. With Chriss’ tendency toward building bikes with classic car lines, images of a 1930s-era roadster popped into my head.

The enterprising motorcyclist is also preparing to release his PhatBags, a set of hard saddlebags with 2 X 1.75 cubic-feet of storage, and has a front fender called the SlingBlade that will match the bike’s front end to the look established by the backside. In the near future, Chriss plans on offering the Phatbox that includes a backrest and 1.5 cubic-feet of storage, and has a fairing that goes along with the PhatBox in the works called the SlipStreme to give your bike that full cruiser look.

Think about it – with the full PhatBack system, you can easily turn your bike from street cruiser to bagger to full dresser using one motorcycle. Having a custom builder create a bike for you is beyond the means of most people, so the PhatBack Conversion is an affordable alternative for riders who want the look of a custom bike without the custom price. It’s all plug-and-play, so you can take pride in doing the work yourself. With the conversion removed, it also provides better access to the rear end for servicing and maintenance than with the stock fender on. There’s plenty of surface area that provides a great canvas for plenty of wicked paint as well.

Chriss plans on debuting the PhatBack RT, the PhatBags, SlipStreme and SlingBlade at the Cincinnati V-Twin Expo February 7-9 (Booth 1034). He’ll also be at Destination Daytona during Bike Week the first week of March. And for metric guys who like what they see, don’t fret. Chriss has his sights set on a conversion for metric cruisers as well. Big plans for a big man.