That old adage certainly holds true for ole Wild Man’s beloved “Black Pearl.” Anyone who knows Cycle Source Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Chris Callen, understands that the Pearl is part-and-parcel to this man’s personal makeup. That black, 2003, H-D Electra Glide, Ultra Classic has carried him over 130,000 miles to most everything that’s appeared on the pages of Cycle Source Magazine since the day Chris rode her off the showroom floor. Coast-to-coast runs, custom bike shoots, rallies, motorcycle product shows, BMRs, Daytona, Sturgis, Bonneville, you name it, weather conditions be damned, Chris and the Black Pearl have made their way to all things motorcycling together for 5 years straight. Right on!
So, around the beginning of this year’s riding season Chris worked out some deals with the best of the best in the motorcycle aftermarket to breath some new life into the old girl. The details of who did what will be spelled out in detail in a future print issue of Cycle Source. Suffice it to say, you won’t be disappointed. And from Chris and the rest of us at the magazine, mad props for all of the great work everyone did with the Pearl. You know who you are, and we’re all eternally grateful. Your press time is coming!
Late this summer, Charlie from the Wall of Death, offered to help get the Pearl into the ever capable hands of the techno-wizards at Zipper’s Performance Products, while making his way to the Del-Mar-Va Bike Fest. It was there where the Zipper’s R&D crew worked their mechanical magic through the ThunderMax Autotuner and the once silent Pearl snarled back to life, meaner and more ready than ever to exceed ole Wild Man’s most sinister asphalt-annihilating expectations!
The stage was set. All that was left was to bring Chris and his beloved Black Pearl back together; and all of that happened this past Friday, when Chris made a “slight” detour to Zipper’s home office, near Baltimore, MD on his way to the Easyriders Events Show, featuring the Limpnickie Lot Clubhouse in Atlanta, GA Saturday afternoon.
Although Chris knew an amazing machine awaited his arrival, in the form of his completely rebuilt scooter, what he didn’t expect was the incredible reception he’d receive from the Zipper’s crew when he got there.
You see friends, this isn’t Zipper’s Performance Products first time at the dance, not even by a long shot. For over 30 years, Dan Fitzmaurice and the rest of the Zipper’s crew have been dedicated to H-D and V-Twin high-performance. In fact, from 1985-1995, while racing on a part-time basis, the Zipper’s Racing Team achieved 60+ National and World Records as well as 5 National Drag Racing Championships using their own products and designs. They were also the first company in their industry to offer an adjustable ignition system for the new Twin-Cam engine design. They’ve also led their industry by being the first to offer CNC ported cylinder heads on H-D castings.
While there, Chris and Joe Trozzo, licensed H-D technician and technical contributor to Cycle Source Magazine were given a complete tour of the Zipper’s Performance Products facility. As well, Joe Trozzo spent the day with Bob Goad, one of Zipper’s technical specialists, during which time he was given a thorough technical primer on using the more advanced tools behind Zipper’s ThunderMax engine management system.
Without question, the impeccable R&D, troubleshooting, and final tuning work the Zipper’s team did with the Black Pearl, along with their first rate facilities and the overwhelming amount of time they spent with Chris and Joe, left at lasting, positive impression on the two of them as well as all of us here at Cycle Source who heard the story from them.
By the end of the weekend Chris had the chance to take the old girl out for a few hundred miles and came back with an insane story of a wicked bike. Apparently the 106″ S&S engine, now completely dialed in by Zippers passed a “zippy car,” as Chris called it, on the expressway at 130 miles per hour. Now, if that top speed were all of it, this would still be incredible. But the bike has pulling power throughout the range, is smooth as glass and that 130 isn’t the top, it was where Chris let off.
For more information on Zipper’s Performance Products be sure to check them out online, and stay tuned here and to our print edition for complete details on the rebuild of the Black Pearl, including all the work done by countless masters of the aftermarket, Harley-Davidson and further details of the work performed at Zipper’s Performance Products.
