Been awhile…

It has been ages since I posted here to the blog, mainly because Facebook and Instagram are so much easier to use.
But it seems a good number of folks keep swinging by to check out Three Mutts Customs so here are a few pics to show what we’ve been up to lately. Of course hand tooled fender bibs, tank bibs and custom bags are still our specialty but now we’re matching to the popular seats more closely.  Mustang distressed brown material is in stock, a new relationship with LePera allows us access to ALL of their materials and Corbin matching material is possible now too!

Custom embroidery in house! An inexpensive way to apply full color designs to your custom bib.

Brown tank bibs material matched to Mustang seats, both in plain and diamond stitch!

More Chaos Pebbles with the new full body and Split Lane designs!

And for those that want to go full tilt for a full custom, there are always hand tooled & airbrushed possibilities.

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Three Different Tank bibs for Harley Softail Slims!

I noticed folks searching for tank bibs for the Harley Softail Slim lately so I thought I would put together a post to show the three different designs I have for the Slim.
As Slim owners will already know, the factory tank bib is narrow and tapers from the dash point to the tank cut out and then folds over the frame backbone. What you may not know is the Softail Heritage tank bib is the exact same.  This means you can use the wider 5″ wide Heritage tank bib as well.

But, some folks might not appreciate the straight sides of the Heritage bib but would like a bit more room for a hand tooled or laser engraved design.  So, to address those clients I designed a hybrid Softail Slim tank bib called the teardrop.  It has the wide shoulders of the Heritage bib while maintaining the taper and tank channel wrap of the factory bib.  More room for artwork on your leather tank bib while keeping the factory lines intact.  Here are a few pictures to check out, any of the three designs start at $60 plus shipping for standard stitched edges.  Lacing, artwork and other add-ons are extra, drop me a line for an estimate: chris@threemuttscustoms.com

I also make a full compliment of rear fender bibs and tool/roll bags for your Softail Slim to create a matching set of custom leather!

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Doing it right in Switzerland…Custom Harley Softail Slim

A recurring client and now friend of mine in Switzerland came to me originally early this year for a custom leather tank bib to match his custom seat from a shop in New York.
This seat is something I had never seen before but I quickly recognized the color as saddle tan, a common color in horse saddles.  By itself, the seat looked lonely, a bit out of place with it’s bright golden tan color on a black bike.  We discussed the bib some and he decided to stick with the same shape as the factory bib but wanted his highly detailed family emblem on it.  Using a combination of laser engraving and hand tooling, I was able to recreate it in exacting detail, including the text on the banner.  Thick, white hand stitched edges were required to match the seat so I set to work.  Together they looked great but the backend needed something so Umberto sent another email, asking about a custom roll style bag to fit between his custom seat and custom fender.  I have to wonder how many parts on his Softail Slim are factory besides the engine and frame.  We agreed on a smallish, 4″ diameter x 10″ long back that would strap to the frame between the two parts with the buckles reversed so they wouldn’t touch the fender when the bag was opened.  His racing number was hand tooled on the flap and the crest laser engraved on the side caps to tie it all together.  Here are the pics, enjoy!

Coordinating and matching motorcycle leathers

Hey folks, Happy St. Patty’s Day!

I wanted to touch on matching and coordinating custom tank and fender bibs with your existing theme, color scheme or factory gear.  Now, having your gear match isn’t a necessity especially if function is your goal but if you are looking for a clean look to show off at Bike Night and such, coordination can make or break your look.

There are a ton of materials out there but in general there are a fixed number of suppliers so getting a good match or a close match for a tank bib or fender bib is usually possible.  Bigger companies like Harley will subcontract their materials so they are exclusive but close alternatives can be had if you know where to look. Matching another custom maker is also possible when good pictures and references are provided.

This post is picture heavy but I wanted to give you good folks some inspiration for your own matched sets and to show what is possible. None of these bikes were local so everything was done via pictures, emails and most importantly…good communication!

Enjoy!
Chris
Three Mutts Customs
http://www.threemuttscustoms.com

Harley Heritage Softail factory seat and tank bib

Three Mutts Customs Harley Heritage Softail matching fender bib

Harley Fatboy factory seat

Three Mutts Customs Harley Fatboy matching fender bib

’99 Harley Dyna with a LaPera Two tone distressed seat and Mustang bib

Three Mutts Customs matched fender bib for the Le Pera two tone seat.

Theme matching spider web fork tube covers for a Harley Sportster Iron 883

Theme matching spider rear fender for a Harley Sportster Iron 883

Three Mutts Customs Caiman (real) inalyed tank and fender bibs to match the C & C Cycles custom seat

Three Mutts Customs Caiman (real) inalyed tank bibs to match the C & C Cycles custom seat

Hand tooled and custom airbrushed “Jessica” rear fender bib to match the client’s existing leathers

The handlebar bag (different maker) Jessica bib is matched to.

The aircleaner insert (different maker) Jessica bib is matched to.

Theme macthing embroidered Three Mutts Customs tank and fender bibs for a Harley Fatboy 110th Anniversary Edition.

Three Mutts Customs Batman themed rear fender bib for a Harley Blackline

Three Mutts Customs Batman themed handlebar bag for a Harley Blackline

Three Mutts Customs Batman themed handlebar bag for a Harley Blackline

Three Mutts Customs color scheme matching tank bib for a Big Dog Mastiff

Three Mutts Customs materials matched fender bib for a Harley Blackline with a Danny Gray custom seat.

Three Mutts Customs materials matched fender bib for a Harley Blackline with a Danny Gray custom seat.

Nananananananana…Batman!

Here are a few of the finished shop pics of a recent fun handlebar tool bag I did for the 2011 Blackline that also sports the Dark Knight Rises themed rear fender bib.  Hand tooled vintage Batman logo on the flap, hand painted with Citadel acrylics and hand tooled end caps with the original series style Bat logo.  Interior is lined with black sweatshirt fabric (soft & easy to clean).  1″ stainless steel buckles and hidden velcro keep the flap down and sealed. Overall dimensions, 12″ long x 5″ diameter with straps spaced at 5 1/2″ centers specifically for the Blackline but the pattern is adjustable for any width bars, and vertical or horizontal mountings.

~Chris
http://www.threemuttscustoms.com

Three Mutts Customs Batman themed handlebar bag for a Harley Blackline

Three Mutts Customs Batman themed handlebar bag for a Harley Blackline

 

a few more projects

Just a few more recent photos to share and a new addition to the line up! I changed the format a bit on this post, pics at the top and descriptions below so those here for the “bike porn” don’t have to read if you don’t want to. Enjoy! Hit “more” to see the details…

the first V-Star 1100 whaletail tank bib in process

Handlebar – Tool Roll bag with half skull tolling

Custom J.D. bottle embroidery for rear fender bib

2007 VTX1800T whaletail tank bib with all the options!

2007 VTX1800T whaletail tank bib with all the options!

Handlebar bag with Stingray inlay

A new client asked me to make a handlebar bag for her 2010 Honda VT1300CT but she didn’t want the typical roll style tubular bag. She asked for something low profile but still capable of carrying a decent amount of stuff. As things progressed, we talked about doing my chaos tooling pattern on the flap, then that progressed to stingray inlay when she started talking about a gray & black color scheme. In the end I designed a wedge shaped bag that tapers both on the width and the thickness. Stingray inlay on the flap and the chaos tooling pattern on the body with matching tooling on the flap strap.

The outer body is 6oz. cowhide with 4oz goatskin lining on the inside of the flap. Gray Stingray from Ostrich Market (great quality & service btw) for the inlay, kangaroo for the lacing. We also decided on lockable roller buckles for all three straps so she can lock the items in and lock the bag to the bike if desired. The inside of the bag is also lined with gray fabric and I carried the point that appears on the flap and front tooling to the inside where the goatskin & fabric meet.

Enjoy!
Chris

(Click the images to enlarge)

Visit the main website: http://www.threemuttscustoms.com!