Harley-Davidson is an icon of American culture and the most popular marque for custom builders. Shortly after the company was founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, customizers started bobbing, chopping and dirt tracking the famous V-twins.
After WW2 Harley motorcycles were at the center of the bobber craze, and kept their lead as Californian bikers turned to choppers in the late 1950s. The 45-degree engines have their own nicknames and folklore: from flatheads, knuckleheads, panheads and shovelheads to today’s Evolution and Milwaukee-Eight motors.
The Sportster is the basis for more Harley-Davidson customs than any other model. Originally fitted with an ‘Ironhead’ motor, it turned 60 years old in 2017. It’s probably the single most customized motorcycle on the planet, and certainly has the largest supply of aftermarket parts.
Australia’s Gasoline Motor Co. turns a Sportster into a fetching Harley XR750 replica, South Korea’s Crazy Garage transforms a Ducati Hypermotard, and the embattled Austrian marque KTM updates the razor-sharp 790 Duke. Then, in Las Vegas, a rare and unusual motorcycle with a wheel-mounted radial engine is about to go on the auction block.
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Every five years, Harley-Davidson releases a fresh slew of special anniversary editions. They’re usually existing models, upgraded with fancy liveries and, in some cases, numbered plaques. But the fact that they come out twice a decade (and in strong numbers) sort of diminishes their allure. It’s little wonder, then, that the owner of this 100th…
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When I think of a bobber, a “bob-job,” a “cut-down,” a “chopper,” or whatever the hell you want to call it, this is what I think of: straightforward, low-slung, powerful, knuckles up, dangerous as all fuck, and American as a heart attack. This fine specimen was built by KC Kawano over the course of one…
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The early 1970s were trying times at Harley-Davidson. The effects of AMF’s takeover in 1969 were trashing the company’s reputation and finances, and the flood of incoming Japanese standards provided reliable low-cost alternatives. To make matters worse, Harley’s grip on dirt track racing was in jeopardy after Brits had twisted the AMA’s arm for a…
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The two custom motorcycles that headline this week’s edition of Speed Read couldn’t be more different. One is a Harley Pan America…
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Some custom motorcycle builders are drawn to the simplicity of vintage machines, while others favor the performance and reliability of modern motorcycles.…
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Anyone who’s ever picked up a wrench has probably experienced the urge to create something from scratch; something that exudes craftsmanship and…
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Richard Pollock has an enviable problem: a full order book. Just last week, we featured a stunning Harley Sportster street tracker in…
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Have you noticed how photographers often favor the right-hand side of a motorcycle? Sometimes it’s because the bike’s side stand has it…
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Who would be deranged enough to commission a custom café racer with a Harley-Davidson V-Rod as a base? Only Mark ‘FKN’ Hawwa.…
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Like most skilled craftsmen, Richard ‘Mule’ Pollock can turn his hand to myriad custom motorcycle build styles. But there’s one particular type…
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Your bike is as much an extension of your body on the open road as it is your personality when parked at…
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