Customs built in the ‘bobber’ or hardtail style. On the typical bobber motorcycle, excess bodywork has been stripped away, and the fenders are usually removed or shortened.
All unnecessary hardware has been removed to cut weight—including the mufflers in many cases—and a single seat is usually fitted. Old-school handlebars are often installed too, with the wiring run inside for a clean look, along with classic ‘Bates’ style lighting.
For owners of bobber motorcycles, these custom bikes are the purest form of motorcycling.
Harley is the brand most commonly associated with the bobber style, but we’re also seeing many Triumph and Indian motorcycles—especially since those two brands have factory bobbers in their range.
The German custom powerhouse WalzWerk has just marked its 35th birthday in the best way it knows—with a handsome BMW boxer bobber. A Frenchman in Morocco takes on the world with a Honda XL 125S, an Indonesian custom shop builds a Honda Trail replica out of a Suzuki, and a Japanese privateer builds a sharp…
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The Yamaha SR150 is Taiwan’s best-kept secret. Exclusively manufactured and sold locally, the cheap and cheerful single sold in droves in its heyday, mostly to commuters and delivery riders. It’s no longer in production—but it’s found new life in the custom scene. We’ve seen slick custom SR150s from workshops like Hide Work Custom, TwentyTwo Custom,…
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Once I’ve completed the arduous task of poring over our statistics to compile our list of the year’s most popular custom motorcycles, I have the even more onerous task of selecting my personal favorites. Given the caliber of the custom builders that grace these pages, it’s a tall order. Each year’s routine is the same,…
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STG Tracker is one of the most versatile custom workshops in operation today. The Argentine duo of Marcelo Obarrio and Germán Karp works on myriad makes and models, constantly flitting between different build styles. So if you give them carte blanche on a project, you can bet they’ll deliver something highly imaginative—like a Royal Enfield…
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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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Following Indian Motorcycle’s total overhaul of the Scout range earlier this year, America’s first motorcycle company has just announced the return of…
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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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Known for his classy café racers, Dustin Kott threw the rule book away to build a Triumph Daytona bobber for Born Free.…
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Motocrew leads the charge this week, with a custom Triumph Bobber inspired by their client’s hopped-up Porsche 911. We also throw the…
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Enrico ‘Ricky’ de Haas founded Wannabe-Choppers at just 15, brimming with imagination and unaffected by the conventions that often accompany adulthood. 20…
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Back in the late 80s, Japanese manufacturers started dabbling with cruiser-style motorcycles in a bid to corner the US market. The result…
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