This is one of the more unusual motorcycles that appeared in the recent AMD Championship. Unusual because it’s perfectly rideable, and also because it was the first time a Harley-Davidson sidecar has competed in Sturgis. ‘Union’ was built by Abnormal Cycles of Italy, a workshop that has come a long way since we featured its BMW café racer over a year ago.
The Bernareggio-based company created an Art Deco-inspired sidecar—complete with wood trim—and hooked it up to a 1942 Harley-Davidson Model U. The leaf spring fork is inspired by an Indian design—beefed up to cope with the extra weight—while fellow Italians Kustom Tech built the three chrome-and-brass drum brakes. The wheels are JoNich 18-inchers and the tires are from CEAT, two brands that are new names to me, but look pretty good. There’s something reminiscent of Flash Gordon about this machine: like the movie, it somehow hangs together, when logic says it shouldn’t.
