Yuichi Yoshizawa is a rare custom builder that can conquer multiple styles, while still giving each build an organic and immediately recognizable feel. Together with his right-hand man, Yoshikazu Ueda, he runs the Custom Works Zon workshop in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture. Their work is clean, functional and artistic—highlighting the base of each machine, but also transforming it into something completely new.
This Harley-Davidson shovelhead just won the ‘Best of Show’ award at the recent ‘Mooneyes‘ Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show. It’s a perfect example of how wildly different and creative the bikes from CW Zon can be, while still maintaining standards high enough to win gold in one of the world’s greatest custom shows.
The devil truly is in the details, but too much attention to detail can muddy the overall form and initial impact of a build. That’s not the case here.
The bike’s frame is made entirely of 7N01 aluminum, an alloy developed in Japan and known for its light weight and hight tensile strength, often found in aircraft construction. In fact, the majority of this bike, spare the engine and obvious pieces like the tires, were all handmade in Zon’s shop.
One of the most stunning details on this shovelhead is the seat and tail section, which also doubles as the bike’s oil tank. Of course, this tail section, like the gas tank and Zon’s signature-style girder fork, were all made by hand out of aluminum too.
The gas tank is split by the frame and top-mounted directly to it. Like much of the bike, hand engraving by Silver Smith Fin adds a burst of personality to this section of the frame and the gas tank. On display are a winged tiger head, a crying eye, thunderclouds, and, of course, Zon’s signature shining sun (‘Zon’ means ‘sun’ in Japanese).
The handlebars and top clamp are all one piece, integrated into the girder fork. And while the bold metal look of the fork implies solid metal and a sense of timeless permanence, a tiny digital Motogadget speedo is juxtaposed into the aluminum, flush with the rider-facing pivot plate. Other modern touches are well-hidden… but they are there.
A mountain bike shock is tucked into the girder setup, the head and taillights are all LEDs, and a basic dashboard hosts modern push buttons and a single LED ‘dummy’ light. The controls are from Kustom Tech and are hooked up to braided stainless steel lines; the reservoir on the left side gives away the presence of a hydraulic clutch. Shiny grips, and Rough Crafts foot pegs, round out the controls.
The 1973 shovelhead engine was rebuilt into a fire-breathing 93 ci hot rod, with a Weber dual-throat side-draft carburetor, dual Morris Magnetos, an S&S Cycle flywheel, larger pistons, and a custom CW Zon cam. Two spark plugs per cylinder help ensure efficient and complete combustion, and all of that spent fuel is spit out of a short two-to-two open exhaust system on the left side. Finally, all this is paired with a Baker six-speed transmission, with a 2” primary and a chain final drive.
Spoked 21” wheels are filled with aluminum covers, giving them a tremendous visual impact and contrasting the small gas tank and hard lines of the frame. The 3-inch-wide Firestone tires are remarkably skinny, almost head-scratchingly so. But the aesthetic works—like a sliver of metal cutting through time itself.
Kustom Tech braking systems do duty at both ends. There’s a dual-piston disc caliper up front, attached directly to the girder fork via an integrated mount. The rear brake’s a hydraulic hub item, and sits on the same side as the rear sprocket.
Poring through these photos time and again, I feel almost certain that there are things I am missing. There’s the “Custom Works Zon” engraved on the center section of the handlebar, plus the engravings on the inner primary and frame junctions. Then there’s the way that the seat’s leather embroidery connects to the leather taillight cover with a small bronze embellishment.
And while the whole build initially looks to be void of paint, there is subtle black pin-striping by Kamikaze Pinstripe, almost disguising itself as shadows.
It may not take entirely this level of work to win ‘Best of Show’ at Mooneyes, but Yoshizawa-san will never know. He only works at one level, no matter the style.
CW Zon | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Kazuo Matsumoto
