Rough Crafts ‘Stealth Bullet’ Sportster
The rise of Winston Yeh and Rough Crafts in the custom world is nothing short of meteoric. Any remaining doubts that he’s…
Read more »Harley-Davidson Sportster
The Harley-Davidson Sportster was introduced in 1957 to compete against the best-selling British bikes that were invading the United States market. The 2021 Sportster S is the third major design in the series, and belatedly drags the Sporty into the 21st century.
The Harley-Davidson Sportster’s original 40 hp Ironhead V-twin engine gave a top speed of approximately 100 mph and stayed in production until 1985, when it was replaced with the 1986 Evolution motor.
There is a vast market for spare Sportster parts and accessories, and many owners transform their bikes into something else—whether a chopper, cafe racer, or scrambler.
In our extensive coverage of Sportster customs, you’ll find bikes that are tuned up (and dressed up) by the world’s top custom Harley builders. Dig in, and get inspiration right here for customizing your own Harley-Davidson Sportster.
Harley Sportster by Bull Cycles
Regular readers will know that we don’t feature many Harley Sportster customs. It’s not often that one makes me jump out of…
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Intoxicating: Speed And Custom’s Martini-themed Harley XL883R
Like Gulf Oil, Martini is a brand inextricably associated with speed. The blue and red stripes are one of the most distinctive…
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Sportster 48 by Rampant x Ellaspede
When Warwick Lyon started work on this Sportster 48, he wanted to build a modern interpretation of a café racer with elements…
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Harley dual sport motorcycle: The Carducci SC3 Adventure
Jim Carducci is an engineer with a passion for dual sport motorcycles and the Harley Sportster motor. So he’s put the two…
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Sportster Cafe Racer Mashup: Is it a ‘Sporton’ or a ‘Norley’?
Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, is not where you’d expect to find a 1960s-style cafe racer. But this Sportster-powered machine would look…
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Custom Harley Sportster 1200 by Atom Bomb
Atom Bomb’s Clay Rathburn is known for his beautifully crafted custom Triumphs. But the latest bike to roll out of his Richmond,…
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Dirty Work: Burly Brand’s Harley Scrambler
Think of a scrambler motorcycle, and most folks will picture a modern Triumph or a vintage BSA. Not a Harley. But David…
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Harley Sportster by Asterisk
There may be better cures for jetlag…then again, maybe not. Hideki Hoshikawa had flown over from Japan with his latest build in…
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Harley XL1200 by CRD
Cafe Racer Dreams have made a name for themselves with classy Triumph and Honda customs. They’ve resisted the lure of Milwaukee so…
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Harley XL883N by Roland Sands: The ‘Technics Sportster’
‘Theme’ bikes have a bad rep these days, and rightly so. Most are little more than a train smash of disparate elements…
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Shinya Kimura’s Cafe Sportster
There’s a certain blacksmith shop feel to Shinya Kimura’s motorcycles, and I mean that in a good way. Looking at the bare…
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