Harley-Davidson

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.

The latest custom to roll out of the Deus Customs headquarters in Sydney is a sublime mix of elegance and power..

Gentleman Jim: A Harley Sportster 1200 by Deus Customs

Boxing aficionados will know the name Gentleman Jim Corbett. He was a man of taste and manners, who trod the boards of…

Slate Hammer: Rough Crafts' killer custom Sportster

Slate Hammer: Rough Crafts’ custom Sportster

EXCLUSIVE The Harley Sportster is probably the most customized bike on the planet. But there are surprisingly few examples that butter our…

The Church Of Choppers FXR, one of the finest Harley customs of recent years, has been put on sale.

The Wright Stuff: Church Of Choppers FXR

The Brooklyn Invitational is one of the most prestigious motorcycle shows in the States. If you’re a builder and you’re invited to…

If the Harley XR 1200 had a weak point, it was the styling. This custom from the Spanish workshop CRD fixes it—and then some.

CRD’s XR 1200: the Harley That Should Have Been

Back in 2008, the Harley XR 1200 had everything going for it. Launched in Europe but styled with an American flat track…

The Roland Sands Design Ameri-Tracker: a vintage-themed flat tracker based on the Harley Sportster.

Go Fast, Turn Left: The RSD Ameri-Tracker

Flat track is where it’s at. It’s a shot of adrenaline for both fans and racers, and the ‘go fast, turn left’…

Benjie Flipprboi of BCR has turned the Harley 883 into a super-stylish, high-performance scrambler.

Turning The Harley 883 Into A Scrambler

It looks like 2015 is going to be the Year Of The Scrambler. It’s fast becoming the dominant genre on the new…

Joeri Van Ouytsel's old school racer, based on a Harley Street 750.

This Harley Street 750 is a blast from the past

What’s the best-looking Harley-Davidson of all time? We’d put our money on the XRTT road racer from the 1970s: the one with…

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant's 'Black Pig' is a custom Harley Sportster with a tracker vibe.

Pata Negra: Speed Merchant’s Black Pig

As custom Harleys go, we like ours lean and sporty. This street tracker from Speed Merchant hits the spot perfectly. Based in…

This cafe-style Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes from Rajputana Customs.

World first: Harley Street by Rajputana Customs

Outside the States, the Street is widely regarded as the most important motorcycle in Harley-Davidson’s line-up. So the bike we’re looking at…

Stealthy: a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 custom built by Renard Speed Shop.

Stealthy: Renard’s custom Harley 1200

Unless you’ve been living under a lump of naturally occurring solid aggregate, you’ll know that scramblers are all the rage right now.…

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.

Blacker than black: Rough Crafts’ Dyna Fat Bob

Winston Yeh has an uncanny talent: he builds custom Harleys that excite people who don’t normally like Harleys. Operating as Rough Crafts…

The AMD Championship-winning Harley Softail custom 'Brougham' by One Way Machine.

Brougham: A Cadillac-inspired Softail

In the Hollywood of the late 1950s, if your name was Clark or Frank and you wanted to make a splash, you…