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.

Brass Balls 69 Chopper

Of all the ‘mainstream’ US custom builders, Darwin Motorcycles is one of the few that produce the kind of bikes we like.…

Seppster 2: A Harley built for motorcycle ice racing

My folks live in England, and—like most people in Western Europe—they’ve spent the past few weeks buried under snow and ice in…

Hide custom Sportster

One of the few Japanese custom shops with an English-language translation website is Hide Motorcycle, also known as Hidemo. Since 2001, Hide…

RSD Harley Cafe Sportster

EXCLUSIVE Top US custom builder Roland Sands Design has taken a long, hard look at the evergreen Harley Sportster, and put together…

1948 Harley WL custom

This lovely 1948 Harley WL from Belgium has been completely rebuilt, right down to the transmission. Owner Patrick Heselmans gave the bike…

Boneshaker’s vintage-style Sportster chopper

The small but perfectly formed vintage v-twin scene in the UK has thrown up another gem. This time it’s the work of…

Harley WLC by Customs From Jamesville

Copenhagen-based James Roper-Caldbeck has a real eye for building (rebirthing?) vintage Harley flatheads. His lovely 1200 U caught our attention six months…

Deus 1200 V-Twin café racer

Deus has put the 562 lb Harley-Davidson Nightster onto a weight-loss programme and created a motorcycle with looks that could kill. The…

CR&S Duu: The V-twin superbike

Milan-based boutique manufacturer CR&S has released images of its new Duu superbike prototype, powered by the familiar S&S ‘X-Wedge’ V-twin motor. The…

Shakespearean: 7 Ages’ Harley Street Bob

We don’t see many British custom motorcycles in the American style. Most builders focus on local iron such as Triumphs and Nortons.…

Grand National First Edition

It’s not hard to build a flat tracker that performs well and looks good. But it’s tricky to make one that’s street…

1948 Harley Panhead

Machine is an Australian custom shop that caught our eye last month with a delicious Norton Atlas custom. And now the owner…