Editor’s Choice: An alternative top 10 for 2023
Crunching the numbers to pick the 10 best custom motorcycles of the year is a headache. But picking my personal favorites is…
Read more »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.
Vida’s Harley FXR chopper is raked out and ready to rumble
Vida Motorcycle has been building Euro-style choppers from their workshop in Fukuoka, Japan, for 17 years. But they’ve also found their groove…
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The ADVXL: Biltwell’s Harley Sportster adventure bike
Five years ago, the maniacs at Biltwell Inc. did something completely unhinged, by racing a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 in the NORRA 1000…
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Kinetic Art: A handbuilt board tracker with a Harley Sportster engine
Tourists flock to Indonesia for its beaches, volcanoes, and temples. But our interest in the Southeast Asian archipelagic state is more mechanical…
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Lean and Mean: Top 5 Harley-Davidson Dyna Customs
Originally conceived as a spicy combination of Sportster and big-twin components, it’s no surprise the Harley-Davidson Dyna has become a hooligan staple…
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Brutester: An animalistic Harley Sportster 883 scrambler from Japan
It’s no secret that we’re suckers for a good dual-Sporty around here. The premise of turning a V-twin cruiser into a dirt-flinging…
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Sovereign Raven: A custom Harley Fat Boy by Rough Crafts
As one of its pre-eminent voices, Winston Yeh’s contribution to the modern custom motorcycle scene is undeniable. But where does he draw…
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Pan X: Motocrew’s spicy Harley Pan America flat tracker
Ever since Harley-Davidson went quiet on the future of the seemingly ill-fated Bronx streetfighter, we’ve been waiting for The Motor Co. to…
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Classic Fighter: A punchy custom Street Bob by One Way Machine
Like any master of their craft, Julian von Oheimb has a distinctive style that makes his work easy to identify. His sultry…
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Sportster Attack: A rigid Evo Sporty from Indonesia
Earlier this week, we waxed lyrical about the enduring appeal of the Harley-Davidson Evolution Sportster while profiling David Zemla’s brat style-inspired XLH…
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Sportsters Forever: David Zemla’s custom Harley XLH 883
Harley-Davidson has discontinued the Evolution Sportster, but it’s going to be a very long time before the venerable V-twin fades into the…
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Meteor: A 1946 Harley-Davidson WL flat tracker from Japan
Toshiyuki ‘Cheetah’ Osawa has had a busy year. Hot on the heels of a collaboration with Indian Motorcycle and Sideburn Magazine that…
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