It’s almost impossible to quantify the proportions of a motorcycle. Sure, there are relationships between wheel sizes, fuel tank and seat unit, and of course the engine and frame. But some machines have that indefinable ‘something’, a quirk of aesthetics that catches your eye. For me, this is one of them. It’s a bike that just begs to be ridden down the nearest dirt road. Technically, it’s a 1964 Harley-Davidson Sprint (Model H), but in reality the original 250cc single was a rebadged Italian Aermacchi. This particular bike is a Japanese resto-mod, tastefully updated to look way better than the road-going originals—and closer in style to the race versions. Harley-Davidson had great success with Sprint-derived ‘CR’ flat trackers on US circuits in the 60s, and that little engine was powerful: George Roeder broke two speed records in a ‘streamliner’ powered by a 250cc Sprint CR racing engine, averaging 177 miles per hour. Not a bad record for a forgotten corner of Milwaukee history, and this Japanese custom provides a fitting epitaph. [Via BikeBros.]
