Customizing a motorcycle is, at its heart, a personal endeavor. But when your dream builder is half a world away in Taipei, and you’re sitting in Los Angeles, that personal endeavor quickly morphs into a logistical nightmare of shipping containers, customs declarations, and the labyrinthine headaches of registration and inspections.
Winston Yeh of Rough Crafts has spent years watching his distinctive, blacked-out aesthetic go viral globally, and he’s clearly been thinking about how to bridge that geographic gap. Enter the Rough Crafts Remote Build concept.
“The idea is simple, but powerful,” Winston explains. “Every component is designed and manufactured in Taiwan, then shipped overseas. A local donor bike is sourced, and final assembly is carried out with a trusted local builder.” It’s a method that preserves the soul of a one-off custom while stripping away much of the red tape. The owner receives a resolved, turn-key machine without ever having to worry about fitment or a box of parts guessing game.
This 2023 Harley-Davidson Street Bob, aptly named the Race Guerilla, is the inaugural Remote Build for the United States. To ensure the execution met his exacting standards, Winston tapped a friend in a very high place: the legendary Maxwell Hazan. Having a builder of Hazan’s caliber as your ‘local assembly guy’ is the ultimate flex, ensuring the final product is as precise as if Winston had turned the wrenches himself.
Rough Crafts has built its empire on fat, aggressive Harleys, but Winston felt limited by the tire market. “Tires are one of the few elements we can’t create ourselves,” he says. “But the Sportster S came with something unique: a true ‘fat race’ tire. Not just wide, but with the tall sidewall and stance that gives the bike its presence.” When a client requested a machine that pushed the Rough Crafts’ Guerilla aesthetic toward a more extreme, performance-driven edge, Winston saw his opening. The goal wasn't just to make it look fast; it was to infuse the Softail platform with a sharper, race-driven interpretation of a performance Harley. While the stock frame and swingarm remain unaltered, the components surrounding them are anything but standard.
The heart of the build is the Milwaukee-Eight 114ci engine. In stock trim, this V-twin is already a powerhouse, pushing out a healthy 94 horsepower and 119 lb-ft of torque at just 3,000 RPM. Winston left the internals alone to maintain reliability but focused on the breathing and aesthetics, utilizing a suite of Rough Crafts x Arlen Ness parts, including the air filter, intake, and finned rocker arm covers.
The six-speed transmission was upgraded for a more tactile feel with a Rebuffini Comet hydraulic clutch housing. For the exhaust, Winston went with a scrambler-style Rough Crafts 2-into-1 unit. It sits high and tight against the motor, providing a sharp visual contrast to the bike's low-slung, grounded posture.
The suspension and braking specs read like a World Superbike wish list. The front end was overhauled with Öhlins FGRT216 inverted forks, held in place by custom Rough Crafts triple clamps designed to accommodate the extra width of the front wheel. To balance the back, an Öhlins HD503 shock was fitted, providing the damping control needed for a bike with this much torque.
Stopping power is equally formidable. Winston opted for a dual radial Beringer Brakes setup, featuring 4-piston calipers biting down on custom disc carriers. The wheels themselves are the crown jewels: BST (BlackStoneTek) Torque Tek carbon fiber units, measuring 17 x 4.5 inches up front and 16 x 5.0 inches at the rear. These are wrapped in Dunlop GT503 rubber, drastically reducing unsprung weight and sharpening the big twin's handling.
The ergonomics are quintessential Rough Crafts. A set of Rough Crafts Fighter bars sit in Rough Crafts risers, adorned with Rebuffini RR90+ CAN bus hand controls for a clutter-free cockpit. While the foot controls remain in the stock position, they’ve been dressed up with Rough Crafts pegs. The bodywork is anchored by Rough Crafts’ own M8 Guerilla fender and seat kit, providing that signature bobbed tail.
Finally, there is the paint. Handled by Rover Works Custom Paint, the finish is an unsurprising black-on-black affair. It’s a masterful interplay of matte-black surfaces and gloss carbon-fiber weaves that highlight the high-tech materials beneath. It’s a look Winston has relied on for over a decade, yet in the form of the Race Guerilla, it feels entirely new, a Rough Crafts build executed globally, without a single compromise.
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