Customs built in the ‘bobber’ or hardtail style. On the typical bobber motorcycle, excess bodywork has been stripped away, and the fenders are usually removed or shortened.
All unnecessary hardware has been removed to cut weight—including the mufflers in many cases—and a single seat is usually fitted. Old-school handlebars are often installed too, with the wiring run inside for a clean look, along with classic ‘Bates’ style lighting.
For owners of bobber motorcycles, these custom bikes are the purest form of motorcycling.
Harley is the brand most commonly associated with the bobber style, but we’re also seeing many Triumph and Indian motorcycles—especially since those two brands have factory bobbers in their range.
We live in a world where you can stream entire discographies of music straight to your phone, yet vinyl sales are booming. Technology might be advancing at a relentless pace, but we’re still drawn to analog things—either for their charm, or for the sake of our own nostalgia. In this context, neo-retro motorcycles are something…
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During his first decade of building custom bikes as One Way Machine, Julian von Oheimb worked exclusively on older Harley-Davidsons. Then, about a year ago, a customer asked him to apply his signature touch to a modern Milwaukee Eight-powered Softail. Julian obliged—and even though the platform demanded a fresh approach, he still knocked it out…
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Does the custom motorcycle workshop team at K-Speed ever sleep? Judging by the rate at which fresh and tasty customs roll off their floor, we’re guessing not. The Thai powerhouse’s custom shop runs alongside their humming parts manufacturing business, so the two often bleed into each other. Sometimes they use their custom builds to develop…
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A design can be elevated by taking elements away rather than adding them. Sometimes it’s about what’s there, and sometimes it’s about what’s not. This custom 1993 BMW R100R falls into the second category—built by Niks Motorcycles in Barcelona, Spain, it’s an essay on minimalism. If you’re not familiar, the R100R was technically BMW’s first…
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Even after more than 120 custom builds, Tamarit Motorcycles isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. In their continued search for motorcycling…
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Copper Chopper wowed us earlier this month with an impossibly elegant SR400 bobber, built from scratch and laden with tasty handcrafted bits.…
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Today’s custom motorcycle scene is a melting pot of old and new techniques. Traditional handcrafting methods coexist with software-based design and modern…
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In the bicycle world, single-speed and ‘fixie’ bikes are enjoying an upsurge in popularity. Like the custom motorcycle scene, it’s an entire…
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The Triumph Bobber is one of the most beautiful production bikes on the market right now. From its faux hardtail frame, to…
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There’s something for everyone this week. We kick off with a pre-unit Triumph bobber, then cover two classic Kawasaki Zeds and a…
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Building a decent custom motorcycle on a slim budget is a tall order. But you know what’s even harder? Doing it with…
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There’s usually a little trepidation when we hear from a custom builder that we don’t know. Is their work any good, or…
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