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.
The best thing about the Japanese custom scene is that it defies all conventions. Stroll around the annual Mooneyes show for example, and sure, you’ll see plenty of choppers—but you’ll also see another realm of genre-bending machinery. So while the rest of us argue about the differences between café racers and street trackers, Japan’s top…
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When Indian delivered a new Scout Bobber to young Dutch designer Luuc Muis, there was a catch: he had just 20 weeks to turn his ideas into metal. And to complicate matters, it would have to be an after-hours job. Because Luuc works full-time for the Harley parts specialist Motorcycle Storehouse and the helmet brand…
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Building a custom motorcycle isn’t exactly a walk in the park. But turning customization into a viable full-time business is even harder. So it’s uplifting to see custom shops enjoying big measures of success. Spain’s Tamarit Motorcycles are in a good space right now. They opened four years ago as a two-man operation, and built…
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We’re huge fans of the Japanese custom scene. But it’s not just the motorcycles that captivate us: we’re also conscious of how Japanese creativity influences the custom scene around the globe. Many elements of the universal flat-seated cafe racer genre originate in Japan—whether builders realize it or not. But this tasty Yamaha SR400 takes more…
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Read more »Technology moves at a relentless place—and the motorcycle industry can’t escape it. Just the other day I was riding an electric motorcycle…
Read more »Japanese custom motorcycle culture can seem like a closed shop to Westerners. Granted, there’s the annual Mooneyes show, and a few builders…
Read more »It takes a measure of blood, sweat and tears to build a good custom motorcycle. And then there are the tricky projects…
Read more »Right now, thousands of fans and motorcycles are converging on Monza for The Reunion—a weekend-long celebration of custom motorcycle culture. It’s also…
Read more »In just four years, Sinroja has become one of the most talked-about custom shops in England. As immaculately finished bikes set sail…
Read more »It’s been almost nine years since we featured the Rough Crafts ‘Iron Guerrilla‘—a murdered-out Harley-Davidson Sportster that flung Taiwanese customizer Winston Yeh…
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