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.
Classic Triumph bobbers tend to be commissioned by riders with many years and miles under their belts. After all, it usually takes time to appreciate the elegance and understated style of a hardtail build. This spectacular Bonneville from Rob Chappell of Origin8or Cycles has a very different backstory, though. “The owner is a new rider…
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A sweet Yamaha SR500 bobber from Sweden, a bright orange Honda CBR600 from the Netherlands, a Kawasaki KZ750 cafe racer from Argentina, and a stylish BMW R65 street tracker from France. We’re racking up the (virtual) air miles this week.
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Untitled Motorcycles is not your standard custom outfit. Output is hardly prolific, but the bikes invariably create ripples. And the founders operate in separate workshops, five thousand miles apart—in London and San Francisco. This BMW comes from the London outpost, helmed by Adam Kay. And although he’s an experienced builder (with a Masters in sculpture…
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The success of the Triumph Bobber has not gone unnoticed by the more savvy custom shops. It’s the fastest-selling motorcycle in the history of the British brand, but unfortunately it’s tricky to customize—because Triumph largely ‘got it right’ at the design stage. The French outfit BAAK has just finished this 2020-spec Bonneville Bobber 1200, and…
Read more »Like many accomplished customizers, Martin Becker has lived an eventful life. For almost twenty years he’s been building bikes in the beautiful…
Read more »The Heritage Softail Classic is the kind of bike most non-riders think of when they hear ‘Harley’—oodles of chrome, saddlebags, riveted leather…
Read more »Certain bikes tend to attract formulaic builds. And when it comes to customizing, BMW airheads in particular tread a well-worn path. But…
Read more »We’ve never run a feature on a bike from South Korea before. The local custom scene is tiny, and builders are heavily…
Read more »It’s been ten years since Winston Yeh launched Rough Crafts, less than a year after Bike EXIF started up. It didn’t take…
Read more »Eastern Spirit Garage have mastered the art of building cafe racers. They nailed the formula when they broke onto the scene seven…
Read more »We’re constantly amazed by the skills of some after-hours builders: folks who have full-time jobs, but spend their evenings and weekends crafting…
Read more »There’s a whole category of touring bikes that are short on sex appeal but long on character. One such machine is the…
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