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.
Technology moves at a relentless place—and the motorcycle industry can’t escape it. Just the other day I was riding an electric motorcycle with a sophisticated electronics package that even integrates with smartphones. But future tech isn’t for everyone, and we need the occasional lo-fi hit to keep us grounded. And it doesn’t get much better…
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Japanese custom motorcycle culture can seem like a closed shop to Westerners. Granted, there’s the annual Mooneyes show, and a few builders have cast their nets outside their home country. But the language barrier is formidable: less than 10% of the Japanese population can speak English, and less than 1 in 500 Americans can speak…
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It takes a measure of blood, sweat and tears to build a good custom motorcycle. And then there are the tricky projects that call for an even higher level of perseverance. Like this vintage Triumph bobber—which took four years to complete and included a massive scavenger hunt for parts. “I’d always wanted to build a…
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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 where the first round of the Sultans of Sprint sprint race series is happening. And that means that a whole lot of new race bikes are breaking cover. This is the first one…
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…
Read more »The 21st century motorcycle is a complex beast, crammed with electronics and trick engineering in the name of one-upmanship and regulatory approval.…
Read more »Where is the line between meticulous and just plain nuts? Because we’re sure Albert ‘Ash’ Aeschlimann crossed it at some point during…
Read more »Everyone loves a good barn find story, but what about digging an old motorcycle out of the weeds? That’s where Edi Buffon…
Read more »We’re surprised it’s taken so long. The ‘alt moto’ movement has been on fire for at least a decade, but it’s never…
Read more »The next Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show is over ten months away, but many top-flight builders are already plotting their next entries.…
Read more »We’ve seen so many bad BMW customs—and sketchy bobbers—that hearing both words in one sentence makes us nervous. But the Estonian outfit…
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