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.
Some of you may have caught a glimpse of Oil In The Blood at a handful of moto shows earlier this year: it’s a documentary feature film about contemporary custom culture. Director Gareth Maxwell Roberts and his crew spent three years travelling the world and interviewing nearly three hundred builders, riders, journalists, artists and racers.…
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What does the guy that has everything buy himself for his birthday? For one enthusiast, the answer is something he’s wanted since his youth; a really cool motorcycle. And Taiwanese shop 2LOUD Custom has delivered just that, in the form of this bobber-style Kawasaki W650. “It’s an interesting story,” says shop owner Ma ‘Max’ Yicheng.…
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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…
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…
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…
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