Bobbers are a part of the Harley-Davidson DNA: minimalist creations with solo seats that take the stripped-down, garage-built look as far as you can go.
These days, Harley bobbers are usually more better finished than the rough-and-ready bobbers of the mid 20th century. But the core of the style remains: a hardtail frame, minimal (if any) fenders, and a tractor-style seat.
A lot of modern Harley bobbers are based on the Sportster, thanks to its compact dimensions and ready availability. But custom builders also resurrect older ‘big twins’ such as shovelheads and panheads, and you occasionally even see builds based on knuckleheads and flatheads.
If your idea of a custom motorcycle is an engine, two wheels, a seat and a fuel tank and little more, a Harley-Davidson ‘bob job’ or ‘cutdown’ probably fits the bill.
Bobbers are pure motorcycling. They’re what happens when you take everything you can off a bike and strip it to its basics. These five 2023 factory-fresh bobber motorcycles prove that less can be more, by reducing motorcycling to just you, your bike, and the wind. The bobber movement traces its origins back to the 1930s,…
Read more »
Copper Chopper wowed us earlier this month with an impossibly elegant SR400 bobber, built from scratch and laden with tasty handcrafted bits. It was Alexey and Igor’s first commissioned build since taking their shop from sideline gig to full-time business. Before that, they’d simply build a bike according to their own taste, sell it and…
Read more »
When we first saw images of this bike from Custom Works Zon, we assumed it was a restoration job. And it looked like builder Yuichi Yoshizawa would have to use all his legendary skills to get the knucklehead roadworthy again. It turned out that we were wrong. This remarkable ‘vintage racer’ is actually a ground-up…
Read more »
Hardtail choppers with fat rear tires aren’t typically our vibe, but we’re suckers for anything Martin Becker builds. He’s a Meister of stance and proportions, and has a great eye for detail—making his builds far too good to be ignored. Martin’s track record is exactly why his client was happy to give him free rein.…
Read more »
Remember the Sultans of Sprint drag race series in Europe? The man behind this brilliant idea was Séb Lorentz, who runs the…
Read more »
Over the past fifteen years, Martin Becker of MB Cycles has carved out a reputation as one of the best custom Harley…
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 »
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 »
What does it take to rack up two wins and four podiums, in the Modified Harley-Davidson class at the AMD World Championships?…
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 »