Harley-Davidson is an icon of American culture and the most popular marque for custom builders. Shortly after the company was founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, customizers started bobbing, chopping and dirt tracking the famous V-twins.
After WW2 Harley motorcycles were at the center of the bobber craze, and kept their lead as Californian bikers turned to choppers in the late 1950s. The 45-degree engines have their own nicknames and folklore: from flatheads, knuckleheads, panheads and shovelheads to today’s Evolution and Milwaukee-Eight motors.
The Sportster is the basis for more Harley-Davidson customs than any other model. Originally fitted with an ‘Ironhead’ motor, it turned 60 years old in 2017. It’s probably the single most customized motorcycle on the planet, and certainly has the largest supply of aftermarket parts.
There are a handful of classics out there that look amazingly ‘right.’ In that category, we’d put machines like the Norton Manx, the Moto Guzzi Le Mans, and the early Honda CB750s and Kawasaki Zeds. In the V-twin world the Harley-Davidson XR750 fits into that category. But it didn’t just look good: it was also…
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Four years ago, Christian Newman turned up at the Born Free show with a Knucklehead chopper, and left with the People’s Choice award. He’s had an open invitation to the show ever since, but he hasn’t accepted it—until now. Born Free 12 kicks off tomorrow, and Christian’s pulled out all the stops with his latest…
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Uwe Ehinger describes himself as a ‘motorcycle archaeologist,’ and the description is apt. He knows where to find the most obscure parts, and he knows which parts are worth finding. His motorcycles are always imbued with history, using vintage components in unusual yet appropriate ways. This flathead is the perfect example: it’s an odd amalgam…
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As the electric motorcycle market continues to grow, so does the custom electric scene. But it’s forcing builders to change tack. Electric production models are ultra-modern and loaded with tech—so it makes more sense to focus on cosmetics, rather than to dive in too deep under the hood. That’s exactly what the Dutch custom house…
Read more »The new Harley-Davidson Sportster S signifies the first major redesign in decades for the illustrious Sportster. To celebrate, we’ve been looking back…
Read more »Harley-Davidson has just rebooted one of the world’s longest-running model lines, with the launch of the new Sportster S. But remarkably, it’s…
Read more »Engineering is easy. Lean on decades of technological progress, R&D like hell, and a modern manufacturer can build a mechanically competent motorcycle…
Read more »The French are out in full force this week, with a Katana from Lucky Cat Garage and an R nineT from Le…
Read more »It’s been a couple of years since Harley-Davidson revealed the LiveWire and sent shockwaves through the industry. It was the first battery-powered…
Read more »This week’s custom motorcycles come in all shapes and sizes—from a pint-sized flat tracker, to a stylish BMW R18. Plus we take…
Read more »This week we’ve got a smokin’ hot XSR155 in John Player colors from West Java, Harley’s cool and classy Electra Glide Revival,…
Read more »“I got to say, you’re looking older.”—Ellis “I am older.”—Sheriff Ed Tom Bell Amongst my Rushmore of cherished films, No Country For…
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