The Harley-Davidson Sportster was introduced in 1957 to compete against the best-selling British bikes that were invading the United States market. The 2021 Sportster S is the third major design in the series, and belatedly drags the Sporty into the 21st century.
The Harley-Davidson Sportster’s original 40 hp Ironhead V-twin engine gave a top speed of approximately 100 mph and stayed in production until 1985, when it was replaced with the 1986 Evolution motor.
There is a vast market for spare Sportster parts and accessories, and many owners transform their bikes into something else—whether a chopper, cafe racer, or scrambler.
In our extensive coverage of Sportster customs, you’ll find bikes that are tuned up (and dressed up) by the world’s top custom Harley builders. Dig in, and get inspiration right here for customizing your own Harley-Davidson Sportster.
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 only the third major engine update in the Sportster’s 60-plus years on this earth. Before the new Revolution Max-powered Sportster S came, we had the Evolution motor that debuted in 1986. And before…
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Engineering is easy. Lean on decades of technological progress, R&D like hell, and a modern manufacturer can build a mechanically competent motorcycle that satisfies the masses. Style, on the other hand, proves elusive. It slips and shifts, deflecting fleeting trends and prevailing tastes while flirting with the culture zeitgeist. On a rare occasion a bike’s…
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The French are out in full force this week, with a Katana from Lucky Cat Garage and an R nineT from Le Motographe. Big news from the OEMs too, with the new Harley-Davidson Sportster S and Zero FXE both breaking cover.
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Charity motorcycle giveaways are a dime a dozen, but this one is a cut above the rest. If you live in the US, it’s your chance to win a current model Sportster reworked by four top American builders: J Shia from Madhouse Motors, Cristian Sosa, Jay Donovan and Joe Mielke. Funds from the project are…
Read more »This week we’ve got a racy SuperHawk from Australia, a sleek Sportster from Jakarta, news of Go Takamine’s hookup with Indian, and…
Read more »Most of the customs we drool over on these pages have little or no history. They’re usually modified after a few mundane…
Read more »We’re casting the net far and wide this week. There’s a brutal Aprilia Tuono V4 from Switzerland, a Harley cafe racer from…
Read more »Crooked Motorcycles is a name worth watching on the custom scene in Europe. Just a couple of months ago, they impressed us…
Read more »Even though there’s been no official word from The Motor Co., it looks as if the venerable Harley-Davidson Sportster is slowly fizzling…
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 »Even though they require similar skills, the custom motorcycle and car worlds are vastly different. But they do sometimes meet. In the…
Read more »I didn’t see many motorcycles when I paid a brief visit to Dubai a few years ago. The streets were full of…
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