Kommune Forty-Eight Sportster K1

If you were given the opportunity to customise a brand new bike with the support of a major motorcycle manufacturer what would you do? This was exactly what happened to myself and the team at the Kustom Kommune back in April of this year when Harley-Davidson offered our communal workshop a brand new Harley-Davidson Forty Eight Sportster and the freedom to do with it whatever we wanted. What we decided to do was to completely transform the Sportster and turn it into a bike that could be maintained and serviced using the modest facilities at the Kommune workshop. The result is the Kommune 'K1', a Cafe Racer styled, sleek and unique Sportster that showcases the skills of a talented team of "backyard builders".

The build of the K1 was undertaken by a talented group of individuals who donated their time and skills to help make this build a reality. A dream team was formed. It consisted of Robby Ante a skilled welder, Glenn Aitken a Harley-Davidson guru, Matt McLeod an engineer, Karl Stehn a custom painter, Kenny Gohl an automotive electrician, Aaron Sinclair an upholsterer, myself and Jimmy Goode the founders of the Kustom Kommune and a handful of our members. Over 4 months we tore down and rebuilt the Forty-eight using our combined skills and plenty of man hours. With so many people involved opinions sometimes varied and timeframes were hard to stick to with most people working after hours, but looking back now it all came together relatively smoothly.

The original plan was to put an XR750 TT style fairing on the bike, but with time working against us the idea was shelved and we instead stuck to an XR inspired colour palette. Karl Stehn at KDS Designs put together a slick paint design using the classic XR black, white and orange and added plenty of flake to really make it pop. We mimicked old school Café Racer techniques by using 2 Cole Foster fuel tanks, chopping one in half to function as the tail end. Since we’d removed the oil tank from the frame we also modified the tail to double as the Sporsters oil tank. Robby and Glenn devised the internal plumbing system before welding it all up to a custom fabricated seat pan. To support the weight of the tail/oil tank Glenn fabricated rear struts that blend with the original lines of the frame. Braided stainless steel lines and race fittings from VPW transport the oil to and from the engine, snaking around the frame and engine.

Roland Sands Designs provided the clip-on bars, clarity line Derby cover and various blacked out engine dress up parts. A set of Chainsikle rear sets put the rider in an appropriately aggressive riding position and the headlight was remounted deep between the forks. We wanted the bike look fast even when it was standing still so we used a Burly fork lowering kit to drop the front end by an inch and added piggy back shocks in the rear to raise it by an inch and level out the frame. We're big fans of the Japanese custom scene where form often outweighs function and since our Forty-eight is more of a city bike than a track bike we fit a set of chunky All State tyres from our friends at Antique Tyres. 

To transform the bike into a Kommune friendly machine we had to remove all of the fancy electrical sensors and thing-a-ma-jigs that we couldn't tune using hand tools and old school mechanical know how. The ABS, alarm system, EFI, factory ignition and accessory wiring systems were all removed. Moto Gadget provided an M-Unit to manage the new electrics along with bar end indicators, mini-switches and a keyless ignition. Matt from Krank Engineering machined new spacers to replace the ABS sensors on each axle and even milled a sweet Kommune emblem points cover. An S&S Super E carb now manages the fuel delivery and because we love old school looks we swapped the belt drive with a chain set up.

Despite all the other trick bits of fabrication and custom work on the K1 it’s the pipes that show exactly what can happen when skilled individuals put their heads together. We spent hours discussing the route we wanted the pipes to take before Glenn Aitken cut each section by hand, measuring the curves and lengths by eye. We then removed, polished and brushed each segment before Robby Ante welded each stainless steel piece together again. Opinions will vary about the pipes and that's exactly what we were going for. They're our crowning achievement and to me they sum up what the K1 and the Kustom Kommune is all about. Experimentation, breaking rules and having a go. After all, when an opportunity like this presents itself why wouldn't you go all out?

KUSTOM KOMMUNE

The Kustom Kommune’s Harley Sportster 48

What could be more fun than having your own well-stocked workshop, with all the tools and space you need to work on your bike? In the company of like-minded folks, who also enjoy throwing the occasional party?
That’s the thinking behind The Kustom Kommune, Australia’s first communal motorcycle workshop. Based in Melbourne, it’s part of a growing global trend towards DIY custom building and general bike maintenance.
To get the word out and attract new members, the Kommune founders decided to build a show quality, street ready shop bike. And the good folks at Harley-Davidson made it possible by donating a 1200cc Sportster 48.

“This wasn’t your ordinary custom motorcycle build,” says Kommune main man Geoff Baldwin, who also runs the Return Of The Café Racers website. “It was more of a ‘proof of concept’ than anything else. Ninety per cent of the build was completed in house.”
The Kommune had two goals in mind for the Sportster: “We wanted it to look amazing, paying homage to Harley-Davidson’s racing past—in particular the XR750TT. And we wanted a bike that could be wholly maintained in the Kommune workshop.”

Being a community funded space, facilities such as dynos and diagnostic computer hardware aren’t on hand. So the Sportster was pulled back to basics by removing the more complicated components and electrical systems—anything that couldn’t be worked on using basic tools and old-school know-how.
A team of Kommune members was quickly assembled. And of course, A Budget. “We spent it mostly on materials and parts,” says Geoff. “Time was generously donated.” The team included a welder, a Harley guru, an engineer, a painter, an electrician and an upholsterer—plus Geoff himself and Kommune co-founder Jimmy Goode.

An XR-inspired color palette was sketched out, and Karl Stehn came up with a slick paint design using the classic XR black, white and orange—plus plenty of flake to really make it pop. Traditional café racer tricks came into play, with two Cole Foster tanks being installed—with one chopped in half to function as the tail. The tail also doubles up as the oil tank now, with plumbing routed around a custom seat pan and new support struts welded on at the back of the frame.
The forward controls were swapped out for rear sets, and RSD clip-ons were slipped onto the fork stanchions. The headlight is OEM Harley-Davidson, but mounted as close to the forks as possible.

Out of the factory, the Sportster 48 comes with ABS brakes, an alarm system, EFI and many “fancy sensors and thing-a-ma-jigs.” Since these require more than a basic set of tools for maintenance, they all had to go—saving some substantial weight in the process.
“Matt from Krank Engineering machined spacers to replace the ABS sensors on each axle, and we removed the entire wiring loom,” says Geoff. “An S&S Super E carb replaces the EFI system, and was tuned by ear when the bike was first fired up.” A simplified wiring loom is plugged into an aftermarket ignition system, with a Motogadget m-Unit controlling all the electrical circuits.

The Kommune team opted for chain drive rather than the standard belt—they love the old-school look—and blanked out the rear wheel using a set of raw alloy Moon Discs. Another old-school touch is the diamond-stitched leather saddle.
But the design element that generates the most interest is the full stainless steel exhaust system. The brainchild of Jimmy Goode and Harley specialist Glenn Aitken, it was built entirely in-house using a set of 180 bends and straight lengths.

“Despite all the other trick bits of fabrication and custom work, it’s the pipes that show exactly what can happen when skilled individuals work together,” says Geoff. “Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re our crowning achievement—and to me, they sum up what the Kustom Kommune is all about.”
Now that the build is out of the way, the Kommune is lining up training courses, a parts store and storage facilities to keep the business ticking over. It’s a great blueprint for grassroots motorcycling—and one we’d love to see in more cities worldwide.
The Kustom Kommune | Harley-Davidson Australia | Jason Lau Photography

Modification list
EFI to S&S Super E Carb Conversion
Belt to Chain drive conversion
Removal of ABS systems
Complete Motogadget electronics setup
Entire factory loom removed
2x Modified Cole Foster fuel tank
Aftermarket hand controls
Custom fabricated seat that acts as oil tank
Custom made black leather seat by Weird-o-pholstry
Custom made exhaust by Robbie Ante and Glen Aitken at Kustom Kommune
2″ Lowered front end
330mm Piggy Back Shocks
Mooneyes moon disk rear wheel
CNC’d Rear Sets
Modified rear frame
Custom made bars, spacers, points cover by Krank Engineering
All State Deluxe tyres from Antique Tyres
Roland Sands Design engine dress up kit
Paint by KDS Designs

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XLCH Ironhead Land Speed Racer

Busch and Busch build beautiful bikes, there's no denying it. In fact I was so in love with their Bultaco Matador that I almost bought it! Their most recent build however, is much more than just a visual feast, despite being jaw droppingly sexy. The Busch and Busch Harley Davidson XLCH is a purpose built land speed racer. It's bodywork required epic design, fabricating and finishing hours and what they have planned for its engine will turn it into one helluva mean machine. Like many builds getting it to the stage you see here has been full of trials and tribulations and there's still more tasks to complete to achieve their original vision for the bike. For now though the bike is ready for its first run down the salt...but even getting that done has been a challenge. I caught up with Lance Busch to get the low down on the bike he and brother Danny built over the past 2 years, here's the story as he explained it...

"You wouldn't believe how the bike looked when we first got it, so I won't even show a picture, I will leave that up to your imagination-  but it was definitely a diamond in the rough.  A 1972 XLCH Ironhead Sportster motor, in an early 70's XL frame, with lots of stuff zip tied on it to make it look complete.  The frame had already been converted to an Arlen ness neck sometime back, and it was actually well done- it was just the rest of the bike that had been cobbled together to make a sort of board track/skinny tire/street fighter/80's Hot Bike?  In any case, the first thing we did when we got home was toss everything in the scrap pile and swapped frames.  The skinny cast wheels and engine went in another project for several years, while the frame got the donation of running gear and wheels from another Ironhead we had.  We then mocked on a Bultaco Sherpa plastic tank, some clip-ons, a cobra seat, and drag pipes.

It actually looked pretty tough!  And, with the 5" backbone stretch of the Ness Hardhead, it felt pretty cool when you leaned way down on the clip-ons.  It definitely had a drag bike feel to it, so we knew we were on to something.  With the Bultaco tank as a "buck" of sorts, we made the fuel cover (more on that later) out of aluminum, and it was at that point we make a tail section as well.  When that was done, we decided to go all out, and whipped up some Photoshop concepts of a full fairing. Within three days, the excitement had overwhelmed us and the side panels were roughed out and mocked into place.  Then came the front windscreen, then another, then a THIRD, and by that time it had really started to take on its final appearance."

"The oil bag came next, and it looked pretty good, but we had decided the bike would be turbo powered.  The only place to hang the turbo was right where the original horseshoe bag sat on the right side, so we had to remake that, but larger to keep some semblance of oil capacity.  With the tank remade, the tail section was woefully undersized in proportion!  So the tail section got remade, and then we were done with the easy part....

For a full year we had been mocking and re-mocking the bodywork, figuring out what looked best , where the pipes for the turbo would go, etc.  We honestly spent more time staring at it and thinking than actually fabricating.  And not to mention-  the rough out on the bodywork was a far cry from what you see in the pics-  there was the matter of welding all the seams, making sure the oil bag was sealed, mounting tabs that would isolate vibration, filling in the underside of the tail section to act as a fender, trimming here and there, making it fit up with each other panel, and on and on.  And that brings up the fuel tank "cover"-  the plan all along was to make the tank shaped like the Bultaco.  But the problem was, we needed to be able to access the top of the engine easily, and not have to disconnect fuel lines to do so.  At that point we decided the shell you see would flip up to expose the real tank, which holds about 1 gallon, all we will need for a single run."

"One of the hardest parts of the build was cramming everything under the bodywork-  the side panels flare out to clear the ginormous Sportster primary cover, and the exhaust had to be carefully fit to clear the magneto and the carb.  It's kick only, so getting the lever to clear the exhaust, shifter, and foot peg, while still not hitting the side panel was particularly tough!

With the time crunch to prepare for speed week, and finances in the dumps, we decided to pass on the turbo this year and just finish the bike up to SCTA standards, get it inspected, and make a run to get our toes wet.  Unfortunately Speed Week was cancelled due to rain but we are hoping to make the World Finals make-up event in October.  The turbo will have to wait till next year when we have time to build the new exhaust, oil supply, and intake/intercooler ducting to feed the Mikuni HSR42 carb.  As it sits now, the exhaust is running where the turbo would have been to fill out the empty gap on the right side.  The engine that had originally come in the bike was then swapped back in, until we can build a ground up engine capable of handling the increased compression. Sportsters are not exactly bulletproof!"



"When all the bodywork was mounted, the Dzus fasteners were all tested, everything was lined up, etc., then it came time to polish.  I left Danny with the hard job, because making the panels took about half the time that it did to painstakingly metal finish, wet sand, and buff them to the brilliance of chrome!  Luckily we had budgeted 3 weeks for that process, so we were not left unprepared.

Everything on the bike was fabbed in our two car garage-  the panels were formed on Harbor "Fright" tools, bashed on a homemade beater bag, sanded by hand and gone over with dull files.  We did all the cutting, spacers, axle sliders/brake mount fab and all the tube forming on the 6" extended rear subframe (it was originally to be a YZ490 swing arm and mono shock, but there was no room for the linkage!).  The controls and linkages are hand made, we fit a Ducati Performance steering damper up front, and the forks were turned down and grooved on the lathe.  The seat was made by us (leather work is the main focus for our business, "Busch and Busch Hand Crafted).  All the machining, all the welding, painting, tire changing, etc. was done in our humble home workshop.  I'm sure I left out tons of details, but it was a 2 year on-and-off project, that changed numerous times after it was underway.  We fought constantly about the details, but we are extremely proud that we built this start to finish with our own four hands, and it's definitely our favorite project to date!"

BUSCH & BUSCH

First read on http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com

Rough Crafts’ Harley Dyna “Urban Cavalry”

Is there any remaining doubt that Rough Crafts is one of the world’s top custom Harley builders? On the evidence of this new Dyna, I don’t think so.
‘Urban Cavalry’ is not your typical Harley build. For starters, it’s an official commission—a gift to the custom scene from the folks at Harley-Davidson Taiwan. Even better, they gave Rough Crafts’ Winston Yeh the freedom to pursue his own direction, and he chose performance.

‘Performance’ and ‘Harley-Davidson’ are words not usually found in the same sentence. But this machine, based on a 2014-spec Dyna Street Bob, shows what’s possible. “The Dyna platform has a good balance between engine power and bike size,” says Yeh. “Out of all the current Harley model families, it’s also got the best potential for good handling.”

To ramp up the dynamics, Yeh has fitted a complete new front end, with upside-down sportbike forks supplied by Satya Kraus. “Satya has been a great friend for several years now,” says Yeh. “And I’ve always loved his Dynamoto Front End kit with Öhlins forks. To match it, we fitted blacked-out Öhlins shocks at the back.” Yeh also installed an aluminum swingarm from Roaring Toyz and a BDL open belt drive, both of which reduce weight even further.
The brake system is equally high end. The dark metal composite rotors were custom-made by the US firm Lyndall Racing Brakes, and they’re hooked up to six-piston calipers from exotic Swedish brand ISR. Brake fade will never be an issue.

The stock Dyna has a surfeit of torque, so the powertrain upgrades are restricted to the engine breathing. The 103 ci (1689 cc) motor gets a boost from S&S ‘Super G’ carburetion—plus a quite extraordinary exhaust system. It’s from Dog House Racing, Taiwan’s premium titanium exhaust fabricator.
“I’ve known Dog House for years and always wanted to work with him,” says Yeh. “It’s just that our blacked-out, vintage-style bikes haven’t been a good fit for the ‘titanium rainbow’ effect he creates. But now, for this performance-driven bike, it was the perfect time to make a full titanium system. So we sat down together, and came up with a design similar to Rough Crafts’ classic ‘Bomber’ 2-into-1 pipe.”

Despite the new-found focus on tearing up the asphalt, the Dyna is the best example yet of the stunning Rough Crafts ‘look’. With a narrow custom tank and a superbike-inspired tail unit, there’s a distinct air of vintage sci-fi. It’s the kind of machine you could imagine racing through the streets in Blade Runner.
The finish is almost entirely monochrome, with black anodized hard parts offset by semi-gloss grey paint from Air Runner. Even the Arlen Ness Beveled Wheels, 18” at the front and 17” at the back, have been completely blacked out. The only glimpses of color are the titanium exhaust pipework, the fork tubes, and tiny brass highlights on the pushrod collars made by 2 Abnormal Sides.

I wouldn’t call myself a Harley guy, but I’d be happy to have this bike in my garage. Correction: I would gladly sell a close family member to put this bike in my garage.
Top marks to Rough Crafts for another out-of-this-world build.
Visit the Rough Crafts website | Facebook | Instagram | Harley-Davidson Taiwan

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Revival Cycles Harley Sportster 883

Revival Cycles are known mostly for their show-stopping Moto Guzzi customs. So it should feel strange to see a Harley roll out of the Texas workshop. But somehow, it doesn’t: this Sportster 883 is exactly what you’d expect from Alan Stulberg and crew when it comes to style and quality.
The story of ‘Hardley’ is a long one. The project kicked off over two years ago when the 883′s owner spotted a few Revival builds floating around. So he called up Stulberg and asked him if Revival would take on his Harley. “Tony seemed adamant that we could turn it into something special, and still a ‘Revival’ bike,” says Stulberg, “I’ll admit that I had my doubts.”

Tony offered free reign though, and this was enough to motivate Revival Cycles to take on the build. “Just to see what we could do”. Revival decided to focus on what they saw as the Harley’s biggest strength: its heritage, defined by that big V-twin engine. Everything in the design would serve to accentuate the V configuration: “As if everything else was simply minimized to serve the engine shape,” says Stulberg. “If you look hard enough, you’ll see the V shape on everything from the bespoke handlebar clamp to the fuel tank profile that plunges into a V between the cylinders.”
After stripping down the 883, Revival realised just how heavy the stock bike was. Weight saving was not a priority, but the finished bike weighs in at almost 102lbs less than stock. Custom 19” wheels were built up and a new rear loop made to accommodate a café-style seat. And then the project stalled—Tony decided that he wanted a two-up arrangement instead. “A simple change of tank, seat and wheels ended up becoming an entirely different animal,” says Stulberg.
“We felt inspired by just how far this bike could go if the budget, timeline and limitations were thrown out the window. We pitched it to Tony,” says Stulberg. “We wanted to build this machine into something that would make us envious.” Tony agreed—but asked Revival to shelve the bike until he’d had a chance to sort out other business.

Roughly a year later he returned with his pocketbook and planning began anew. The 19” wheels would be kept, but a host of already-purchased aftermarket parts were tossed, along with the Harley’s original suspension. “This bike would now need proper suspension to match what was coming.”
What was coming was a significant increase in power. “The 883 engine numbers simply weren’t gonna cut it,” says Stulberg. Although the donor bike only had 450 miles on it, Revival tore into it with a 1250cc cylinder and piston kit, Harley’s own 1200cc heads (with larger valves and ports) and an ECU with custom mapped fuel injection. The numbers are much better now: 100bhp and 100Nm. “It’s wicked fast compared to how it all began.”
Then Revival turned to this Sportster’s most distinguishing feature—a completely bespoke, three-piece aluminum fuel tank. Built as a single unit before being divided into three sections, it now carries three gallons of fuel in the left half, with oil in the right rear quarter and the electronics in the right front quarter. Fuel capacity is the same as a stock Sportster 883, and the oil tank portion is double-walled to keep it cool against the rider’s leg.

Revival know their way around a bike’s electrical system, and are devout users of Motogadget products. The electronics section of the tank not only houses the Motogadget Chronoclassic speedo, but also a Motogadget m-Unit electrical system controller, a lithium-Ion battery and the ECU. “Plus about 98% of the new made-from-scratch wiring harness,” Stulberg adds.
The space for the new electronics is about the same size as an average motorcycle’s battery box, and significantly lighter than the stock arrangement. As an added bonus, all three sections of the new ‘tank’ are easily removable via quick-turn fasteners.
Revival then wrapped the 19” wheels in popular Maxxis dirt-track rubber. “They’re sticky as hell and will provide excellent traction on any surface. They won’t last long, but we didn’t build this thing for touring, we built it for serious abuse. And that means a tire replacement now and then.”

The tyre and wheel choice influenced much of the remaining styling considerations. For one, Revival wanted the bike to sit taller, with a more aggressive stance. So they sourced stronger and taller upside-down forks from a Kawasaki ZX-14, and matched them to custom-built shocks from Ikon. Both the forks and shocks are fully adjustable. Revival altered the geometry too—running simulations and calculations before fabricating custom triple trees. The handlebar clamp is now integrated into the top clamp: “It appears as if it was sculpted from one single piece, as intended.”
For the braking system, Revival took the time to source new technology pads that are made from an alloy and ceramic composite, making them lighter and more resistant to brake fade. These were paired with Brembo monobloc calipers and custom-built stainless steel brake lines. Alan reports that the setup works well: “The intense feel and control given from the combination of these brakes and the sticky tires is simply amazing.”
The 883′s belt drive was retained. Revival mounted a blank rear pulley, then CNC-milled it to match the shape of the rear brake rotor. Belt tension became an issue though, due to the bike’s additional suspension travel. So a custom spring-loaded idle arm was made, to ride on the belt and keep it taut.

In keeping with the raw, hand-made feel of the rest of the bike, a full stainless steel exhaust system was made up, including a custom-tuned silencer with SuperTrapp internals. “This is a very quiet Harley at a stop light and as loud as any under full throttle.”
Revival also built a new, lightweight chromoly subframe, supporting a distressed leather seat made by Ginger at New Church Moto. “Everything else on the bike was done in-house at Revival, but nobody does leather work better than Ginger.” Undecided about the two-up seat, Alan says that they’re “Likely going to build an easily removable second seat that would have an aluminum cowl”. To this end, the passenger foot pegs are removable.
Finishing kit includes a LED headlight in an aluminum housing, a LED tail light embedded in the new subframe, rearsets by Sato, Posh grips and new switchgear integrated into the handlebars.
Revival have succeeded in building a bike that’s not only beautiful to look at, but loaded with technical features. And why the name ‘Hardley’?
Alan says it’s because it’s “hardly in the same league as its previous self.”
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
All images by Alan Stulberg, shot with a Hasselblad on medium format film. Keep in touch with Revival Cycles via their website or Facebook page. Our archive of previous Revival builds is here.

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Bull Cycles’ Harley Nightster

I’ve always thought that the older Nightsters are the best-looking Harley Sportster variant. The mix of dark finishes, wire wheels and blacked-out hubs gave them a subtle, low-key vibe.
This custom Nightster is anything but subtle, though. And none the worse for it. Nicknamed ‘Traffic,’ it’s the work of Chicago-based Bull Cycles, the shop run by fabrication specialist Justin Powers.

Justin describes his inspiration as “modern muscle car with a twist of café. In my mind, it’s what a modern Sportster should look like.” He adds: “I use the term cafe lightly, as not to offend the purists! However, everyone calls it a cafe racer at first glance, so I’ll let the public decide.”
The base bike was a 2007-model Nightster. Fuel injected reliability was a big deal on this bike, so the ’07 was a must. The tank was sectioned two inches and the pump reconfigured to allow for a lower stance.

It’s far from a bolt-on special: the tail unit and side panels are hand-fabricated, and the under-mount tracker bars and LED projector headlight surround are Bull’s own design. The stock belt drive has been swapped out for a chain, and allows room for the 180-section rear rim. The paint is a flat anodized silver, and works beautifully.

“There are lots of little details that make up the difference,” says Justin, who cheerfully admits to being a control freak and micro-manager. And that’s fine by us: this is one of those rare customs that rewards extremely close inspection.
See more of Justin Powers’ work on the Bull Cycles website.

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Custom Harley Softail Springer

These days, you can slot most custom bikes into a clearly defined genre. Café racer, bobber, tracker—a quick glance is usually all it takes. But occasionally a bike appears that defies categorization, like this Harley-Davidson Softail Springer from Indonesia. A modern American cruiser with vintage Brit iron looks? I’m not sure where that fits.
It’s the work of Cosmas Lili Sudrajat, a 38-year-old who lives in a city called Yogyakarta on the island of Java. Cosmas is a fan of British bikes and Nortons in particular, but they’re not easy to come by in the tropical rainforest. So he decided to build his own.

“I’m not a professional bike builder,” he explains. “My job is working in an oil field. But I wanted a bike with vintage British looks and a tough engine.”
After a little photo editing, Cosmas figured that he needed a Softail Springer. He found a 1992 model in good original condition, gathered some tools, and set to work. He modified the rear suspension to lower the ground clearance, and changed the stance with new wheels. The 21” front wheel was ditched in favor of a 19” BSA wheel, and the rear wheel went up from 16” to 18”, courtesy of a vintage Harley WL rim.

Using a 1929 Norton tank for inspiration, Cosmas made a model of a new tank and sent it to a specialist to recreate in metal. He did the same with the fenders, this time using BSA Golden Flash fenders as a guide. And then the 8” headlamp and sprung seat.
When the parts arrived, Cosmas created new brackets to mount them and modified the Harley’s frame to ensure that they all fitted neatly. Most remarkably of all, he also created a copy of the Norton gearbox casing and had it cast in aluminum. The air filter cover is from a Volkswagen car, and the custom exhaust system replicates the classic ‘peashooter’ style. The kickstarter is wired to the electric start, so when the bike is ‘kicked,’ the electrics fire the engine up.

It took Cosmas more than two years to finish his creation. He’s christened it “Norto”—a combination of Norton and the name of his son, Toto.
After all that, I’m still not sure how to categorize this bike. It’s certainly not something you’d see in the established bike-building centers of the West. And even stranger to think it’s roaming the streets of an island in Southeast Asia.
I think I’ll settle for ‘inspired.’

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Mickey Rourke’s Custom Motorcycle

When celebrities have a custom craving where do they go? In Mickey Rourke’s case he went to one of our personal favorites Roland Sands Design. Mickey wanted a one-off custom motorcycle in memory of his late best friend and constant companion his Chihuahua Loki.

 

It’s not that hard to connect Mickey Rourke with motorcycles, rewind to 1983 when he appeared in Rumble fish as Motorcycle Boy. Then in Harley-Davidson and the Marlboro Man in 1991 with a customized Harley-Davidson, the movie became somewhat of a cult classic following its release to video, promoting a male biker stereotype.

Back to the build the Roland Sands Design team began by dismantling a stock 2005 softail. Leaving the neck, frame cradle and the engine to kick off the build. The frame of Mickey’s bike went through intense customization and features a one-off single sided swingarm.
Fabrication work on Rourke’s bike included a one off hand-fabricated fuel tank, oil bag and a seat pan with an adjoining tail section. The colors of the engine and the wheels of the bike were selected by Mickey and his good friend Jason Statham, who is also a motorcycle enthusiast.

According to RSD “We started off going rustic with Mickey’s bike, but it’s turned into something much more finished and a bit experimental. After a visit from Mickey a few months ago we decided to go with satin black on pearl white flake paint and over the top gold and black finishes.”
To reflect Mickey’s color choice RSD’s personal favorite Chris Wood was commissioned to paint this mean machine. Whilst there was a long time between the start and finish of the build, the end result is a masterpiece. My personal favorite on this build is the color combination and the fuel tank, what is yours?


 




First appeared in motorivista.com
Visit - Roland Sands Design