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Category: Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson and Sturgis rally partner up for the next 75 years.
As custom Harleys go, we like ours lean and sporty. This street tracker from Speed Merchant hits the spot perfectly.
Based in California, Speed Merchant produces bolt-on bits for select Triumph and Harley-Davidson models. Brandon Holstein—one third of the Speed Merchant team—handles all fabrication under the Brawny Built moniker.
“Our friend, Chef Sean Yontz, wanted to do something different with his recently acquired, 2005-model Sportster,” says Brandon. “He wanted a mix of a few different Sportsters that I have built in the past. So I took a little from each of my previous builds, and incorporated them into his new bike.”
Sean only had three requests: the bike should be black, and he wanted rear-set pegs and a number plate up front.
While the actual build time equated to less than six months, the project itself took two and a half years to complete. “I chipped away at it little by little,” explains Brandon. “And by doing this, it actually went though some major changes—some of which make the build so much better.”
Halfway through the build, Brandon realised that he wasn’t happy with the stock fuel tank. Luckily a good friend donated an almost-complete XR-style tank. All it needed was a filler, tunnel and mounting points.
Once the tank was finished and mounted, Brandon focussed on building an aluminum tail section. “It had to be narrow to match the tank. So to do this, I had to ditch the stock oil tank and battery set-up—they were just too wide in my opinion.”
A new oil tank was made from aluminum, and an Anti-Gravity battery installed in a new location. Once that was done, a new subframe was built to hold everything together. Other custom-made parts include the skid plate, and the curvaceous two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system.
Brandon decided to tear into the engine too. He bored it out to 1200cc using Wiseco reverse-domed pistons with a 10:1 compression ratio, and upgraded the cams to Andrews N4 items—a combo he’s used before. He also installed a Chopper Daves air cleaner, and converted the final drive from belt to chain.
The front-end was treated to a set of Speed Merchant Speed Trees and preload adjusters. A pair of 19” Harley-Davidson wheels were fitted, shod with Maxxis dirt-track tyres. They’re now equipped with Tokico brake calipers, mounted on Speed Merchant radial mount brackets.
The Sporty’s been sprinkled with top-shelf components to finish it off: Magura handlebars, Motion Pro grips and Accossato hand controls. The rear-set foot controls are a mix of Storz Performance and Speed Merchant items. As per Sean’s brief, Brandon fitted a number plate up front, equipped with a Lazer Star light.
Sean’s Harley’s been dubbed “Pata Negra”. It’s Spanish for “the black hoof”, named for the prized Iberico ham that’s made exclusively from black Iberian pigs.
True to its name, it’s been painted in layers of gloss and matte black, executed by Matt at Colorzone Designs. The pin striping was handled by Pacman Line and Lettering.
According to Brandon, the Sporty would have turned out very differently had the project been rushed. But Sean’s got a little more waiting to do—he’s still recovering from a bad accident that left his leg broken in two places.
We wish him all the best for his recovery. And once he’s able to swing a leg over Pata Negra, we reckon it’s going to be impossible to get him off.
Speed Merchant website | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Jose Gallina
Evel Knievel was a daredevil’s daredevil. The legendary thriller piloted his XR-750 skyward in some of the craziest jumps ever attempted on a motorcycle. On September 1,…
Harley-Davidson customs have changed for good. The raked-out, built-for-TV monstrosities are a dying breed, and the baton has passed to a new wave of crisp, sporty builds that we’d happily ride all day.
Workshops like DP Custom Cycles are leading the charge. Brothers Jarrod and Justin Del Prado build honest, functional rides—and often finish them off with eye-catching motorsport liveries.
‘The Player’ is based on a 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200, and it’s a commission from a previous customer: “We’d already built him a hardtail bike called Hollywood,” explains Jarrod. “This time, he wanted a full suspension bike to squirt around on his local city streets.”
DP Customs have dressed their Sportsters in everything from Gulf Oil to BAR colors before. This time, they opted for the iconic John Player Special scheme—a hat-tip to Mario Andretti and his 1978 F1 Championship-winning Lotus-Ford.
“Mario Andretti is our favorite race car driver of all time,” says Jarrod. “In 1993, we saw him score his last IndyCar win, right here at Phoenix International Raceway. So when our customer mentioned that he loved the classic JPS colors, we decided to go with that.”
“Our goal was to build a bike that’s fun to ride on a daily basis, and looks minimal and sharp.”
The racing theme extends beyond the paint, with DP Customs editing the frame and fabricating new bodywork for a lightweight and angular look.
The fuel tank and tail section are hand-made from steel, along with the oil tank—which masquerades as a spoiler. Note how it flows perfectly into the exhaust, which is DP Customs’ own proprietary Box Pipe.
Cosmetic changes alone weren’t going to cut it. On-road behavior has been enhanced with a set of fully adjustable Progressive Suspension 970 shocks; the forks have been upgraded with Progressive Suspension springs and 39mm preload adjusters from Speed Merchant.
The engine was given a boost with a Dynatek single fire ignition coil, and a rebuilt and re-jetted CV carb. The stock belt drive has been ditched for a chain setup, with a whopping 51-tooth PBR rear sprocket, “for added spunk out of the hole.”
DP Customs designed the 19” front and 18” rear wheels themselves, and had them CNC milled. They’re wrapped in Pirelli Sport Demons, with braking duties handled by Brembo calipers and ISR master cylinders. A small Ballistic battery been installed too, stashed away in the new tail section.
Other top-shelf parts include ISR adjustable hand controls, Chainsikle mid-set foot controls, plus bars, risers and grips from Biltwell. The only dial is a simple rev counter from Stack. The superb paintwork is by Walkers Way.
With angular bodywork and vastly improved dynamics, we reckon this 1200 Sportster is a worthy machine to carry the famous Formula 1 colors.
We’re also betting that Mr Andretti—who started riding motorcycles as a child—would approve.
DP Custom Cycles website | Facebook | Instagram
Major vintage motorcycle auction kicks off in Las Vegas January 8.
Outside the States, the new Street is widely regarded as the most important motorcycle in Harley-Davidson’s line-up. So the bike we’re looking at here is something of An Event: it’s the first officially sanctioned Street custom from an independent builder.
That builder is Rajputana Customs of Jaipur City. They’re some 300 kilometers south of Harley’s Haryana factory—where the Street is built—and they’ve done a remarkable job.
This Street 750 was put together in just four weeks, but you’d never guess. “Given the liquid-cooled engine and snug-fitting chassis, we felt a butch-looking racer was the way to go,” says Rajputana boss Vijay Singh.
The first upgrade was the front end, which now sports Suzuki GSX-R forks with 25% stiffer springs. There’s more suspension travel than stock, helped by the removal of the plastic grill surrounding the front-mounted radiator.
To flatten the lines of the bike, the standard tank was lifted slightly at the rear and the gas cap moved to the left side.
On the right is the speedo, mounted on to the tank itself. A stripe of grey paint cleverly aligns with the fins of the rear cylinder.
The standard dual shocks have gone, replaced by a monoshock mounted to the right-hand side of the swingarm. (“It works like a gem,” says Vijay.) The monoshock also carries the compact battery and part of the wiring loom.
The belt drive system of the factory bike is gone, replaced by a chain. Rajputana have custom-machined a front sprocket, and hooked it up to a Drag Race rear sprocket in tough 7075-T6 aluminum from Zipper’s Performance.
There’s a sleek new subframe and a low profile cowl behind a quilted black leather seat. Coker tires are mounted on 16-inch Harley 48 rims and hubs, and the swingarm was modified to accommodate the larger rubber.
Custom-fabricated clip-on bars complete the look, topped off with Arlen Ness grips.
It’s a quite remarkable transformation—and it’s bound to make a lot of people see the Harley-Davidson Street in a new light.
Top marks to Vijay and Rajputana Customs for an exceptionally clever build. A fine bike to round off 2014.
Rajputana Custom Motorcycles website | Facebook | Instagram | Harley-Davidson India
