Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson Radical Over 26 Is All About the Massive 26-Inch Front Wheel

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com As some of you might have noticed over the past few days, as part of our Custom Builds Months we started covering more the side of the motorcycle industry that has to do with custom frames, because this is how you get truly unique builds. Generally, motorcycle garages come up with a frame design and stick with it, if it works, for the limited number of bikes made based on it. But there is one such organization in Germany that has not one, but 15 custom frames, and made not a few, but literally dozens of bikes using them. The shop is called Thunderbike, and one of those dozen bikes they made over the years is the one in the gallery above. It’s called Radical Over 26, hinting to both the type of frame used, and the size of one of the wheels that support it. First, the frame. Thunderbike has about six Radical frames in their portfolio, ranging from lowriders to the extremely curved one that formed the basis of this machine. This one allows for the integration of Twin Cam B engines, and is made of large-diameter cold rolled ST52 steel tubing. To power it along the shop chose a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle 103 good for 100 ps and gifted it with a Mikuni HSR 42 carburetor and a custom exhaust system. As for the element that makes the bike stand out perhaps the most, the wheels are seriously imbalanced in terms of size, and that, coupled with the very low seating position and the raised handlebar really make the motorcycle worthy of the Radical name. Up front, the shop went for a 26-inch wheel inspired by the one used on another of its custom builds, the Open Mind, and offset it with […]

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Red Scorpion Is What Happens When Custom Frame Meets Harley-Davidson Hardware

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com There’s nothing better in the world of custom bike-making than coming up with your own frame. Sure, you could choose the easy way and start modifying existing motorcycles, but that doesn’t say that much about your skills as a custom builder. We know of a huge number of shops in the U.S. making their own custom frames, that in turn end up becoming the base for incredible two-wheelers. But there are garages outside the States that do the same thing. One of them – and a very lucrative one – is Germany-based Thunderbike. We talked about their work extensively over the past few months as part of our various special coverages, but given the large number of builds they make, there seems to be no end in sight. Until recently, we covered at length Thunderbike’s skills when it comes to modified Harleys, but from this week on we decided to have a closer look at their custom frames, and we’ve already said a word or two about some other of their creations for this segment. And now it’s time for another. In the gallery above sits a motorcycle the garage completed all the way back in 2007. It is called the Red Scorpion, and it is one of the finest examples of how you can pair your own custom frame with custom parts and available Harley-Davidson hardware. The bike is part of the garage’s Freestyle collection of bikes, and it is built around one of the 15 or so frames available in its inventory. Riding low thanks to the use of an air suspension, and with an appearance of having a broken back, the Red Scorpion is animated by a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle 103ci engine. The powerplant draws its fuel through a Mikuni HSR 42

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CCE Bagger Thunderbolt Is a Whole Lot of Name for a Custom Harley Street Glide

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com The Harley-Davidson Street Glide is one of those bikes you should not mess with. Described by its maker as a stripped down version of a hot-rod bagger, the no-nonsense bike has been made with long trips in mind. But baggers have also been favorites of the custom industry. Either reshaped from stock motorcycles or made from scratch on a custom frame, custom baggers are a common sight on American roads. We’re not sure how many of them are in Europe, but you can count at least one, this one here. The work of a German shop that goes by the name Thunderbike, it takes a stock Harley Street Glide to whole new levels of cool. The build is based on 2017 Street Glide Special, still packing the original Milwaukee-Eight engine. But other than that everything about it is enhanced, including the name. Using custom parts made all over the world, Thunderbike kept the overall appearance of the motorcycle, but increased the size and reach of most of the hardware on the bike, from the front fender to the saddlebags at the rear. The fairing at the front, the fuel tank behind it, and the wheels – including the barely visible one at the rear – are of course custom, and contribute to giving the bike a retro-style look. Thunderbike, who has been in the business of engineering motorcycles for the past 25 years, is usually very good at naming its creations too. And even if the name of this one might seem a bit pompous, there’s a reason for that. The CCE in the name stands for Custom Chrome Europe, a parts wholesale company founded in 1986, while Thunderbolt is the creative side of the project. So, no matter how you call it – Thunderbike

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Fueling Vented Dipstick for Touring Harleys

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For Twin Cam and M-Eight Touring Photos and text by ROGUE The Feuling Billet Dipsticks are made In America and they vent excessive crankcase pressure from the oil tank on Harley Touring Models through a PCV style breather. Blow by is pressure that is forced past the rings and cylinder walls and ends up in the crankcase and then into the oil tank. All internal combustion engines have a certain amount of crankcase pressure and it does increase with miles. Large cubic inch engines have a tendency to have more blow by as well. The Vented Dipstick comes with a sheet of instructions and I suggest you read it before starting installing this product. CLICK HERE TO READ THIS TECH ON BIKERNET Join the Cantina – Subscribe Today https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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Can Coronavirus Help Romanticize Harley-Davidson Again?

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by Andria Cheng from https://www.forbes.com For Harley-Davidson HOG -3.5%, the coronavirus initially led to production and dealership shutdowns and lower sales, but the pandemic could very well also help the iconic American motorcycle label—struggling with five straight years of declining U.S. sales—regain its cool factor. Credit that to the new social-distancing penchant that has driven increased demand for different outdoor pursuits from biking to running. A case in point, Commerce Department reported on Thursday sporting goods and other hobby retailers posted a 21% jump in June retail sales from a year earlier, a rare bright spot among retailers that sell non-essential items. In another example, April U.S. sales of bicycles topped $1 billion, a record level, about double the average for the month, according to NPD Group. “The ‘outdoor play’ seems to have made its way to Harley-Davidson in terms of increased demand,” said Wedbush analyst James Hardiman in a report on Thursday. He upgraded his rating on the Milwaukee company to outperform from neutral. He wasn’t alone. His counterparts at UBS and BMO also upgraded the stock this week, following some others recently. The stock has doubled since reaching a multi-year low of about $15 in March. “Perhaps the positive by-product of this terrible pandemic is a renewed interest in the open road,” BMO analyst Gerrick Johnson said Tuesday. Hardiman estimated the motorcycle maker’s June sales by units jumped in the low double-digits after declines of about 40% in April and at least 10% in May. Covid-19 also had dented the company’s first-quarter sales and profit it reported in April. Before that, Harley-Davidson’s sales in the U.S., its top market, declined for five straight years as the company faced an aging baby-boomer customer base with the sport having lost its traditional appeal, especially among younger millennial consumers. But the

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Harley-Davidson Custom King Is the Iron Beast Milwaukee Should Be Making

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Harley-Davidson is many things, both good and bad, but for the custom bike industry it certainly is godsent. The Milwaukee company is responsible through its products for the existence of countless garages across the world, and for what it’s worth, it never forgot that. For a number of years now, Harley has been holding a build-off competition called Battle of the Kings. BOTK in short, it is dedicated mostly to the international dealer network, and calls upon interested partners to come up with stunning designs based on production motorcycles, while following a rather strict set of rules. BOTK culminated this year with a mammoth iteration called King of Kings, pitting 15 of the best previous participant garages against one another. The winner was crowned the Apex Predator, a Sportster XR1200 modified by a Mexican shop called Harley-Davidson Queretaro. We covered all those bikes extensively back in May (you can see them all at this link), but there are incredible creations made for earlier BOTK events worth talking about as well. One of them is this Iron 883 called Custom King. Modified by German garage Thunderbike, it won the third place in the 2017 BOTK. The build was inspired by drag-style motorcycles on the 1970s, says Thunderbike, and it all came down to “the love of detail and hand-crafted parts.” Wrapped in a black and red livery to die for, the bike is one of the most uncharacteristic in the Iron family. The race-inspired look is enhanced by a wealth of custom parts. Air filters, special covers all around, high-performance brakes, a fork brace instead of a front fender, lamp covers, the chain conversion kit, the turn signals, the ignition coil set, and even the side license plate holder have been created with a single goal

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Harley-Davidson Racks Up Buy Ratings on Bets New CEO Can Turn Things Around

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by Christiana Sciaudone from https://www.investing.com/ Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) has swayed yet another analyst that a turnaround will bear fruit. Shares are up 4.5% on Wednesday after UBS followed BMO Capital in upgrading the motorcycle maker. UBS bumped its rating to buy from neutral and gave Harley-Davidson a price target of $31, Seeking Alpha reported. The average price target of analysts tracked by Investing.com is $26.75. The stock has seven buys, 10 holds and one sell. It was trading around $28.60 during the morning session. On Tuesday, BMO raised HOG to outperform from market perform and boosted its price target to $33 from $23, MarketWatch reported. New Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz, named in May, is expected to drive much-needed change at the company. Shares are trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 11, versus 16 for the average long-term ratio of the Dow Jones, according to data compiled by Investing.com and Zacks Investment Research. Last week, Harley-Davidson said it would cut 700 positions across global operations, with about 500 expected to exit in 2020. The chief financial officer also exited the company at the time. Harley-Davidson said it is overhauling its global operating model to become a “leaner, more nimble” organization. Harley-Davidson’s stock surges toward a 4-month high after Morgan Stanley raises rating, price target by Tomi Kilgore from https://www.marketwatch.com Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc. HOG, +5.51% shot up 4.8% toward a four-month high in morning trading Wednesday, after UBS analyst Robin Farley turned bullish on the motorcycle maker, citing an upbeat outlook on margins over the next couple years. Farley raised his rating to buy, after being neutral for at least the past three years, and raised his stock price target to $31 from $24. He said he believes Harley could help boost margins by eliminating growth initiatives, as they were losing

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Harley-Davidson Breakout CVO Gets an Extra Touch of German Custom

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com In the world of Harley-Davidson, CVO stands for Custom Vehicle Operations. Going further, that means motorcycles specifically created by the American bike builder with the custom industry in mind, for garages all across the world to tweak even further. The program was born at Harley in 1999 and each year a small batch of bikes was chosen and gifted with limited edition runs that were all about customization: bigger engines, crazy paints, and a wealth of accessories one usually didn’t get with the road-going versions. Among the motorcycles chosen by Harley to go down the CVO path in 2014 was the Breakout (it was offered alongside the Ultra Limited Electra Glide, Softail Deluxe, and Road King). And since this model is a favorite of a German custom shop that goes by the name Thunderbike, it of course didn’t escape some further upgrades. Thunderbike’s interpretation of the CVO Breakout comes with a more radical look, achieved especially because of the deployment of bigger wheels, a new exhaust system, and a polished paint over the bike’s main parts. The motorcycle rides on Harley Turbine wheels (sized 21 and 18 inches), but with the rear one wrapped in a Metzeler tire that is 20 mm wider than what came standard. Additionally, a pulley brake kit was deployed on the rear wheel to allow a clear view from one side at the design. The engine, which was lest pretty much stock, breathes through an electronically adjustable exhaust system from Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde. A wealth of other parts, smaller in size and impact, are also custom: the rocker boxes, oil tank, turn signals, mirrors, and even the license plate bracket and frame. We are not being told how much it cost the Germans to put the entire build

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Anthracite Grey Harley-Davidson TB-2 Is the Unlikely Low Rider S Superbike

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com As part of autoevolution’s Custom Builds Month, we talked aplenty about a number of customized Harley-Davidson motorcycles handled all the way in Germany. The country is home to a very active shop called Thunderbike, who over the past 25 years has made a name for itself in the industry with literally hundreds of projects. On Monday, July 13, we talked about the TB-1 Superbike, a conversion of a Low Rider S the likes of which we don’t get to see that often. As it usually happens with Thunderbike ideas, the TB-1 has a sequel of sorts. It is called TB-2, naturally, and is, at least as far as the paint goes, a more conservative approach than it’s older sibling. Most of the changes designed for the TB-1 have been kept on this one. The bike’s stock wheels (19-inch front and 17-inch rear) have been replaced with bigger hardware, namely 21-inch front and 18-inch rear, to give the machine a “slimmer” look. Turning the Low Rider into a racer-style bike was achieved through the fitting of a lowering kit for the telescopic fork, Hyperpro shock absorbers with height adjustment, and of course a custom new front fairing. The listed of custom parts fitted on the motorcycle comprises around 20 elements, and even if we are not told how much the conversion cost, simple math (that is adding the prices of each of those parts) points to it being worth a little over 5,000 euros (roughly $5,600). That does not including the bike itself, the man hours spent on assembling it, and of course the base Low Rider. The thing that sets TB-2 apart the most from its earlier incarnation is of course the paint job. Whereas on the first iteration the shop went for a dark

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Sultans of Steel by Kromworks Is Superbly Crafted Harley-Davidson Custom Art

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by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com As much as you appreciate a good – and good-looking – motorcycle from any manufacturer out there, there is no denying there is but one way you’re guaranteed to stand out: with a custom build. That’s what Tedja Wijaya was also thinking when he approached his friend Andi from the custom shop Kromworks in Indonesia, with the request that he build him a bike that would truly be one of a kind. Andi and the team build for him the Harley-Davidson-based sportster known as Sultans of Steel. Sultans of Steel was completed and delivered at the beginning of the year but, given the location of the custom shop and the fact that 2020 has proved to be, generally speaking, the absolute worst, news failed to register on the international radar. The bike is so beautiful and beautifully executed that we couldn’t have overlooked it and not included it with similar pieces of art, detailed as part of our Custom Builds Month theme. The Sultans of Steel rolls on 23-inch (58.4-cm) rims with Avon rubber, and features an exposed Sportster 883 engine, H-D Softail rear shocks and catalog brakes, but otherwise it’s Andi’s work of art. It’s a superbly crafted piece of jewelry that stands as tribute to raw metal, and simplicity as the ideal means for said tribute. Crafted from stainless steel, with the occasional brass inlays for necessary contrast, the detailing on this bike is astounding. With curves and aggressiveness overload, it stands out for stark minimalism in the design, as well as the refusal to use any other material than those mentioned. There is a single downtube and a single backbone, while the double cradle design stands out for extreme curvaceousness. Both the vintage leather seat and the rear fender seem to float

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