Description
This bike concept was simple, strip away the excess of an American Harley and introduce British styling cues to produce a more restrained bike in homage to the 1950s Triumph Speed Twin. On the face of it, the project didn't look too demanding, but all that remains of the original Harley is the frame, engine/ gearbox and rear brake assembly. Everything else has been modified or custom made. At the front, 39mm Harley Sportster forks replace the wider originals and are fitted with a Burly lowering kit with machined yokes and reworked Lowbrow fork shrouds. The forks suspend a 19inch Morad aluminium front wheel/ Avon Speedmaster. The project called for a clean uncluttered look, so the big Harley fuel tanks with inset gauges are replaced with a simpler 4. 5-gallon Sportster tank equipped with hand fabricated stainless steel spears. A discreet Motogadget digital display is set into the Sportster handlebars and matched to Motone switches and Motogadget bar end indicators. Keyless starting is incorporated via a Motogadget M-Unit which lives under the seat alongside a lightweight lithium battery. Triumph T100 mudguards are used front/ rear, but cut and shaped to fit around the Harley front forks and rear swingarm. A new number plate/ light housing, using a Norton number plate surround and Frances Barnett light unit has been grafted in. Progressive shocks lower the swingarm a full two inches in line with the front. The rear mudguard frame horns are cut and reprofiled and the rear footpegs have been removed. An 18inch Morad aluminium wheel is substituted for the original 16inch rear. The style of bike called for something more old-school in the exhaust department and uses a two into one system with Paugho downpipes mating to a custom peashooter silencer. The stock Harley seat has gone, initially in favour of a lower frame-hugging single seat, but this has been replaced with a springer seat for a more comfortable ride. The bike is painted solid black with pinstriped mudguards and tank in gold and red. A nice finishing touch is the laser-cut stainless steel disc in the headstock with V-Moto logo, in recognition of fabricator Viv Cowley's superb workmanship. The bike rides brilliantly, has a new carb and was set up on a rolling road so it runs great too and goes much quicker as it is so much lighter. The project turned out pretty much as intended but sadly the bike doesn't get used very much, so if you'd like to own a one-off Harley with a 50s Triumph influence, then please get in touch. It says the bike was imported above but that's because it has a personal Irish number plate.
