The Harley-Davidson Catalog Cafe Racer Custom Sportster (photos)
Harley has a deep inventory of part numbers via their parts and accessory catalog. Hidden in there is a 2017 model many have been asking for: A cafe racer style Sportster custom with improved looks, handling, brakes and performance.
1. The XLCR Reborn?
We all know Harley-Davidson doesn't sell sport bikes, and until the introduction of the new Street 750 Street Rod, the Sportster was the closest they came. Back in the 1970s, during the first American cafe racer craze, Harley offered the Sportster cafe racer. The reception it received made the bike somewhat of a cult classic. Get yourself a recent vintage Sportster, and you can make one your own with just a few bolt on parts from the P & A catalog.
2. Choose Your Own Adventure
Because you are building this bike yourself, and not buying it off the showroom floor, you get to choose how extreme you want to go. The bike above is the mild version, with a cafe solo seat, mid-mounted foot controls and a drag bar, but includes the longer, piggyback rear shocks, and adjustable front suspension, plus more. As far as the motor goes, there are plenty of performance parts available, from intake and exhaust upgrades, to big bore kits, cams, and more.
3. Unique Body Work
In the P & A catalog, are this unique tail section and seat combo. You can get them in Vivid Black, or ready to be painted. You can also grab these unique covers for the oil tank and a matching one for the battery. The black bike from the earlier slide featured a headlight fairing and chin spoiler, and to complete the retro cafe look, you can get knee pads for your tank.
4. Factory Custom Paint
Every year Harley puts out limited edition paint work for various bikes. For 2017 the special paint will be set for the Sportster. For $2,899 you get not only the custom painted tank, but the cafe style tail/fender and seat with matching custom paint. A few years from now, when you decide to go from cafe racer to bobber, you can swap back to your sprung seat and peanut tank.
5. Exhaust
About the only thing Harley doesn't make to complete your 2017 Sportster into XLCR transformation is a copy of that weird 2 into 2 exhaust that wrapped around the front of the motor. Luckily the aftermarket has plenty of options for performance exhaust systems that get the mufflers up out of the way of your lean, and breath better. You'll lose some weight too, compared to the stock 2 into 2 shorties. The system pictured is the Roland Sands Designs Slant 2 into 1, which they recently discontinued.
6. Many Functional Options
Even if you don't like the cafe racer look, Harley gives you lots of function parts for the Sportster, as displayed in the package. The "rear set" footpegs are great if you are building a scrambler, or flat tracker, too because they put your feet right about where you want them on a dirt bike, not rear set like on a real sport bike. The dual disc set up, and full floating rotor option will stand up to more hard usage than solid discs without warping. You may not want to add right height in the back with the piggyback shock, but the upgraded fork internals fit all late model Sportsters with stock front ends. It really is great that the motor company hasn't forgotten the Sporty now that it has two new kids in the Street series.
For help working on your bike, check out the how-to section of HDForums.com
