2018 Harley-Davidson Battle of the Kings U.K.
Turns out it’s not just Americans who can build awesome custom Harleys.
While we may think of Harley-Davidson motorcycles as an American institution, the language of freedom, leather, and loud pipes is universal. That’s why you’ll find Harley-Davidson fanatics anywhere and everywhere.
At the 2018 Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show, five finalists for Harley-Davidson’s Battle of the Kings faced off to determine which dealer was the best custom motorcycle builder in the U.K. and Ireland.
Each year, hundreds of dealers square off against each other, building a custom Harley-Davidson based on a current model. With a limited budget of just over $7,000, they’re tasked with building the baddest possible bike possible.
After narrowing down the field through online voting, five bikes (and dealerships) were chosen to be shown, with the winner being sent to the finals at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy later this year.
Sycamore Harley-Davidson, nestled between Leicester and Peterborough roughly 70 miles east of Birmingham was crowned this year’s winner. Having entered the Battle of the Kings contest every year, Sycamore has consistently impressed the judges, even making it as far as a regional event last year before being knocked out of contention.
Birmingham is a working class steel town, and that rough n’ tumble attitude must have influenced the rugged, scruffy build they dubbed the “Alley Rat.” Starting with a Sportster Forty-Eight, the bike was subtly customized, and then scuffed, dinged, faded, and rusted to perfection.
The end result is a bike that reflects the faded glory of Birmingham’s industrial past, representing the rugged image of a bygone era. Like the city itself, the bike resembles a timelessly tough throwback that lay dormant for decades, ready to be reborn.
With Harley-Davidson’s recent focus on the AMF era on everything fro tee-shirts to the new Sportster lineup, it’s easy to see why Sycamore Harley-Davidson’s Alley Rat won the day. We’re eager to see how the bike does at EICMA.
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