Japanese Artistry Amazes at Custom Build Show

If Japan hasn’t already impressed you with their artistic skills then this H-D XL1200S equipped and painted mystically will definitely turn you on to it. Unveiled at the last Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show in 2015 it won massive acclaim for quality and specs like the off-the-charts paint job.

Pipeburn brought this custom cafe racer to our attention with details on the inspiration and parts. It’s evident,there’s a trend going on with custom bike builds in Japan which is shown clearly from Cherry Company through this build. Takashi Hashimoto and his TM Garage team has really captured that super lightweight cafe racer profile with the soul of an American chopper that is so desired in Japan.

The main goal was to achieve what TM Garage calls ‘Visual Symmetry’ with this cafe racer creation from an XL1200S. On first glance your attention is taken by the front cowl ‘Ghibli Face’, hard raked clip-on cafe handlebars and the turquoise pearl-effect paint. TM garage accentuates the special pearl-effect with nice blacked-out bits grabbing attention to the depth of the paint.

Next eye-catching design cue no this XL1200S is the repositioning, shape and upholstery of the seat. Building the right seat meant fabricating the mount to grab that right riding position meant lowering the seat and moving parts around. TM Garage relocated the battery, oil tank and exhaust piping for the correct height. The choice of seat is quite an attractive design with an upholstered and padded backing which curves to form fit the spine. The upholstery even has Japanese flair with real Skunk wrapped saddle.

The visual aspect of the bike is the focus of this custom Harley-Davidson. Handling was also retooled with performance in mind. A solid rear swingarm reinforcement setup by Bop Machine was applied, improving ride quality and handling. TM Garage finished off the XL1200S with  more top shelf accoutrements that you can enjoy examining for the next hour. It must be even more dramatic in person. Have you attended a custom bike shows recently that had out-of-bounds paint jobs? Toss a couple here on HDForums for us to enjoy!

Via[Pipeburn]