Special Edition Le Mans Harley Designed to Dominate All Roads

By S.J. Bryan - January 1, 2021

Custom Softail Breakout design unleashes pure, raw Harley with the big daddy of Le Mans endurance racing.

German motorcycle shop Thunderbike is noted for a few things. One being that they one effortlessly cool name. But mostly, for their stunning custom Harley-Davidson builds. Their latest project is the Grand Prix Series, or GP for short. Each bike is a tribute to a different racetrack that starts as Harley Softail. And where they go from there varies on the track, and how the bike would best capture its spirit. In taking on the noted historic Le Mans racetrack, they had a challenge.

Like Harley, the racetrack is noted and notorious. Thunderbike met that high expectation–then defied it. Their new GP-S Le Mans Harley simply blew us away.

Concept & Design

Choosing to design conceptionally versus literally was a bold choice that works perfectly. This is the spirit of Le Mans: speed, endurance, grit, and pushing against limits. It is also one sexy and edgy cruiser. The motorcycle manufacturer is still the beating heart of this concept. Thunderbike artfully accentuates those classic H-D design and performance elements from the chassis to the tires.

The spirit of track is certainly present with the SE Big Bang 131 ci engine, with about 2.2 liters of displacement it turns out about 123 horses to the rear. It also enables a boost in torque of 132 lb-ft (178 Nm) at 4000 rpm.

Other modifications to turn up the heat include single-sided swingarm, powder-coated monoblock wheels with CNC-milled aluminum, huge brake discs with radial calipers, and a beautiful paint job. Thunderbike notes the inspiration for the look was an old school F1 racer.

John Player Special Lotus F1 (Photo: Drew Gibson)

“Le Mans is one of the most traditional race tracks, so it should be a traditional paint job. The color scheme documents the historic racing character and at the same time accentuates the sporty format of the bike,” said Thunderbike.

Additionally, the team developed a new shock absorber in the form of the Slamtail. With just a button, ride height can be easily adjusted hydraulically.

Just as easy, compression and rebound can be adjusted with new damper system in the fork from Bitubo.

A host of upgrades are included: custom badging, seating, additional lighting, and that super sharp front fender.

Thunderbike GP-S Le Mans Harley-Davidson

With improved performance, and looks that kill–this is one special custom H-D. There’s no question the Softail can handle itself on the road. Bringing together two legends resulted in a red-hot custom.