Heritage Classic Custom Blends Chicano Style With Japanese Precision
What started life as a 2020 Heritage Classic is now a rolling showcase of one-off handcrafted sheetmetal.
If the images accompanying this article were black & white instead of color, you might think that you were looking a well-executed Chicano-style custom. Whether you call them lowriders, Viclas, or Cholo bikes, these Harleys are typically fitted with huge stretched fenders and an impossibly long set of pipes, often with fishtail tips.
Our specimen here fits the bill in those respects. However, what’s lacking in living color is the wild, attention-grabbing paint job. Ditto for the typical gobs of chrome and gold plating. That’s because this creation doesn’t come from Mexico, or even New Mexico or Los Angeles, for that matter. You’ll have to go way further east to locate the builder of this custom; a shop called Bad Land in Yokohama, Japan.
The 114 c.i. M8 doesn’t need any help
The basis for this Mexican-Japanese fusion creation is a 2020 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic. According to Bad Land, the frame and engine are bone stock, except for an Arlen Ness air cleaner and the hallmark Chicano exhaust system, which was cobbled up by Bad Land themselves. Of course, not too many riders will complain about the oomph of a unmodified 114 cubic-inch Milwaukee Eight anyway.
Besides the pipes, Bad Land also fabricated the flowing fenders, ape hanger handlebars, license plate holder, and more. All of those bits are one-off bespoke creations. The wheels, however, come from Sinister Wheels, a California vendor to celebrities or anybody else with deep enough pockets, we suppose. They’re sized 18 inches at the rear and a massive 23 inches up front, partly masked by a burly 11.8-inch brake rotors from Galfer.
Like floating on a cloud
Some enthusiasts might liken Bad Land’s Heritage Classic 114 custom to a billowing Victorian-era dress. Or perhaps Prince’s famous “cloud” guitar. We get those references, but the classy monochromatic color scheme with gold pinstripes for a hint of visual pop reminds us more of a ghost. “Bajito y suavecito,” which means low and slow, is the unofficial motto of these gliding machines. In this case, “low” is spot-on for this build, but it ain’t exactly slow.
Photos: Bad Land
You must be logged in to post a comment.