10 Best Customs of the Battle of the Kings
For the past three years the Harley dealer network in Europe has competed to see who could make the coolest custom bike. The cool thing is every year they all start with the same new H-D model, and go wild. Let's look at some of the cool results.
1. Maidstone Harley-Davidson's King Slayer
This bike, a stripped down, black and gold bobbber, took 2nd place out of all the U.K. and Ireland dealers in 2015 for Maidstone Harley-Davidson. Finalists from the regional contests go on to compete for the title against all the other regional winners.
2. Shaw’s Speed & Custom Beach Bobber 48
A little bit of old school mixed with retro and a touch of fun was the motive for this funky machine, the Beach Bobber 48 by Shaw's Speed & Custom out of the U.K. This bike won the British competition beating everyone in the U.K. and Ireland in 2017. You can read more about it and see a bunch more images here.
3. Harley-Davidson La Rochelle Lakester
Inspired by the Screamin Eagle racing division, this XL883 is hidden by a real carbon fiber aerodynamic fairing. This bike took home the first prive out of the 48 dealers in France in 2017. Lot if performance details in this bullet, and you can read more about it (thanks to Google Translate) on MotoMag.
4. Chester Springs Harley-Davidson Purple Haze Chopper
A stretched out Easy Rider style chopper complete with sissy bar and ape hangers, this bike hits all the right retro cues. A real looker from Chester Springs Harley-Davidson dubbed the Purple Haze, it alas did not make it into the 16 US finalist for 2016.
5. Harley-Davidson Cape Town Steam Punk
The first ever Battle of the Kings Africa contest winner in 2016 went to H-D Cape Town in South Africa. This steam punk style new wave custom showed everyone how a Sportster can be transformed. You can read all about it and see the details at ZA Bikers.
6. Yellowstone Harley-Davidson Barn Find
The first King Custom competition in the US took place in 2015 and used the Street 750 model. The winner was this next generation broad track racer by Yellowstone Harley-Davidson in Belgrade, Montana, called the Barn Find. For more details and pictures check out Cycle World.
7. Appleton Harley-Davidson SportTrax
If you live in the snowbelt and hate to part your bike in the winter, you need one of these. Appleton Harley-Davidson of Clarksville, KY transformed an XL883 Sportster into a Harley snowmobile. Lots of modified parts, including a ski strapped to the front wheel and a track system on the back.
8. Myer-Duran Harley-Davidson Old School Cool
Myer-Duran Harley-Davidson built this bike to reflect the era when their dealership first opened its doors. For the 2016 USA edition of the Battle of the Kings the built mostly hand made XL883 with old school styling board track from the early days, starting with a 1914 gas tank. The custom frame, front end, and monoshock rear were all fabricated from scratch, retaining just enough of the factory motor and frame rails to be legal. You can read more about it in the Chanute Tribune.
9. Athens Harley-Davidson Nyx
The Custom King contest in 2016 consist of 211 Harley dealers from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, customizing an Sportster 883 Iron, and this bike rose to the top. Named the Nyx by the creators at Athens Harley-Davidson, this clean and sporty bike had amazing attention to detail. You can read all about it here.
10. Hal’s Harley-Davidson General Mayhem
Last year's winner of the whole contest in the United States was this Sportster based adventure scrambler, dubbed the General Mayhem. Built in New Berlin, WI this sporty can take you anywhere you want to go, even if there aren't any paved roads there. You can read more about it and the other winners at Motorcyclist Magazine.
For help with repair and maintenance of your bike, check out the how to sections of HDForums.com
