German Dealership Offers Custom Re-builds of HD Models

Laguna Sec

The eagle has heard the ringing hammers echoing from the Rhine and landed proudly on foreign soil. Now classic Milwaukee steel is being reformed in the workshops of Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Niederrhein, a dealership and custom motorcycle fabrication shop in Hamminkeln, Germany.  

Fun Ride 58

In 1985, foreign trade merchant Andreas Begerforth started a small business in his parent’s shed.  Licensed as a Motorradschuppen, which is German for ‘motorcycle shed,’ Begerforth modified and repaired Japanese motorcycles.  As his business grew, Bergerforth expanded, becoming a licensed Suzuki dealer in 1987 and finally moving out of his mom and dad’s workshop into a large facility. With a lack of replacement and custom parts readily available for Japanese bikes in Germany during the 1980s, Begerforth and his crew started an in-house fabrication shop he dubbed Thunderbike.  In 2000, sales of Japanese motorcycles began declining in Europe while HD was on the rise.  American style motorcycles and choppers were underappreciated in Germany until the mid-1990s but the view of the public was transforming. Bergerforth saw the rising change in the market and realized the potential in modifying existing Harleys as well as fabricating new parts and accessories to fit the iconic American machines.  On March 18, 2006, Thunderbike became an official Harley-Davidson dealership and quickly set to work reimagining the iconic motorcycles as custom, two-wheeled works of art.     

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The Spectacula

The masters of metal in Hamminkeln set to work on their first American style, custom build.  The Spectacula, a low profile, dragster style custom won the builders at Thunderbike the top prize at the Custom Chrome Show in Mainz and the title of European champion.  This prestige garnered them an invitation to participate in the World Cup competition in Sturgis, South Dakota where Spectacula brought them the second-place trophy.  

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Apple Bomb

Thunderbike continued to build, returning to Sturgis in 2008 with ‘Open Mind,’ the second custom dragster built for show competition.  Open Mind brought the German builders competing on American soil a respectable fifth place win.  Thunderbike was officially in the game.

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Glamor

Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Niederrhein is a licensed Harley-Davidson dealership.  Customers can buy stock Harleys, new and used as well as official motoring clothes and merch.  What sets Thunderbike apart is their fabrication and customization services.  The company manufactures its own custom parts to modify standard motorcycles.  In addition, customers can purchase Harleys that have been reworked with Thunderbike modifications or commission new builds. 

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Daytona

Thunderbike produces its own line of parts ranging from air cleaner covers, foot pegs, and triple trees to handlebars and full-on custom frames.  Some of their Harley-Davidson rebuilds include Apple Bomb, a modified Softail Slim, Glamor, a vintage shovelhead chopper dressed in green and blinding chrome and Daytona, a stretched-out gold Street Glide that will make your draw drop.  

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Orange Wall

Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Niederrhein also has an American style roadhouse, aptly named Thunderbike Roadhouse next door to the dealership.  The roadhouse regularly hosts rallies and classic car and bike shows.  So if you ever find yourself tearing down the Autobahn with two fists in the wind and no preset destination, you may want to head toward Niederrhein and check out Thunderbike’s custom Harley-Davidsons and ground up builds. 

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