Harley-Davidson Japanese Build Off

Harley Haven

Harley-Davidson motorcycles are arguably one of the most iconic symbols of the American lifestyle, but their popularity reaches to the far corners of the globe. One place that has had a love affair with the Milwaukee brand is the island nation of Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun began importing Harley-Davidson motorcycles way back in 1913, but it was not until 1989 that the official Harley-Davidson Japan outpost was established. Since sales have steadily increased each year as individuals seek to own their very own piece of motorcycle Americana. And if one is at all familiar with Japanese car or motorcycle culture, the customization scene is quite an awesome sight.

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The Battle of The Kings

Some of you may be familiar with Harley-Davidson's "Battle of The Kings" competition in which a particular Harley model is chosen for a handful of shops to customize in any way they see fit. The bikes are built, the votes are cast, and a King is crowned. Although the competitions have mainly occurred in Europe, and most recently the United Arab Emirates, Japan hosted a competition involving the water-cooled Street 750 motorcycle. While the Street line of motorcycles is Harley's cheapest entry-level bikes offered, the results of the build-off competition are arguably the best customs to come out of any Battle of the Kings competition, and will likely make any Harley enthusiast think really hard about picking up a Street model of their own. Onto the bikes!

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XG750 Flat Tracker

At first glance, one may think our first bike up is Harley's new XG750R factory flat track racer that made its racing debut earlier this year, but this is actually a complete custom XG750 "Flat Tracker" built by Hideki Hoshikawa of Asterisk Custom Works. Hoshikawa started from the ground up by ditching the stock Street 750 chassis and fabricated a new cro-moly frame. He then fitted some race worthy dirt track parts including a set of Ceriani 43mm forks, an Öhlins TTX GP shock, 19" RSD Del Mar wheels, and even Dunlop DT3 competition tires. Not only were custom controls, seat, tank, and exhaust fitted, but Hoshikawa dumped the front brake system in true flat-tracker style. Considering the bike was built a couple of years ago, one has to wonder if Harley used this bike as a bit of inspiration when designing their race bike.

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Street Fighter XG750 Turbo

Kiachiroh Kurosu, the owner of Cherry's Company, is responsible for this stunning XG750 Sportbike. Having been wrenching on Harley-Davidson motorcycles for over 20 years, it is clear the Kurosu knows his way around American V-twins. Besides the basic engine layout, which Kurosu has breathed on quite heavily, all of the bike's components are one-off bespoke pieces. The hand-bent trellis-style frame is pure art with its various gussets and welds and has a geometry made for carving corners on a track. The slick girder front-end with its small wind fairing flows nicely into the crafted aluminum tank cover and tail section. Hanging off of the right side of the bike is a turbocharger and intercooler setup that force-feeds the 750 twin before the exhaust gases exit out a sweet undertail exhaust. With racing slicks mounted on a set of one-off wheels, this bike is ready to hit the track and look good doing it.

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Gunslinger

With a flat tracker and street fighter in the running, it is nice to see a more traditional chopper-style motorcycle represented in the competition. Coined "Gunslinger" by Masayuki Sugihara of Luck Motorcycles, the water-cooled 750 is featured in a classic rigid frame. Being smaller than the typical air-cooled engines, the 750 tucks into the frame low and tight, and allows for the radiator to be hidden away in between the downtubes. This allows for a tall backbone with a large opening between the engine and neat little peanut tank. At the front of the bike, we have a custom girder front-end similar in dimension to an old-school lengthened springer unit that is attached to a 19" Kim Tab wheel. The rear wheel is a 16" smoothie with a fatty wide whitewall tire that, when coupled with the flame paint and leatherwork seat, completes the retro look. Small performance touches have been done on the engine including a set of custom drag pipes, unique mushroom intake, and a self-tuning Thundermax ECM. Modern performance with classic styling at its finest.

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The Other One

Tatsuya Fujii of Duas Caras Cycles in Nagoya is responsible for this 750 custom known as "The Other One." This bike has a strikingly modern look to it, and from some angles, feels like a smaller version of Harley's defunct VRSCR Street Rod. The bike boasts a sport-oriented appearance that all starts with the beefy upside-down forks sourced from a Buell S1 Lightning. As with the other bikes, this one also features a custom frame with a tubular swingarm. The bodywork further sets the tone with a Cyclops-style mini fairing, massive radiator shroud, and a crafted tank and seat that hugs the frame. Clip-on handlebars and setback rearsets aggressively position the rider forward. RSD 18" wheels with Performance Machine brakes aid in handling and stopping power. The bike breathes easier with a set of shorty Y-pipes, a free-flowing intake, and a Vance & Hines Fuelpak. The bike is subtle, yet flashy at the same time with its black paint featuring chameleon gold leaf inlays.

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Zonnevlek

After seeing four jaw-dropping bikes, one must wonder what it took to win the build-off competition. Alas, we introduce Japan's Battle of The Kings winner. The bike before us was built by Yoshikazu Ueda & Yuichi Yoshizawa of Custom Works Zon. "Zonnevlek" was designed to maximize the 1/4 mile speed of the 750 by reducing its weight. The frame was redesigned into a single cradle unit with custom mounting and bracing to keep the V-twin securely in place. The front and rear suspension are minimal in the interest of speed. The angular cover which sits in the position of a traditional fuel tank hides away the bikes electrical system as well as the extravagant jockey shift linkage. A suede seat extends along the bike and into the bobbed rear fender, which sees a small fuel cell expertly place just ahead of the rear wheel. A signature single-sided swingarm secures the 15" Rocket Racing rear wheel that is wrapped in a Hoosier drag slick. The radiator was placed under the fuel cell to not only clear space for the 19" front wheel but to further shift the center of gravity rearward for better traction during launches. A custom exhaust and wide-open velocity stack coupled with an ECM remap makes for stout performance. With such attention to detail and supreme craftsmanship, the award was well deserved by the Custom Works Zon duo. That said, all 5 of the custom 750 Sport motorcycles are beautiful works of art that have left us shouting "Encore" for another installment of Battle of the Kings Japan.

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