Daily Slideshow: Sportster Raised Rough in Brooklyn

Brooklyn, baby

Brooklyn. Iconic, historic and home to several custom motorcycle shops. Perhaps one of the most famous of those is the late, Indian Larry's. Not far from Indian Larry’s shop is another custom motorcycle shop- Tim Harney’s Motorcycles. While Indian Larry built loud, hardcore, Ole Skool choppers, Tim builds nimble, lightweight, fast machines…perfect for maneuvering through the mean streets of the Big Apple.

Street fighting flat tracker

Tim started on this build when he got his hands on a beat up 1989 Sportster 883. He wanted to build a bike that would showcase his work at the Brooklyn Invitational Motorcycle Show, but he also wanted to race it on the flat track. With his vision clear in mind, he went to work tearing the bike down to the frame, then cutting and re-welding the frame to meet his needs. 

>>Join the conversation on Tim Harney's 1200 Sportster right here in HDForums.

Building the vision

After Tim changed the neck angle by two degrees, he TIG welded the whole thing back together and got started on the suspension. He swapped out the factory front end with a set of Yamaha R6 cartridge forks, topped with a set of polished ProTaper fat bars bolted to some custom-built triple trees.

The wheels are 19” flat trackers with Sun Rims hoops and stainless steel, double-butted spokes, laced by Buchanan’s. The front hub is off of a KTM and it is accompanied by a radial-mounted Aprilia caliper, clamping a Yamaha R1’s rotor. On the rear, is a Barnes hub fitted with the R1’s rear rotor, bouncing on custom-made Marzocchi piggy-backs with Öhlins valving internals. The brakes are connected with quick-change brake lines for fast, easy repairs. 

>>Join the conversation on Tim Harney's 1200 Sportster right here in HDForums.

883 to 1200

Tim tore down the worn out 883 and rebuilt it with a 1200cc kit. He then added an S&S Super E carb that sucks air through a velocity stack. The bike expels its hot breath through a set of stainless steel headers, then it all gets muffled down inside of a carbon Arrow can to acceptable city noise levels, because Tim is respectful of his fellow New Yorkers.

>>Join the conversation on Tim Harney's 1200 Sportster right here in HDForums.

Tim’s media is metal

Tim Harney is an artist and his media is metal. He fitted a set of custom motocross pegs on the sides to keep his feet in place, then hand-crafted the custom, one-piece gas tank, as well as, the custom tail section that houses an LED taillight. He then fabbed up a new oil tank and plumbed it into the engine using some anodized fittings from Earl’s.

Tim then went to work on the front-end, building a set of fork shrouds and a number board-style headlight nacelle that houses two, and stacked projector beam headlights. Down low, Tim built a belly-pan that houses a Shorai lithium-ion battery and the ignition module. Tim finished off his artistic vision with some one-off finned rocker covers, a kangaroo leather seat pad and then topped it all off with his signature gloss black and polished metal finishes. 

>>Join the conversation on Tim Harney's 1200 Sportster right here in HDForums.

Not for the faint of heart

Tim describes the bike as being, “smooth like a Japanese bike” but says it, “bites like a Harley.” He says that it’s not for the faint of heart and by the looks of it, I agree. It just looks fast.

Having recently returned home from New York, I experienced first-hand the nightmare that is the traffic congestion of this iconic city. The taxis, buses, and cars are jam-packed on the streets, blaring their horns and trying to jockey into the next block, at times, moving ahead only a few feet.

But then...

Amidst all the confusion and frustration, I would hear that familiar symphony of two cylinders, beckoning me. As I looked to find it, I would see a motorcycle zipping and weaving through the sea of dented fenders, blaring horns and blinking lights. It was obvious to me that having a motorcycle, especially one purpose-built for the big city like this one, was a must for living in the Big Apple. As long as Tim keeps building beautiful, functional motorcycles like this one, his name is sure to become as famous as Larry's.

>>Join the conversation on Tim Harney's 1200 Sportster right here in HDForums.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.