Daily Slideshow: This Street 750 is an Ode to a Classic
Belgium mechanic and bike builder, Joeri Van Ouytsel, built this custom Street 750 to represent his dealership in the Battle of the Kings competition.
1. Sincere flattery
Oscar Wilde once said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If Joeri Van Ouytsel was shooting for flattery, he achieved it ten-fold with this build. Sponsored by the dealership he wrenches for, Silver Lake Harley-Davidson in Belgium, he built this Street 750 to honor its 40-year-old cousin, the Harley-Davidson XRTT 750 Racer.
>>Join the conversation about Joeri's Street 750 right here in Harley-Davidson Forum.
2. XRTT 750, circa 1970's
3. The heart of the Street
While the Street 750, in stock form, weighs in at a tad over 490 pounds dry, the mild steel frame holds the new Revolution X engine. The 750 cc version of the water-cooled mill produces a decent amount of horsepower for a street machine, at around 58 ponies. While those numbers don't even begin to touch the XXRT's, you have to remember that this bike was built to be ridden on the street, not on the track. The stock Street 750 does have a top speed of 110 mph, right off the showroom floor, and for a street bike, that isn't too bad.
>>Join the conversation about Joeri's Street 750 right here in Harley-Davidson Forum.
4. Custom bodywork
For Joeri, it was a no-brainer. Let's be honest for a moment, we aren't going to be ripping down the highway at top speed all the time (or, uh...I mean...EVER, officer). We want a bike that is gonna perform well and not leave us stranded. Joeri's tribute build does just that -- it offers the performance and bulletproof reliability of a stock machine with the bodywork of a full custom racer. The original XXRT didn't need a speedometer, but the Battle of the Kings contestant did, so Joeri hid it nicely under the windscreen and installed some slick clip-on bars to get the riding position right.
>>Join the conversation about Joeri's Street 750 right here in Harley-Davidson Forum.
5. Light the way
Like any good boulevard bruiser, Joeri's bike had to be street legal. So, he massaged the headlight into the fairing and opted for a slick, retro looking tail light to bolt to the rear cowl. The exhaust flows nicely up and out of the tail section of the bike and the chrome tips look menacing next to the piggyback shocks.
>>Join the conversation about Joeri's Street 750 right here in Harley-Davidson Forum.
6. Next generation
They say that, in time, what is old will be new again. But in this case, what is new is... now, old.
I can't lie, I like retro stuff. Maybe because I grew up in an era where everything seemed to be built for durability without sacrificing looks. The cars and motorcycles I loved the most growing up were from the 1950's through the 1970's and those styles still endure to this day as my favorites. I like nostalgia, I like the history of our great country and I love the story of Harley-Davidson. While I admire the beauty of the machines of old, however, I'll be honest enough to admit that I won't be trading my 2017 Milwaukee 8 equipped Road King Special in on a 1970's era AMF ElectraGlide.
There is a certain comfort in knowing that the machine you are on is covered under a full warranty and to be quite honest, having the luxury of a push-button start on a fuel injected machine is a hell of a lot more appealing than having to kick over a cold, carbureted machine that has to be choked, feathered and warmed up before taking off.
Joeri's bike build is a beautiful throwback to an era where the Motor Company's fate was still very uncertain. With the reliability and power of the Revolution X motor and all of the benefits of a modern machine, he truly created a work of mechanical art that is worthy of the bike it's built in tribute of.
>>Join the conversation about Joeri's Street 750 right here in Harley-Davidson Forum.
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