Transforming a Harley Sportster Into a Head-Turning Cafe Custom

This 2009 Harley-Davidson Nightster was the perfect platform for a reliable, fun cafe custom.

"Rosie," as she was lovingly monikered by her builder, looks good with an Austin sunset. Frankly, building the bike was not very difficult. In fact, most of the alterations to the bike were performed in a series of parking lots on a Marine Corps base. 

First thing is first- lets lift that booty.

Getting Rosie to corner a bit more like a cafe racer and less like a Nightster was a pretty simple task. The build called for 14-inch eye-to-eye 1200R shocks to change the geometry of the rear end. Beyond that, the forward controls were an easy swap out back to the mid controls. Changing the controls opened up the lean angle, and made for a sportier ride. Taking a cafe build one step further would require a good pair of rear sets. 

Easy bolt-ons can really liven up an Evolution motor.

The 1200cc Evolution motor in the later model Sportster is already a good, reliable fuel-injected platform with enough torque to pass cars comfortably. To breathe a bit more life into the Nightster, the builder equipped a stage one Screaming Eagle air cleaner and a Bluetooth-enabled fuel tuner. The tuner allowed adjustment of the air-fuel ratio and idle speed with specific values according to bolt-on parts used in the build. The result was a snappier, more efficient cafe custom. 

One of Rosie's focal points is the easiest upgrade of all.

Cafe Racers are given away by a number of characteristics, chief among which is the seat or seat pan. Rosie featured a bolt-on cafe seat that was as easy as un-bolt, replace, and fasten into place. If you want to go above and beyond, you can chop or replace the fender with a seat pan modification. The result of that surgical procedure is a custom cafe bike truer to form than a simple seat upgrade.  

Pretty the Cafe Custom up with some cool toys.

The Nightster was already a cool-looking motorcycle, but there is always room for improvement. A simple aluminum headlight grille is a handsome addition to a Cafe Custom and looked pretty good on Rosie. 

No Cafe Racer is Complete without Clip-Ons

The last piece of the cafe racer puzzle is, of course, the controls. Rosie sported a speedo relocator with a beautiful near-purple patina as it aged. The relocation included a lower-profile housing for the single OEM gauge and new indicator status lights in the bezel. Adjacent to the stunning crown was two clip-on bar housings, upon which Harley-Davidson controls could be mounted. Rosie received a bit more style in the form of custom grips as well. 

It can look like a Cafe Racer, but it has to sound like a Harley-Davidson

No Harley-Davidson, whether custom build, garage queen, or second-hand runabout is complete without a great set of pipes. Rose featured a two-into-one exhaust system replacement for the underwhelming stock setup. The result was a louder, less restricted performer with a baritone bark. The stainless-steel heat shield and high profile added a cool flat-track racer motif to Rosie, in addition to freeing up a bit more power and noise. 

A few labors of love took this cookie cutter Nightster to new levels of cool.

It didn't take too much to transform the Nightster into a cool conversation starter, but it was clearly worth the sweat equity and every penny spent. It's pretty easy to see- with a few bucks and a vision these bikes can be totally customized into something truly unique and special. Rosie went from soft cruiser to a hard-knuckled canyon carving cafe custom.

>>Join in the conversation about Rosie the American Cafe Racer right here in Harley-Davidson Forums.

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