Click here for more photos

Brothers Justin and Jarrod Del Prado, owners of DP Custom Cycles in New River, Arizona, took this 1982 Harley-Davidson Sportster Ironhead to the next level by channeling the classic days of Le Mans racing. Of the Le’ Mans Bobber Justin said, “I built the bike for my brother Jarrod, but he was the inspiration for it. It was all his idea. He’s the race fan in the family and wanted to bring the spirit of racing nostalgia into a rigid old school bobber.  He wanted to incorporate similar graphics used on modern day F1 Ferraris with the number 6 to represent his favorite all-time Indy racer, Mario Andretti.”

But the design for the bike didn’t come easy. In the beginning, Justin and Jarrod had a completely different style in mind. “At first, we started out with a design that still used a sort of wing concept…a controversial idea that we couldn’t really agree on,” Justin said. “After a lot of debate, one thing led to another and we switched it up to the bike it is today.”

The outcome has made the bike a favorite at DP Customs, but because the Le’ Mans Bobber is without an odometer, “We’re not sure how many miles are it but it gets ridden a lot,” Justin said. “Mainly weekend leisure rides to the local bike pit-stops out here. Here in New River, we’re lucky to have great riding weather year round. So far, this ’82 has run like a top. No issues at all, knock on wood.”

The build was not without its quirks, however. The rear wing/ fender gave Justin a little trouble. “It’s all steel and had to be laser straight or it would otherwise look terrible,” he said. “It had to sit level from the profile, contoured perfectly to fit the curves of the fender and line up exactly straight with the backbone of the bike. It took a while but I got it right and I’m very happy with the outcome. She handles like a dream… light and nimble with crisp steering.  The rake is stock, so turns nice.  The Ironhead pulls strong and the brakes work well with the dual front discs. Also, it’s surprisingly comfortable for a rigid.”

Creating the Le’ Mans Bobber was a two-fold build. It gave Jarrod a cool ride, and, said Justin, “It’s a bike that will hopefully give people something a little different to appreciate versus the typical bobber. It started out as a stock Sportster and was torn apart down to the frame. It was cut in half, hardtailed, lowered and stretched about four inches. The motor is basically a stock 1000cc Ironhead that sounds wicked through the full length shotgun pipes. All the supporting pieces were made by hand, battery box, circuit panel, oil tank, etcetera.”

Justin’s favorite aspect of the bike is the color scheme. “The red works real well with the black powdercoated wheels, white graphics and intentionally distressed aluminum parts,” he said. “The bike hasn’t been to any shows, just   local watering holes and informal gatherings but it always gets a ton, and I mean a ton, of attention. The red paint really pops in the sunlight and the lines of the bike are unique, yet tasteful. Some folks aren’t crazy about the wing, while many others say it’s the coolest thing they’ve seen in a long time.” He also likes that seat by Biltwell Inc. “I can’t say enough about it. The quality is top notch, from the packaging it arrived in, to the build quality, to the extreme comfort,” he said. “The best I’ve used so far.” And so far, the Del Prado brothers have built quite a few bikes for what Justin describes as a small operation. “We can only get to one or two a month,” he said. “Almost all have been Ironhead or Evo bobbers but I’m finishing my first cafe’ racer this week, should be real cool to see on the road.” For his own bikes Justin’s got a couple of Ironheads in the works. Jarrod has a Kawasaki Ninja in classic green. “He prefers some contrast between his bikes, a little Old School and a little technology,” Justin said.

We expect to see a lot from DP Custom Cycles in the future, and the brothers have no plans of slowing down. Next up for Justin is an Ironhead project. “My friends are sick of me saying this but I’ve been procrastinating on a turbo Ironhead project,” he said. “I’ll get to it, and when I do I will do smokey burn-outs all over the place.” To check in with the Del Prado brothers and see what they’re up to, click over to www.dpcustomcycles.com and check out their gallery of bikes.