Not so much anymore, as times are changing and the Sportster is getting the respect it deserves. It’s true that a lot of Sporty owners fall into those two categories, but it’s also a fact that Harley’s Sportster has rather illustrious racing roots from flat trackers to dragsters to road racers in its history. You can’t really say that about any other H-D stock V-twin currently in...

  We arrived early during setup Saturday morning to get the best unobstructed shots as the motorcycles were being spotted and to see who was who and what was what. Windjammer guru Craig Vetter was there along with his wife Carol. Craig’s display was devoted to his current obsession with streamlining motorcycles for squeezing maximum miles out of a gallon of gasoline. Retired...

  We arrived early during setup Saturday morning to get the best unobstructed shots as the motorcycles were being spotted and to see who was who and what was what. Windjammer guru Craig Vetter was there along with his wife Carol. Craig’s display was devoted to his current obsession with streamlining motorcycles for squeezing maximum miles out of a gallon of gasoline. Retired...

  Armed with a giant piece of cardboard, Greg drew a full-size rendition of the bike he had in mind. “We’ve got the CAD/CAM [computer software for 3-D designing] but it’s actually faster to visualize it full-scale,” he said. Comfort was important in this build, so Greg lengthened the stock aluminum swingarm by two inches to give himself the wriggle room for mounting a single shock...

I’ve noticed that at a lot of the car shows I attend now have more and more motorcycles being shown, especially the antique car shows so hey, what’s good for four wheels is good for two. It also seems like in the last few years quite a few of the people building custom bikes have added cars to their repertoire. I especially like the idea that many of the bike builders like building...

Since then Steve has honed his building and racing interests. He runs annually in the vintage races at Daytona International Speedway and is a well-known collector and rebuilder of antique motorcycles and vehicles. He served as chief mechanic of one of the contestants in the recent Cannonball Memorial Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. So, on my arrival in Daytona, I made...

  As for how this came about in the first place, according to AFT’s website, “We wanted to raise the bar for spokes models in the Power Sports Industry. We carefully chose women with intelligence, a good work ethic, a sense of humor, strong family values and family support systems. The cool factor is they all help build world class customs in their spare time. These girls are in a...

  There are so many events held during the three-day event that there is never a dull moment. If you’re looking to see custom motorcycles there is the Artistry in Iron Master Builders Championship consisting of 20 of the hottest bikes in the country. Friday was the open bike show outside the Cashman Center and on Saturday a bagger-only show which was very impressive. Lots of bikes,...

  Originally the IronHorse was a typical production chopper that had some outrageous bones, but not a lot of special things about it to make it stand out in a sea of other late-2000-era production customs. The best part about these bikes (for buyers, not owners) is that they’re available wicked cheap and usually with little or no miles. You can’t buy a basic roller as cheaply as...

  The brilliant silver FLHRCI turned out to be a good choice as Kevin’s a big guy and it fit him well. “I wanted a nice riding bike, I enjoy an all day ride,” said Kevin. But like most H-D owners, stock was only good for so long and his wife was probably painfully aware that all those parts catalogs lying around the house were a portent of things to come. “I rode it while I worked...