Sundance Enterprises Inc. in Tokyo, Japan, is the lovechild of Zak Shibazaki, who makes custom bikes that focus on overall performance, rather than only on looks. The term “Custom Builder” is not an image he really identifies with. If anything, “Custom Engineer” more closely identifies his approach to bike building. When his friend and editor of Japan’s Hard Core Chopper...

  Whatever Buell that engine came from is just about intact other than the engine as TPJ built a new frame, swingarm, tank, fenders, seat, and more to house the engine. A new set of lightweight spoked wheels with Excel rims and Avon tires allows this sucker to be thrown around with reckless abandon, yet all that happens is a bit more seat patina. Braking is courtesy of France by...

  Possibly the biggest compliment they could get is that this bike was built for a previously satisfied customer as Jarrod explained how this build came about. “This was a commissioned build for a customer who already owns two other DPC machines. While we were discussing design ideas, he mentioned that his favorite driver of all time is the late three-time Formula One World...

Taking a studied approach to future customization, George kept an eye out on different builders’ styles and their attention to detail before finally settling on Robert Gilliland Customs in Jackson, Ohio, to discuss a potential build. “George is an older gentleman and likes the old street rods with long fenders and ’34-style taillights,” said Robert Gilliland. “I studied the bike...

  The bike’s streetfighter styling didn’t spring from a single mind, though; it was Matt’s interpretation of what his customer, Jason Ostrander, wanted. “At first Jason told me he just wanted a bagger that was clean and fast, but when we got down to business, I heard the real story. He wanted to make sure his bike was faster than his friend’s bike that I built a few months before....

Ask yourself, do I have the skills to build it or the money to have it built by someone else? There are plenty of excuses why building a custom would be impossible (usually money), so what do you do? Well, you could continue buying one piece at a time and getting nowhere in particular or you could try and give your Harley a whole new overall look in one fell swoop. Something that...

  Ed Syer, owner of Huntington Beach Hogs and Choppers (HBHC), in Southern California, made this custom out of the few useable parts left over from his motorcycle accident in 2002. “I had just bought my first brand new Harley, a 2002 Fat Boy. Six months later, a guy ran a stoplight and T-boned me with his Mercedes. I’ll never forget the date, August 16, the same day that Elvis...

  Holger started with a Street Rod and apparently never looked back. He’s modified quite a few V-Rods and has his own ideas about what they should look. I can tell you they’re not for the faint of heart. The chromed modified frame holds one of NLC’s three-piece swingarms that finds a 330 Avon stuffed in between the machined cut-out chainstay. Up front, super beefy NLC inverted...

Carey Kiser of Concord, North Carolina, seems to be cut from the same cloth as old George and didn’t let a tough economy stop him from having a cool bike that he can ride the living pee out of while not being part of a same-cow, making-payments herd. This work in progress piece is based on the smart man’s donor bike, a late model Buell utilizing the high quality components like...

  Bryan, 33, had never even considered owning a motorcycle; in fact, he’d never even ridden one. But one fateful day, as he was chopping grass in the melting heat, he caught a glimpse of a brand new Harley Nightster sitting in the open garage of a customer. It was sort of a magical moment for Bryan. “It was just a beautiful bike,” he said. I imagine there were little harps playing...