Erik was a very good engineer at Harley and the bikes bearing his name had some innovative engineering like rubber-mounting, good brakes and suspension and a hot rod Sportster engine, but they unfortunately lacked panache ─ Harley-Davidson panache. Erik almost single-handedly made “mass centralization” a term that other manufacturers across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans take notice and incorporate as their new bike building mantra. The problem for Erik was that they weren’t doing this with what’s usually considered an archaic engine design by those who just don’t get the Harley thing.
With a Harley, it’s all about the engine and style and unfortunately all Erik had was a very cool hot rod engine. Anybody looking for a very sporty and fun to ride Harley experience had to own a Buell and while the engine and suspension were up to the task, the style was not. A vintage engine sitting in a high tech chassis on a Buell dealer’s show room floor just sat there. Anybody looking for high tech sport bikes bought something metric. Anybody looking for a vintage engine sporty bike didn’t care about the mass centralized muffler under the engine that looked like it was off a UPS truck, they wanted a beautiful set of pipes that still had the 45-degree V-twin sound and you couldn’t get that with a truck muffler.
Maybe Harley-Davidson was a bit scared to jump into the pool after the Willie G. 1977-1979 XLCR fiasco. Unfortunately it was a good looking bike in the wrong time and place, but it at least had that all-important H-D badge sitting prominently on the tank. Today, it’s a cultish collector’s bike that people like to look at even if it’s only out of Harley curiosity. It was a looker, though, Willie G. got that right. So, calling it a Buell was probably The Motor Company’s way of trying to resuscitate the spirit of the XLCR and maybe make a few bucks without taking a hit on their well deserved reputation. Personally, I think they didn’t really understand their own market and that a real modern retro-version of the XLCR with an H-D logo might just sell to the older market that would be more interested in sporty looks and ride than being the fastest kid on the block.
The lovely all-black beauty with just a light touch of red, café-style Sportster built by Scott Britt of 17 Customs in Little River, South Carolina, could have been the perfect basic template for a modern XLCR that would not only appeal to older riders looking for a cool, sporty Saturday afternoon ride, but probably to the coffee-drinking hipsters of today too. Being based on a 2007 XL, it even had rubber mounting like a Buell did and that obviously has its own appeal as modern Sportsters are hard for Harley dealers to keep in stock. Seems like the old “girl’s bike” thing has finally been put to rest with the appreciation the current models are receiving.
Scott approached this build thoughtfully chucking all the OEM body parts from the tank to the fenders to the seat onto a shelf before modifying and making attractive bits and pieces to replace them. There’s a great amount of respect to keeping the replacement bodywork in line with a retro café style that looks right in a café traditional way. The tank is heavily influenced by the look of an old Norton Manx racer while the seat tail unit looks like a hip style you’d expect to find at the Ace Café parking lot. Both are clean, not over done, but the tail with its frenched in taillight has just the right hint of modern custom to it. Throw on the more-style-than-substance fly screen and you’ve got a minimalist look that doesn’t look minimal. It’s just right.
No clip-ons (or backs) were harmed in the making of this café racer as Scott kept his cool and put on a low rise bar that’s sporty, but not clip-on sporty. The riding position is definitely not cruiser as the rear-sets as far back from forward controls as you can get. But, it’s pretty comfy to spend a day on and definitely helps keep the front end weighted for sharp handling. And, just like a set of apes sets the style for other custom Harleys, the attitude of a set of low bars shows what the owner is into just like any other Harley owner tries to do whether it’s a Road King or a chopper. Stock hand controls with fancy levers and a set of vintage-style grips finish it off with a vintage café flourish.
Suspension was important and putting on a set of long Progressive Suspension rear shocks gave more lean angle and more suspension travel. Better handling and a more comfy ride in one fell swoop. Up front the forks had a mild internal reworking to match the agility of the new rear shocks and all was good. The stock mag wheels were kept, but fitted with much sportier rubber. The brakes appear to be stock Sportster Low setups front and rear with some fancy master cylinder mounting for the rear brake. The stock belt drive was kept but the sprocket cover has been cut out for a more mechanical look. Hey, why mess with a good thing like a belt if it works and you’re trying to keep things on a budget?
The 1200 Evolution engine has been treated to the usual Stage 1 tune, but with some good looking bits like the free-flowing air cleaner and a beautifully nasty looking 2-into1 exhaust fitted with O2 bungs to keep the EFI on the up and up. I’ve never heard it run, but damn, it’s gotta sound good. The slightest hop-up on a now-lighter bike brings more reward to the performance than might seem possible, but in this case 1+1 = 3 and that’s good. Not good math, but a damn good time. With the only shiny bits being the polished fin edges, it looks more menacing in all its black heartedness too.
Matter of fact, the simple, but effective blackness extends all over the machine other than a few red bits and the red wheel stripes. Nothing elaborate, no unnecessary graphics which is good, but it is missing one important thing to me anyway. It just should have an XLCR-style badge on the tank. Until then, I feel like it’s missing something important like a Buell did ─ a genuine Harley-Davidson logo. Hey, that’s easy to add so no big whoop. Apparently it didn’t bother the judges at the recent Charlotte Easyriders show as Scott’s bike won first place in the custom Sportster class. Not bad for a café-style Harley-Davidson to kill it at an Easyriders show. Maybe there is something extra special to that Harley-Davidson cache after all.
For more info on what Scott Britt’s up to at 17 Customs, check out his website at https://www.17customs.com/.