Photo: Bad Land
Having more than a hundred years of history to its name, American bike maker Harley-Davidson probably has more defunct motorcycles in its past than others will ever roll off the assembly lines. And, as with most things Harley, no matter what defunct bike we’re talking about, there will always be someone somewhere willing to give it new life as a custom project.
Take the Rocker, for instance. Born back in 2008, this particular two-wheeler was not around for long. Made in two variants, Rocker and Rocker C, it went out the door three years after it first surfaced, and it is generally a discreet presence in the world since.
Yet, when an established custom shop gets its hands on one, and decides to revive it as a custom piece of engineering, the Rocker kind of feels appealing once more.
Called, as a nod to the French capital, Paris de Rocker (we are not told why this name was chosen), this here build, based on a 2010 Rocker, belongs to a Japanese shop called Bad Land, whose work we’ve featured before. Just like the other builds from this shop we’ve talked about until now, the Paris too is a testament to carefully crafted bits and parts, joined together harmoniously to give birth to something that sure is unique-looking.
Maintaining the elongated appearance of the stock Rocker, Bad Land modified the Softail with the usual mix of parts coming from different shops, although, granted, far fewer than what we’re used to.
Made in-house by the Japanese, for instance, are the headlight, handlebar, exhaust, and front and rear fender. These bits have been made to work with Ken’s Factory grip, mirror, turn signal, footpeg, and shifter peg, and the entire build was then propped on a pair of custom wheels, sized 23 inches front and 18 inches rear.
We are not being told if any changes were made to the bike’s engine, other than fitting the two-wheeler with a custom exhaust system. The cost of the build is also something Bad Land is not willing to share, but for reference we’ll remind you the stock one was priced back in its day at close to $18,000, which would be around $22,000 today.
Yet, when an established custom shop gets its hands on one, and decides to revive it as a custom piece of engineering, the Rocker kind of feels appealing once more.
Called, as a nod to the French capital, Paris de Rocker (we are not told why this name was chosen), this here build, based on a 2010 Rocker, belongs to a Japanese shop called Bad Land, whose work we’ve featured before. Just like the other builds from this shop we’ve talked about until now, the Paris too is a testament to carefully crafted bits and parts, joined together harmoniously to give birth to something that sure is unique-looking.
Maintaining the elongated appearance of the stock Rocker, Bad Land modified the Softail with the usual mix of parts coming from different shops, although, granted, far fewer than what we’re used to.
Made in-house by the Japanese, for instance, are the headlight, handlebar, exhaust, and front and rear fender. These bits have been made to work with Ken’s Factory grip, mirror, turn signal, footpeg, and shifter peg, and the entire build was then propped on a pair of custom wheels, sized 23 inches front and 18 inches rear.
We are not being told if any changes were made to the bike’s engine, other than fitting the two-wheeler with a custom exhaust system. The cost of the build is also something Bad Land is not willing to share, but for reference we’ll remind you the stock one was priced back in its day at close to $18,000, which would be around $22,000 today.
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