Photo: Thunderbike
When you have more than two decades of experience in building motorcycles, coming up with designs such as the one we have in the gallery below it’s easy as pie.
The bike is called RS-R, and it is the work of German custom garage Thunderbike. The group is responsible for literally hundreds of unique designs, either based on existing, series-production Harley-Davidsons, or on its own frames, and using Harley engines.
There are roughly 15 custom frames in Thunderbike’s portfolio. The one chosen for this build is called Dragster RS, and it’s actually a kit. It comes with the frame itself, made from large diameter cold rolled steel tubing, but also the struts, fuel and oil tanks, the swingarm, fenders, and brackets for the engine, battery and so on.
The frame is the same one used on the RS-R Life Fitness, a motorcycle we already talked about last week. In this case as well, breathing life into the entire build is the Screamin’ Eagle 110 engine sourced from Harley. The Americans are the ones that also supplied the ignition, 6-speed transmission, and the electric system.
Pretty much everything else is custom, from the special exhaust to the headlamp. The bike rides on special wheels sized 18 inches front and rear, wrapped in Metzeler tires.
The build you see here was completed a decade ago by the Germans. We uncovered it and brought it back to light as part of our Custom Builds Month because, like most other Tunderbike machines, it’s worth a closer look.
The European custom bike industry is not as visible as the one in the U.S. The few shops that are round like to tweak every kind of motorcycle imaginable, but generally steer clear of Harley.
If alone Thunderbike managed in two and a half decades to create so many exciting builds, we wonder how far the continent would be in this respect if some true, major competition were around?
There are roughly 15 custom frames in Thunderbike’s portfolio. The one chosen for this build is called Dragster RS, and it’s actually a kit. It comes with the frame itself, made from large diameter cold rolled steel tubing, but also the struts, fuel and oil tanks, the swingarm, fenders, and brackets for the engine, battery and so on.
The frame is the same one used on the RS-R Life Fitness, a motorcycle we already talked about last week. In this case as well, breathing life into the entire build is the Screamin’ Eagle 110 engine sourced from Harley. The Americans are the ones that also supplied the ignition, 6-speed transmission, and the electric system.
Pretty much everything else is custom, from the special exhaust to the headlamp. The bike rides on special wheels sized 18 inches front and rear, wrapped in Metzeler tires.
The build you see here was completed a decade ago by the Germans. We uncovered it and brought it back to light as part of our Custom Builds Month because, like most other Tunderbike machines, it’s worth a closer look.
The European custom bike industry is not as visible as the one in the U.S. The few shops that are round like to tweak every kind of motorcycle imaginable, but generally steer clear of Harley.
If alone Thunderbike managed in two and a half decades to create so many exciting builds, we wonder how far the continent would be in this respect if some true, major competition were around?
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