Photo: Thunder Road Motorcycles via Facebook
Some Harley purists like to poke fun at the Sportster, but this particular specimen would have them eating their words.
Thunder Road Motorcycles was co-founded by Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda all the way back in 1989, but the L.A.-based shop is currently owned by Max Hushahn. He’s not the kind of guy to micro-manage every aspect of Thunder Road’s projects, normally entrusting his crew members to get the job done as they see fit.
Consequently, the bike you’re looking at here was built by a man named Clint Hanaway, and it all started with a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 from the model-year 2001. Clint aimed to turn 883cc hog into a road-friendly dirt tracker stripped of all the unessential bits and pieces, kicking off the transformation process with a customary teardown.
From the get-go, the lad knew what sort of rubber he wanted for the Harley, so the first step was to wrap its wheels in Firestone ANS tires. Next, Clint had the Sportster’s forks fitted with progressive springs and fresh rubber gaiters, subsequently treating their lowers to a glossy layer of black paint. On the other hand, the original shock absorbers were ditched to make way for higher-spec units from Burly Brand.
These support a revised subframe, which is topped with a solo aftermarket seat supplied by Biltwell. As for the new rear fender, it hails from Lowbrow Customs’ catalog of bolt-on parts, and it carries a stylish LED taillight placed right behind the saddle. The license plate bracket is now attached to the swingarm on the right-hand side.
Aside from the seat, Biltwell also delivered a cross-braced handlebar and a pair of aluminum foot pegs, but that angular skid plate comes from Bison Motorsports. Moving on to the powertrain-related work, we find an aftermarket air cleaner replacing the factory module, and it’s accompanied by a custom high-mounted exhaust system at the other end of the combustion cycle.
The twin mufflers are Biltwell parts, too, while the Harley’s standard belt drive has been deleted in favor of a chain. In addition, ample stopping power is made possible by rebuilt front and rear brakes. Electrical juice runs through a youthful wiring harness that’s been put together in-house, with each and every wire discreetly hidden out of sight.
In order to keep the front-end visual bulk at a minimum, Sir Hanaway fitted a tiny, yet bright headlamp using bespoke brackets. Last but not least, the finishing touch came in the form of a peanut-style gas tank of aftermarket origin, which was carefully tweaked to fit atop the creature’s framework.
A stunning color scheme rounds everything out, featuring a light blue base, multi-colored pinstripes, and retro AMF graphics. Having attained its current form in 2015, this Sportster 883-based dirt tracker was sold to a lucky new owner for around $15k. To be fair, that’s a small price to pay given how much elbow grease went into the customization procedure!
Consequently, the bike you’re looking at here was built by a man named Clint Hanaway, and it all started with a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 from the model-year 2001. Clint aimed to turn 883cc hog into a road-friendly dirt tracker stripped of all the unessential bits and pieces, kicking off the transformation process with a customary teardown.
From the get-go, the lad knew what sort of rubber he wanted for the Harley, so the first step was to wrap its wheels in Firestone ANS tires. Next, Clint had the Sportster’s forks fitted with progressive springs and fresh rubber gaiters, subsequently treating their lowers to a glossy layer of black paint. On the other hand, the original shock absorbers were ditched to make way for higher-spec units from Burly Brand.
These support a revised subframe, which is topped with a solo aftermarket seat supplied by Biltwell. As for the new rear fender, it hails from Lowbrow Customs’ catalog of bolt-on parts, and it carries a stylish LED taillight placed right behind the saddle. The license plate bracket is now attached to the swingarm on the right-hand side.
Aside from the seat, Biltwell also delivered a cross-braced handlebar and a pair of aluminum foot pegs, but that angular skid plate comes from Bison Motorsports. Moving on to the powertrain-related work, we find an aftermarket air cleaner replacing the factory module, and it’s accompanied by a custom high-mounted exhaust system at the other end of the combustion cycle.
The twin mufflers are Biltwell parts, too, while the Harley’s standard belt drive has been deleted in favor of a chain. In addition, ample stopping power is made possible by rebuilt front and rear brakes. Electrical juice runs through a youthful wiring harness that’s been put together in-house, with each and every wire discreetly hidden out of sight.
In order to keep the front-end visual bulk at a minimum, Sir Hanaway fitted a tiny, yet bright headlamp using bespoke brackets. Last but not least, the finishing touch came in the form of a peanut-style gas tank of aftermarket origin, which was carefully tweaked to fit atop the creature’s framework.
A stunning color scheme rounds everything out, featuring a light blue base, multi-colored pinstripes, and retro AMF graphics. Having attained its current form in 2015, this Sportster 883-based dirt tracker was sold to a lucky new owner for around $15k. To be fair, that’s a small price to pay given how much elbow grease went into the customization procedure!
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