Photo: Nine Hills
Generally speaking, the custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles we bring under our spotlight are all shiny and stunning, with an incredible care for detail being observed, no matter the shop responsible for the build. We almost never get to see someone going on purpose for a “used” look when building a custom based on a relatively new motorcycle. Until now.
Enter the Defender, a former 2013 Harley-Davidson Breakout that crossed the path of the Poles from Nine Hills Motorcycles. Their bikes too are generally clean and polished, but not this one. This one is made, on purpose, to look “like being pulled out of a forgotten barn.”
There’s virtually only one way to achieve that without literally destroying the base machine itself, and that’s through the clever use of paint and patina. And that’s exactly what the shop did, managing to add decades of age to a thing we all know to be much younger than that.
Stains and patches of peeling paint in grey, white and red are to be seen on the custom fenders, fuel tank, and other body elements, making the entire custom body of the machine look like it's been dragged against a wall during some failed maneuver.
That’s not what we get once our eyes move down, below the waist of the thing. Lower, everything looks shiny and new, betraying the upper part as nothing more than a visual gimmick.
The shine on the aftermarket parts comes from the fact they’re all new. The Breakout was enhanced by means of custom wheels, new brake discs, an air filter sourced from Performance Machine, a motogadget speedometer, and, of course, a custom exhaust, supplied by BSL.
The customized Breakout is called Defender in Nine Hills speak, a moniker chosen because the bike “defends good old values,” whatever that means. And speaking of value, Nine Hills does not say how much the Defender cost to put together.
There’s virtually only one way to achieve that without literally destroying the base machine itself, and that’s through the clever use of paint and patina. And that’s exactly what the shop did, managing to add decades of age to a thing we all know to be much younger than that.
Stains and patches of peeling paint in grey, white and red are to be seen on the custom fenders, fuel tank, and other body elements, making the entire custom body of the machine look like it's been dragged against a wall during some failed maneuver.
That’s not what we get once our eyes move down, below the waist of the thing. Lower, everything looks shiny and new, betraying the upper part as nothing more than a visual gimmick.
The shine on the aftermarket parts comes from the fact they’re all new. The Breakout was enhanced by means of custom wheels, new brake discs, an air filter sourced from Performance Machine, a motogadget speedometer, and, of course, a custom exhaust, supplied by BSL.
The customized Breakout is called Defender in Nine Hills speak, a moniker chosen because the bike “defends good old values,” whatever that means. And speaking of value, Nine Hills does not say how much the Defender cost to put together.
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