Photo: Lord Drake
Back in 2021 Harley-Davidson brought back the Sportster nameplate in the form of what is likely the most aggressive-looking bike in the current portfolio. Officially selling as the Sportster S, the sport motorcycle should have given all sorts of crazy ideas to custom garages around the world.
Strangely enough, the number of customized new Sportsters that come to light these days is far beneath expectations. So when I'm saying the one we have here is the most brutal of this new breed yet, that doesn't amount to much, now does it? Yet the Draker, as this thing is called, is more than worthy of its 15 minutes of fame.
The project is the work of Spanish custom garage Lord Drake and it is described as one of the first Sportster S bikes to be fitted with a 240 mm wide rear tire pulled over a custom, spoked rim. For reference, in stock form Harley supplies the motorcycle with a 180 tire.
Lord Drake says that, to its knowledge, only one other garage (it's unclear which one) opted to fit a wheel so wide on a Sportster, but in that case we were not talking about a multi-spoke rim – and that makes the Draker the first Sportster of its kind.
At the opposite end it's the small custom elements that come into view first, more precisely the handlebar, the fender shielding the wheel, and the LED turn signals. The mask designed to cover the headlight plays its part as well.
Unseen to the naked eye, changes made to the subframe allowed for the fitting of a new seat with carefully crafted upholstery, and a modified, hand-built license plate holder over the rear wheel.
The frame of the bike holds the Sportster's original engine, the Revolution Max 1250T rated at 121 hp and 94 ft-lb of torque. The bike's original exhaust system has been replaced by a new, custom one, and braking power is supplied by aftermarket front and rear discs.
When all the mechanical work was done, Lord Drake wrapped the entire bike in the most brutal combination of white, black, and orange paints, carefully highlighted by detailing, pinstriping, and 1250 graphics.
One great thing about the Harley-Davidson Draker is that it is road legal, at least over in Spain. Another is that Lord Drake can have something similar made for pretty much everyone who wants or needs such a bike.
There is that issue of the total cost of the build, something the garage seldom shares. Turning a Sportster into something like this is probably not cheap, despite the rather affordable starting price of the two-wheeler over at Harley: $16,399.
Now the only thing left is to hope more garages will jump soon on the Sportster train, as the bike clearly has a lot of customizing potential.
The project is the work of Spanish custom garage Lord Drake and it is described as one of the first Sportster S bikes to be fitted with a 240 mm wide rear tire pulled over a custom, spoked rim. For reference, in stock form Harley supplies the motorcycle with a 180 tire.
Lord Drake says that, to its knowledge, only one other garage (it's unclear which one) opted to fit a wheel so wide on a Sportster, but in that case we were not talking about a multi-spoke rim – and that makes the Draker the first Sportster of its kind.
At the opposite end it's the small custom elements that come into view first, more precisely the handlebar, the fender shielding the wheel, and the LED turn signals. The mask designed to cover the headlight plays its part as well.
Unseen to the naked eye, changes made to the subframe allowed for the fitting of a new seat with carefully crafted upholstery, and a modified, hand-built license plate holder over the rear wheel.
The frame of the bike holds the Sportster's original engine, the Revolution Max 1250T rated at 121 hp and 94 ft-lb of torque. The bike's original exhaust system has been replaced by a new, custom one, and braking power is supplied by aftermarket front and rear discs.
When all the mechanical work was done, Lord Drake wrapped the entire bike in the most brutal combination of white, black, and orange paints, carefully highlighted by detailing, pinstriping, and 1250 graphics.
One great thing about the Harley-Davidson Draker is that it is road legal, at least over in Spain. Another is that Lord Drake can have something similar made for pretty much everyone who wants or needs such a bike.
There is that issue of the total cost of the build, something the garage seldom shares. Turning a Sportster into something like this is probably not cheap, despite the rather affordable starting price of the two-wheeler over at Harley: $16,399.
Now the only thing left is to hope more garages will jump soon on the Sportster train, as the bike clearly has a lot of customizing potential.
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