Between 1984 and 1999 American bike maker Harley-Davidson fitted some of the bikes it made with an engine called Evolution. It was such a great piece of engineering that, regardless of the models that used it (most of them Softails), they collectively became known as Evo motorcycles.
These rides, although no longer in production (and for a long time at that), are still making the rounds today, most of the time in highly customized form – the results of ideas born in all corners of this Earth.
The bike you're looking at now is one of the most recent Evo conversions we've been able to come across. It was shown by Spanish custom garage Lord Drake earlier this month as a "collector's condition" ride with all the proper mods.
The bike is by birth a 1996 Softail Heritage, and it is currently owned by Lord Drake's founder, Francisco Ali Manen. It's not a new ride by any measure, but not an extensively used one either: the odometer reads just 7,500 km (4,660 miles).
It doesn't look like it used to, though, and that's owed to extensive customization work performed on it, which included not only the replacing of certain elements, but also the cutting of the subframe to accommodate the idea behind the custom: a classic bike with "a totally modern, aggressive, sporty and of course custom bike style."
We'll start at the front, where the original fork is still there, only in lowered form and wearing a deep black color all over. It holds in place a Harley-Davidson-sourced, 21-inch front wheel with just a hint of fender on top. Behind it the frame of the Softail is protected by the most discreet of spoilers.
Further to the back and up on the frame, the Evo's original fuel tank has been replaced by a teardrop-shaped one that seamlessly flows backward to transform itself into a micro-perforated leather seat with orange double diamond stitching.
The rear of the bike presents an equally Harley-sourced wheel, this one sized 18 inches in diameter and wearing a rubber 240 mm wide – this is where the custom bike drew part of its name from. The wheel is held in place by a custom swingarm which pushes the license plate holder to the other side.
The frame of the bike still holds the original, carbureted 1,340cc (82ci) engine, gifted with a new breathing apparatus, in the form of two black exhaust pipes and a matching, but chrome air filter.
All the changes made to the Heritage, along with what was left as stock, were painted in matt graphite gray, highlighted by a black stripe with orange accents running the length of the two-wheeler.
The cost of the Harley-Davidson Evo 240 is not known, but we all know how these things usually go.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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