Photo: Bundnerbike
The name General Lee, when used in connection with some kind of motorized vehicle, usually gets one thinking of a certain orange 1969 Dodge Charger. In fact, it only gets one thinking about that, because that's the car that made it famous. But what if I told you someone, somewhere, made a General Lee motorcycle?
Back in a time when cars took the second row, behind more pressing issues, a studio called CBS released a TV series called Dukes of Hazzard. It was a story about two Georgian (as in the American Georgia) cousins trying to fight law enforcement the best they could in a bid to advance their plans, all while being on probation for running moonshine.
Like any self-respecting bad guy in the U.S., the Duke boys, Bo and Luke, used whatever means at their disposal for the task at hand. And the list of such means included a very special Dodge Charger, featuring the number 01 on the sides and the Confederate battle flag on the roof. I know, I know, but those were different times…
It's said that during the shooting of the series no less than 325 Dodge Chargers were used for filming, each of them taking turns being General Lee, as the car was known, and getting destroyed on a regular basis.
Despite the large number of cars used to play the role, nobody knows how many of them are still around. Last time we checked, one of the Chargers used during season one was in a museum in Illinois called Volo, and that's about it.
Oh, and we also know of countless replicas of the General being made over the years, many of them constantly selling during the country's most high-profile auctions. Naturally, all of these replicas are cars, and most of the time based on 1969 Chargers.
Not the one we have here, obviously. This one is not a Charger, and not even a car for that matter. It is, in fact, a Harley-Davidson Sportster of unspecified model year, remade in the image of the Dukes of Hazzard vehicle by the talented Swiss hands from Bundnerbike.
Sadly, the shop does not provide any actual details as to what was done to the bike, so we're only left with the changes our eyes can spot. And that would be alterations to the bike's exhaust system, its wheels, and front and rear ends.
The most visible upgrade, and the one responsible for the General Lee name the bike now wears, is the color of the body parts, a shade of brown that's not exactly the orange of the Charger, but works wonders with the blue and white of the Confederate stars and stripes. And there's even the 01 number inscribed on the right side for the effect to be complete.
After seeing literally hundreds of custom Harleys over the past few years, I must admit this bike is the most daring in design, as it blends not one, not two, but three American icons: a Milwaukee-made motorcycle, an all-too-American TV series of the 1980s, and a muscle car that continues to set turn heads and empty pockets.
Like any self-respecting bad guy in the U.S., the Duke boys, Bo and Luke, used whatever means at their disposal for the task at hand. And the list of such means included a very special Dodge Charger, featuring the number 01 on the sides and the Confederate battle flag on the roof. I know, I know, but those were different times…
It's said that during the shooting of the series no less than 325 Dodge Chargers were used for filming, each of them taking turns being General Lee, as the car was known, and getting destroyed on a regular basis.
Despite the large number of cars used to play the role, nobody knows how many of them are still around. Last time we checked, one of the Chargers used during season one was in a museum in Illinois called Volo, and that's about it.
Oh, and we also know of countless replicas of the General being made over the years, many of them constantly selling during the country's most high-profile auctions. Naturally, all of these replicas are cars, and most of the time based on 1969 Chargers.
Not the one we have here, obviously. This one is not a Charger, and not even a car for that matter. It is, in fact, a Harley-Davidson Sportster of unspecified model year, remade in the image of the Dukes of Hazzard vehicle by the talented Swiss hands from Bundnerbike.
Sadly, the shop does not provide any actual details as to what was done to the bike, so we're only left with the changes our eyes can spot. And that would be alterations to the bike's exhaust system, its wheels, and front and rear ends.
The most visible upgrade, and the one responsible for the General Lee name the bike now wears, is the color of the body parts, a shade of brown that's not exactly the orange of the Charger, but works wonders with the blue and white of the Confederate stars and stripes. And there's even the 01 number inscribed on the right side for the effect to be complete.
After seeing literally hundreds of custom Harleys over the past few years, I must admit this bike is the most daring in design, as it blends not one, not two, but three American icons: a Milwaukee-made motorcycle, an all-too-American TV series of the 1980s, and a muscle car that continues to set turn heads and empty pockets.
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