Photo: Bundnerbike
Simply put, a bobber motorcycle is a kind of two-wheeler with a shorter fender than stock at the back, and no fender at all at the front. As we've learned after and years and years of going through custom bikes made all over the world, a bobber can be pretty much what its maker wants it to be.
By the unpretentious definition I mentioned earlier, the Harley-Davidson Golden Boy is a bobber true and true. There is no mudguard over the front wheel to speak of, while the rear one is much shorter than stock and somewhat sunk into the frame.
But a true bobber also sheds a lot of unnecessary bits and pieces as the ultimate goal of the bike is to be as lightweight as possible. A quick look at this custom ride will give you the impression the exact opposite happened.
The bike started out life as a Harley-Davidson Softail Slim S. It was sold and ridden in stock form for a while somewhere in Europe, until its owner decided it was time for a makeover and handed it over to Swiss garage Bundnerbike for the transformation.
The resulting build, in the view of the shop that handled it, "proves that you can very well draw exciting and innovative ideas from the past and convert them into something completely new, unique and simply breathtaking." Whether that's so or not is up to anyone of us to judge.
The first thing Bundnerbike did was stretch the frame as to give to bike both a longer and lower appearance - it's unclear by how much. A Springer fork was installed up front to further emphasize that effect, adorned on the upper side with a old-school style handlebar.
At the opposite end an aftermarket rear panel with an integrated and very slim leather seat was fitted, contributing to the vintage appearance of the ride. Curved running boards can be seen on either side of the bike.
The Harley was propped on new, custom wheels, with the wires that shoot out from the center to the rim wearing a copper-gold color that's visible elsewhere on the machine as well.
The engine sitting in the frame is the same one Harley fitted in there when it made the bike, but it now breathes through a new exhaust system supplied by specialist Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde and equipped with a custom-made manifold.
The pure bobber-style bad boy is an older build of the Swiss shop, so its current whereabouts are not known – it's probably safe to assume the bike roams some European roads. And unknown is the price of the conversion as well, an affair that, as usually when it comes to Bundnerbike builds, is only for the builder of the bike and the customer who had it made to know.
But a true bobber also sheds a lot of unnecessary bits and pieces as the ultimate goal of the bike is to be as lightweight as possible. A quick look at this custom ride will give you the impression the exact opposite happened.
The bike started out life as a Harley-Davidson Softail Slim S. It was sold and ridden in stock form for a while somewhere in Europe, until its owner decided it was time for a makeover and handed it over to Swiss garage Bundnerbike for the transformation.
The resulting build, in the view of the shop that handled it, "proves that you can very well draw exciting and innovative ideas from the past and convert them into something completely new, unique and simply breathtaking." Whether that's so or not is up to anyone of us to judge.
The first thing Bundnerbike did was stretch the frame as to give to bike both a longer and lower appearance - it's unclear by how much. A Springer fork was installed up front to further emphasize that effect, adorned on the upper side with a old-school style handlebar.
At the opposite end an aftermarket rear panel with an integrated and very slim leather seat was fitted, contributing to the vintage appearance of the ride. Curved running boards can be seen on either side of the bike.
The Harley was propped on new, custom wheels, with the wires that shoot out from the center to the rim wearing a copper-gold color that's visible elsewhere on the machine as well.
The engine sitting in the frame is the same one Harley fitted in there when it made the bike, but it now breathes through a new exhaust system supplied by specialist Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde and equipped with a custom-made manifold.
The pure bobber-style bad boy is an older build of the Swiss shop, so its current whereabouts are not known – it's probably safe to assume the bike roams some European roads. And unknown is the price of the conversion as well, an affair that, as usually when it comes to Bundnerbike builds, is only for the builder of the bike and the customer who had it made to know.
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