Photo: Lord Drake
It's no secret for anyone interested in custom motorcycles that inspiration for projects can come from the unlikeliest of places. But after years of seeing modified Harleys, I can safely say no bike I've ever seen was inspired by the.. cover of a jazz rap album. Until now, of course.
Starting in 1992, the British music scene became richer with the creation of a band called Us3. It's a niche group because, well, they cover jazz rap, but these guys hang on, having released no less than nine albums since.
Their first one was called Hand on the Torch, and comprised 13 songs, including perhaps the group's best-known one, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia). The album's cover was simplistic, featuring only the name of the band over a beige background and highlighted by several colorful strips.
You can have a look at the cover in the gallery attached to this piece, as we've placed it right next to the custom Harley-Davidson Sportster that's meant to honor it. That's right, a moto build celebrating not a band, but one of the band's albums, of all things.
The idea of having this made popped into the head of an unnamed Spaniard, and was executed by custom garage Lord Drake.
In simple words, the Sportster was turned into a scrambler, with cues taken from two of Lord Drake's most famous lines of bikes, the Bultracker and Soulbreaker. After that was done, the same color scheme as on the album cover, with just a small variation (white instead of beige), was used to cover the main body parts.
When the blue, orange, red and green were all in the right places, further detailing such as special graphics and the number 411 were fitted – sadly, we get no info on what 411 is supposed to mean. A closer look at the thing also reveals black, white and gold detailing on the suspension cylinders and on the swingarm at the rear.
When all was said and done, the same name as the album, Hand on the Torch, was slapped onto the finished product.
Paint job aside, the bike is a true sight to behold. Riding on Harley-Davidson big spoke wheels, it rocks the original engine in the frame, now breathing through a Roland Sands Design 2-in-1 exhaust system.
Smaller parts, like the handlebars and odometer installed in the handlebar, were sourced from BMW and motogadget, respectively.
As usual, Lord Drake does not say how much the Harley-Davidson Hand on the Torch cost to put together, or where the bike is presently spinning its wheels. Given how this is the most recent build of the Spanish crew, we're pretty certain that wherever it is it does not go by unnoticed.
Their first one was called Hand on the Torch, and comprised 13 songs, including perhaps the group's best-known one, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia). The album's cover was simplistic, featuring only the name of the band over a beige background and highlighted by several colorful strips.
You can have a look at the cover in the gallery attached to this piece, as we've placed it right next to the custom Harley-Davidson Sportster that's meant to honor it. That's right, a moto build celebrating not a band, but one of the band's albums, of all things.
The idea of having this made popped into the head of an unnamed Spaniard, and was executed by custom garage Lord Drake.
In simple words, the Sportster was turned into a scrambler, with cues taken from two of Lord Drake's most famous lines of bikes, the Bultracker and Soulbreaker. After that was done, the same color scheme as on the album cover, with just a small variation (white instead of beige), was used to cover the main body parts.
When the blue, orange, red and green were all in the right places, further detailing such as special graphics and the number 411 were fitted – sadly, we get no info on what 411 is supposed to mean. A closer look at the thing also reveals black, white and gold detailing on the suspension cylinders and on the swingarm at the rear.
When all was said and done, the same name as the album, Hand on the Torch, was slapped onto the finished product.
Paint job aside, the bike is a true sight to behold. Riding on Harley-Davidson big spoke wheels, it rocks the original engine in the frame, now breathing through a Roland Sands Design 2-in-1 exhaust system.
Smaller parts, like the handlebars and odometer installed in the handlebar, were sourced from BMW and motogadget, respectively.
As usual, Lord Drake does not say how much the Harley-Davidson Hand on the Torch cost to put together, or where the bike is presently spinning its wheels. Given how this is the most recent build of the Spanish crew, we're pretty certain that wherever it is it does not go by unnoticed.
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