Harley-Davidson Heritage Is Someone’s Idea of a Bobber, Small Bag Up Front Is to Die For

Today we’ll be looking at someone’s idea of a proper bobber motorcycle. That someone is Polish custom garage Nine Hills, a constant presence here on autoevolution. The proper bobber motorcycle, on the other hand, is a heavily modified Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail produced in 2009.

Officially, a bobber motorcycle is one that lacks any unnecessary hardware as its makers chase the ever-elusive weight reduction. Born in the 1930s, the term technically describes a bike with no front fender, a shorter one at the rear, no lights, no mirrors, and so on.

Obviously, that’s not what we have here (quite the opposite, as you’ll see below), as pretty much all the elements listed above are still there, although granted no longer in their original, stock form. Yet Nine Hills still calls this thing a bobber, justifying the choice of style by saying each custom garage has “its own specific vision for this particular genre.”

The bike is, at least visually, a delight, somehow managing to blend in a beautiful manner colors that don’t usually fit well together. We have black on the frame, wheels, and exhaust, Army-style green on the fuel tank (highlighted by the proper white star) and fenders, and brown leather on the seat, the cover for the fuel tank, and the two saddlebags.

That’s right, not only was this bike not stripped of some body parts, but it actually gained some weight with the addition of leather bags wherever bags could be fitted. We have a normal one on the left side, but also a much smaller, cutesy-looking one up front, above the headlight, put there for reasons that were not explained, but surely making an impression.

Nine Hills defends itself and its bobber build by saying it performed the proper trimming on mudguards, added balloon tires over the multi-spoke rims, and gave the whole thing a certain “old school spirit.”

We’re not informed of any modifications made to the bike’s stock powertrain, but it’s obvious at least the ride's breathing apparatus has changed – although no mention is made as to who supplied the exhaust system.

The Slimmer, as the project is called post-conversion, may not appear as a bobber in the purest sense of the style, but it is one of those bikes that tend to stay with you long after you’ve seen it.

We cannot tell you exactly where you can spot this bike right now (somewhere in Europe, most likely), and the price of the custom is not public. But when did that ever stop us from enjoying a well-baked Harley-Davidson?