Harley-Davidson Road King Motor Witch Was Built to Be Ridden, Not Admired

Also known as Motor Witch, Wilson builds complete custom Harleys in his spare time. For this year’s Born-Free motorcycle show, he came up with this special interpretation of a 2019 Road King Special. He chose to do that because it was “the path of least resistance” toward the desired end product.

Road Kings are described by their maker as “stripped-down highway legends,” touring machines that are both heavy and wide enough to ensure smooth rides for long stretches. For his build, Motor Witch tried to go the opposite way, shedding some weight and narrowing the bike down.

For that to happen, significant changes were made at the back, where the saddlebags and all the covers were removed to make room for custom elements attached to the rear frame section.

Extensive changes were made at the front as well. The fuel tank has been replaced with one taken from a 2009 Road King and modified into a single-side fill piece. Ahead of it is a Harley speedometer with included tach, prototype triple trees, and an inverted fork. The headlight is of Baja Design make.

Because Motor Witch is involved with Leading Edge, the motor on the bike is gifted with one of the company’s 129-ci (2.1-liter) kits, “the largest bolt-on kit for 114 and 117ci motors.” That means new pistons, piston rings, cylinders, and gaskets, among others.

Motor Witch was featured this week by Harley-Davidson itself (check the video below). The man says he plans to put the two-wheeler to good use because "this bike was really meant to be ridden, it's not an Easter Egg." Still, we wonder how long it takes until it goes on sale somewhere.