Photo: Thunderbike
In the final days of last year our journey through the world of custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles made in Europe brought us face-to-face with something called the SPS 4. A Sportster of the S 1250 variety by trade, it had been modified in Germany by a shop called Thunderbike to become the kind of ride that's not easy to unsee or forget.
The SPS is not a singular custom motorcycle over at Thunderbike, but an entire family of them, made over the years to increase the aggressiveness of stock Sporsters. I brought them up because the family grew by one member recently, with the release of something called SPS 5.
Described by its maker as the stage-one version of the SPS 4 from December, this one too is based on a Sportster S, only it was transformed, as Thunderbike says, into the "perfect acceleration orgy."
What's that supposed to mean? Don't go thinking these guys went out and swapped the motorcycle's original engine with something a lot more potent, capable of shooting the bike to higher speeds much faster. No, that's still there, and, even if it got beefed up a bit with the help of a custom, two-in-one Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust system, we get no mention of a potential increase in power.
What Thunderbike probably means by that is the fact the acceleration of the bike is felt in an entirely different fashion.
Contributing to that is the fitting of a rear-mounted footrest system to go with the mid-controls, but also new wheels to enhance the feeling of going faster. We're not talking about something truly spectacular, but simple and effective bobber wheels wrapped in the original tires of the base motorcycle. The one at the front also uses the original single-disc brake to bring the ride to a halt.
To increase the good sensations of riding this custom, Thunderbike also modified the seat of the Sportster, exchanging the stock one for a version with more pronounced edges, to "no longer cause it to slide backwards." Seated on it, the rider can reach for a set of narrower handlebars.
In all Thunderbike lists a total of 25 major aftermarket parts being used for the build. They are all worth a combined 7,000 euros (which is about $7,600 at the exchange rates valid at the time of writing), but that does not include the exhaust system, the man hours spent on putting this thing together, and the paint job: a beautiful combination of something called Bright Brilliant Blue, adorned by bronze accents.
Thunderbike makes no mention of who is presently enjoying riding the Harley-Davidson SPS 5, but chances are, if it’s in your neighborhood, you'll notice it go by.
Described by its maker as the stage-one version of the SPS 4 from December, this one too is based on a Sportster S, only it was transformed, as Thunderbike says, into the "perfect acceleration orgy."
What's that supposed to mean? Don't go thinking these guys went out and swapped the motorcycle's original engine with something a lot more potent, capable of shooting the bike to higher speeds much faster. No, that's still there, and, even if it got beefed up a bit with the help of a custom, two-in-one Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust system, we get no mention of a potential increase in power.
What Thunderbike probably means by that is the fact the acceleration of the bike is felt in an entirely different fashion.
Contributing to that is the fitting of a rear-mounted footrest system to go with the mid-controls, but also new wheels to enhance the feeling of going faster. We're not talking about something truly spectacular, but simple and effective bobber wheels wrapped in the original tires of the base motorcycle. The one at the front also uses the original single-disc brake to bring the ride to a halt.
To increase the good sensations of riding this custom, Thunderbike also modified the seat of the Sportster, exchanging the stock one for a version with more pronounced edges, to "no longer cause it to slide backwards." Seated on it, the rider can reach for a set of narrower handlebars.
In all Thunderbike lists a total of 25 major aftermarket parts being used for the build. They are all worth a combined 7,000 euros (which is about $7,600 at the exchange rates valid at the time of writing), but that does not include the exhaust system, the man hours spent on putting this thing together, and the paint job: a beautiful combination of something called Bright Brilliant Blue, adorned by bronze accents.
Thunderbike makes no mention of who is presently enjoying riding the Harley-Davidson SPS 5, but chances are, if it’s in your neighborhood, you'll notice it go by.
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