Photo: CNC PICS
We’d imagine converting a Sportster into an agile cafe racer is no easy task. Nonetheless, this workshop certainly nailed it!
As of 2010, Samuel Kao founded JSK Custom Design in La Puerte, California. His firm specializes in just about anything from designing casual apparel and some seriously rad wristwatches, to crafting bespoke works of two-wheeled art that’ll make you weak at the knees. One such entity goes by the name of Ivory Comet – a modified 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 with retro vibes. Let’s take a second to examine what’s at hand here, shall we?
The donor is brought to life by a fiendish V-twin colossus that hosts two valves per cylinder head and an astronomical displacement of 1,202cc. At around 6,000 rpm, this nasty piece of air-cooled machinery will supply up to 50 untamed ponies. On the other hand, the engine is perfectly capable of achieving an ungodly torque output of 62 pound-feet (84 Nm) at 3,500 revs.
A five-speed gearbox is tasked with feeding the mill’s vicious oomph to the rear 16-inch wheel via a belt final drive. All things considered, it goes without saying that Milwaukee’s leviathan is one hell of a machine! As such, I’ll bet Kao’s moto gurus were rather delighted when given to opportunity to work their magic on this beast.
For starters, the crew went about discarding the bike’s original bodywork to make room for their very own counterparts. The new components were painstakingly fabricated by means of traditional metal shaping techniques, and the results certainly speak for themselves. You will find a vintage-style front fairing that keeps things looking classy, accompanied by a handsome tail section at the rear and a custom fuel tank in between.
To ensure the Comet performs as well as it looks, Cali’s craftsmen outsourced an assortment of top-shelf modules from a Ducati 916, such as the brakes, its forks and the entire rear suspension setup. The finishing touches come in the forms of laced hoops, a quilted leather saddle and one venomous two-into-two exhaust system.
Were it not for that unmistakable Harley powerplant, Ivory’s roots as a ‘97 Sportster would be virtually unrecognizable. This, ladies and gents, is what we’d call a comprehensive overhaul!
The donor is brought to life by a fiendish V-twin colossus that hosts two valves per cylinder head and an astronomical displacement of 1,202cc. At around 6,000 rpm, this nasty piece of air-cooled machinery will supply up to 50 untamed ponies. On the other hand, the engine is perfectly capable of achieving an ungodly torque output of 62 pound-feet (84 Nm) at 3,500 revs.
A five-speed gearbox is tasked with feeding the mill’s vicious oomph to the rear 16-inch wheel via a belt final drive. All things considered, it goes without saying that Milwaukee’s leviathan is one hell of a machine! As such, I’ll bet Kao’s moto gurus were rather delighted when given to opportunity to work their magic on this beast.
For starters, the crew went about discarding the bike’s original bodywork to make room for their very own counterparts. The new components were painstakingly fabricated by means of traditional metal shaping techniques, and the results certainly speak for themselves. You will find a vintage-style front fairing that keeps things looking classy, accompanied by a handsome tail section at the rear and a custom fuel tank in between.
To ensure the Comet performs as well as it looks, Cali’s craftsmen outsourced an assortment of top-shelf modules from a Ducati 916, such as the brakes, its forks and the entire rear suspension setup. The finishing touches come in the forms of laced hoops, a quilted leather saddle and one venomous two-into-two exhaust system.
Were it not for that unmistakable Harley powerplant, Ivory’s roots as a ‘97 Sportster would be virtually unrecognizable. This, ladies and gents, is what we’d call a comprehensive overhaul!
Google News