Photo: Kodlin
No matter where you travel in this world, the custom motorcycle scene is dominated by stock motorcycles modified to look and very rarely perform completely different than they did when they rolled off factory lines. Most of these builds are incredible to look at and, we bet, some of them probably are quite the joy to ride. Yet none of these builds compare to full custom rides, created from scratch.
Sadly, not many crews are into putting together two-wheelers from the ground up. There are, of course, notable exceptions, and at the top of that short list sits someone named Fred Kodlin.
The name is a very powerful one in this industry. At it since the 1980s, the German has been such an appreciated bike builder that in 2007 he became the first person outside North America to be inducted into the International Master Bike Builders Association (IMBBA) Hall of Fame. And just a quick look at the bike we have here is enough to show us why.
Among the many motorcycles Kodlin put together over the years, the bagger line is perhaps the most spectacular. Kodlin's portfolio in this respect, as shown on his website, counts just seven of these extreme rides (there are more, for sure), and the bike we have here, called KR 300, is one of them.
The bike was first shown in 2017, during the European Bike Week. It looks like your usual full-custom bagger, with a massive wheel up front, impressive lines, extensive bodywork, and an engine like no other, at least at the time when it was made.
The bike is built around an in-house made frame, on top of which an impressive assortment of body elements was fitted, painted in a shade of green that's bound to catch the eye, in the purest bagger style. To give the bike the proper stance, a large, 30-inch wheel was installed at the front, while the one at the rear stays hidden from sight under the large bags and rear fender.
The most impressive element of the KR 300 must be the engine. We're talking about Harley-Davidson's mighty Milwaukee-Eight, which at the time when the bike was made was a brand new powerplant. In stock form, it was offered by the American bike maker in 107 and 114ci sizes, but this one was made bigger by Kodlin, now displacing no less than 124ci.
Another important upgrade the German made to the engine was to fit it with a Trask turbocharger, something no one else did at the time for this type of powerplant. In doing so, the output of the engine was boosted to 300 hp. And that's for a bike that's not meant to be raced, but driven down the road on a Sunday afternoon.
We're not sure how much money the KR 300 ate to become so impressive. We do know it was made at the request of a customer, but since being shown in 2017 it kind of disappeared from sight. Still worth another look, though, even six years later...
The name is a very powerful one in this industry. At it since the 1980s, the German has been such an appreciated bike builder that in 2007 he became the first person outside North America to be inducted into the International Master Bike Builders Association (IMBBA) Hall of Fame. And just a quick look at the bike we have here is enough to show us why.
Among the many motorcycles Kodlin put together over the years, the bagger line is perhaps the most spectacular. Kodlin's portfolio in this respect, as shown on his website, counts just seven of these extreme rides (there are more, for sure), and the bike we have here, called KR 300, is one of them.
The bike was first shown in 2017, during the European Bike Week. It looks like your usual full-custom bagger, with a massive wheel up front, impressive lines, extensive bodywork, and an engine like no other, at least at the time when it was made.
The bike is built around an in-house made frame, on top of which an impressive assortment of body elements was fitted, painted in a shade of green that's bound to catch the eye, in the purest bagger style. To give the bike the proper stance, a large, 30-inch wheel was installed at the front, while the one at the rear stays hidden from sight under the large bags and rear fender.
The most impressive element of the KR 300 must be the engine. We're talking about Harley-Davidson's mighty Milwaukee-Eight, which at the time when the bike was made was a brand new powerplant. In stock form, it was offered by the American bike maker in 107 and 114ci sizes, but this one was made bigger by Kodlin, now displacing no less than 124ci.
Another important upgrade the German made to the engine was to fit it with a Trask turbocharger, something no one else did at the time for this type of powerplant. In doing so, the output of the engine was boosted to 300 hp. And that's for a bike that's not meant to be raced, but driven down the road on a Sunday afternoon.
We're not sure how much money the KR 300 ate to become so impressive. We do know it was made at the request of a customer, but since being shown in 2017 it kind of disappeared from sight. Still worth another look, though, even six years later...
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