Photo: Fredy Jaates
Born as Harley-Davidson’s bid to take over the muscle motorcycle segment, the V-Rod family had a long- and cool-enough life to still be talked about today. Strangely enough, responsible for this is not the American bike itself or what local shops made of it, but the countless transformations the family went through over the Atlantic, in Europe.
Many shops there, located in various countries across the continent, have begun tampering with V-Rods, and never stopped. Most of their portfolios, including that of Estonia-based Fredy Jaates, count tens of custom V-Rods, each with their own special something to make them worthy of their 15 minutes of fame.
It’s from Jaates’ garage we picked a bike to enjoy today. We’re talking about an older project of the shop, made around a 2005 VRSCSE Screamin' Eagle, the first V-Rod-based project handled back then by Harley’s own Custom Vehicle Operations.
Originally, the VRSCSE came with the Revolution engine, and a wealth of visual changes compared to the main line, including the addition of extra chrome and custom paint. The engine was kept by Jaates for his project, but extras were added to make the V-Rod look lower and meaner.
First up, the bike was propped on custom RC Imposter wheels, hence the name we chose for it. The parts are both sized 18 inches, with the rear wheel coming in at 240 mm wide.
Jaates himself made custom bits for this bike, and they include the 2-in-1 exhaust system, the fuel tank, front fender, and handlebar. The bike got closer to the ground thanks to the fitting of an 1.25-inch lowering kit at the rear and a 2.6-inch one at the front.
The extra chrome bits added (things like the housing for the thermostat or the taillight cover), along with the amazing paint job, make the Imposter shine differently depending on how light hits it. And, as you can see in the attached gallery, it also looks incredibly good while ridden on the open road.
What we do not know is how much the bike cost to put together, or where it spins its wheels these days.
It’s from Jaates’ garage we picked a bike to enjoy today. We’re talking about an older project of the shop, made around a 2005 VRSCSE Screamin' Eagle, the first V-Rod-based project handled back then by Harley’s own Custom Vehicle Operations.
Originally, the VRSCSE came with the Revolution engine, and a wealth of visual changes compared to the main line, including the addition of extra chrome and custom paint. The engine was kept by Jaates for his project, but extras were added to make the V-Rod look lower and meaner.
First up, the bike was propped on custom RC Imposter wheels, hence the name we chose for it. The parts are both sized 18 inches, with the rear wheel coming in at 240 mm wide.
Jaates himself made custom bits for this bike, and they include the 2-in-1 exhaust system, the fuel tank, front fender, and handlebar. The bike got closer to the ground thanks to the fitting of an 1.25-inch lowering kit at the rear and a 2.6-inch one at the front.
The extra chrome bits added (things like the housing for the thermostat or the taillight cover), along with the amazing paint job, make the Imposter shine differently depending on how light hits it. And, as you can see in the attached gallery, it also looks incredibly good while ridden on the open road.
What we do not know is how much the bike cost to put together, or where it spins its wheels these days.
Google News